Reviews for Shuyler Jansen

Broken hearts and hard living are just two of the themes that weave their way through this former Edmontonian’s latest.

This is the second solo record from Saskatoon resident Shuyler Jansen. Shulyer was formerly one of the leading lights of the Edmonton, Alberta country/roots rock band Old Reliable, who knocked out four albums during a twelve year career.

Saskatoon (by way of Vancouver) is home to Shuyler Jansen. Jansen's second solo record is vocally reminiscent of Dwight Yoakam and musically influenced by country music from when it was really country, not CMT and civic center commercialized drivel.

Really cool and effective soft pop laced with hints of Americana, bluegrass, and country and western. Shuyler Jansen has already experienced a good deal of success with his roots rock band Old Reliable...but he is also now releasing solo albums as well. Today's Remains is the second full-length release from this remarkably talented fellow.

If Shuyler Jansen had his way, he'd release a new album every 10 months or so.

The Edmonton native, now settled in the much more affordable city of Saskatoon, always has a few projects on the go.

The ambient-country soundscapes of Shuyler Jansen's first album, Hobotron, are yesterday's remains. The Edmonton native opts for a more traditional approach on his latest roots effort, produced by guitar whiz and label boss Steve Dawson. Organs hum, strings weep, drums shuffle and guitars gently trot while Jansen recounts tales of lost souls, horse races, jealous girls and naive boys.

Old Reliable entertain with their gritty party brand of country rock. Mark Davis tells us dramatic tales of fiction and personal experience via his double-disc release. And Shuyler Jansen? What sort of country crooning can we expect from his current solo work?

The story starts with The Naked and The Dead, the Norman Mailer-monikered pop-punk combo that Shuyler Jansen and drummer Mike Silverman formed while still in high school. In the heady college rock feeding frenzy of the late ’80s, TN&TD caught the ears of Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb and very nearly signed to Seattle’s famous Sub Pop label.

There's a glut of singer-songwriter alt-country records out there, so fans of the genre are rightfully wary. However, Shuyler Jansen, of Edmonton band Old Reliable, does it better than most, and Today's Remains' dusty lost-love laments don't waste your time.

I'm not really into traditional country music, so my enthusiasm for Shuyler Jansen would be muted even if he were the best his genre had to offer. Still, Today's Remains seems like an expertly-made album to my untrained ear, and "Windswept" shows that he's earned the right to wear that cowboy hat in the above picture.

- Matthew

Finally, a country album that cuts through the current commercial crapola and digs deep to mine the core of quality workmanship.

- Jeffrey Morgan

Edmonton’s Old Reliable is a band with a wealth of talent and vision, more than can possibly be contained within their sporadic group recordings. Earlier this year, Mark Davis released a tremendous double-shot of alt.Canadiana on the dual albums Don’t You Think We Should Be Closer? and Mistakes I Meant to Make. This fall sees cohort Shuyler Jansen producing Today’s Remains.

Shuyler Jansen’s follow-up to his incredible 2004 electro-folk release Hobotron is vintage Jansen, who also happens to be co-singer/songwriter of indie roots band Old Reliable. Hobotron took chances, which is not to say his latest release, Today’s Remains, a straight-up country-folk offering, doesn’t. It’s just more folksy.

Jansen is poised to be the next Corb Lund.

With a voice as pure and honest as a prairie breeze, the Saskatoon-based singer/songwriter writes and delivers songs that could have been written a couple of generations ago -- or today at breakfast. Think early Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson or Townes Van Zandt and Lucinda Williams. He really is that good.

Not quite country, not quite folky, but rootsy in the way Blue Rodeo is earthy but sophisticated. Jansen is a good songwriter given a varied production by Steve Dawson that is almost symphonic in its sweep -- when do fiddles become violins? -- and appealing. B .

-Tom Harrison

Saskatoon-based Shuyler Jansen, probably best known for his work with Edmonton country-rock outfit Old Reliable, steps out on his own with an impressive set of quirky originals.

‘We had a wild show last night in Winnipeg,” laughs former Edmontonian Shuyler Jansen over his cell phone as he makes a quick escape from a room reverberating with music, heading for the quiet of the band’s van.

He's 32 years old and has made a half dozen records already, but Shuyler Jansen may only now be hitting his stride. As his new album, Today's Remains, is released this week, the Edmonton-raised, Saskatoon-based country-rocker admits he's a late bloomer.

Shuyler Jansen’s Hobotron is billed as a mixture of classic country and electronic ambience, but make no mistake — the emphasis here is on the hobo, not the tron. The co-founder of Edmonton’s Old Reliable largely sticks to his twangy roots, cranking out a series of singalong ditties with subtle electronic flourishes that noodle just around the edges of each song.

A 15-year-veteran of the Alberta Music scene, Shuyler Jansen is probably most well known as one of the front men of the roots band Old Reliable. On Hobotron, Jansen, with his bandana bundle full of country songs, hops a train and heads off into the land of synthesizers and space movie sounds.

Country and electronica -- it doesn't quite roll off the tongue, does it?

HOBOTRON Shuyler Jansen Indie 5 out of five
vs.
SEVEN YEARS The Maykings Indie 4 out of five

Some of you may recognize Shulyer Jansen's name from Edmonton's (nearly) famous country revivalists, Old Reliable. With Old Reliable on temporary hiatus (babies, heh), the boys drifted off to some solo projects. Shulyer drifted off pretty far. As the title Hobotron suggests, there is slightly (or to put it another way...

Hobotron is a mix of haunting country vocals and atmospheric loops, beats and noises. Without sounding over-the-top, this is probably one of the more unique musical trips you will take for some time.