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BUY "CALENDAR" IN STORES, ON ITUNES OR AMAZON.COM OR RIGHT HERE
Recent press for "Calendar"
Montreal singer-songwriter JF Robitaille has released a spectacular – yet understated – album of folk-rock. You can hear a classic Montreal influence to his music: the poetic, pensive lyrics and gentle and bleak vocals are eerily reminiscent of a young Leonard Cohen. 8.5/10
A stellar folk-pop record, its classic melodies, structures and balance of raw and polished finish recalling such 60s and 70s greats as Cohen, Dylan, Lennon, even a touch of the Temptations.
Montreal singer-songwriter JF Robitaille lives up to expectations for most of Calendar, the much-anticipated follow-up to his solo debut EP, The Blood in My Body. Robitaille's songs remain luminous throughout the record even while taking on a tone of pensive resignation. Framing his introspections in the weighty stillness of barebones instrumentation and unhurried, whispery vocals, his languid epiphanies become the album's standout songs. Opener "Modern Love," along with "Winters Like These," "The City Trembles" and "Close to Love," is hauntingly beautiful, as is the psych-folk-inspired title track.
I love it when music just stops me in my tracks, puts the brakes on whatever it is I’m doing, and just makes me listen. Troubadour JF Robitaille made me do just that when I took a listen to “Modern Love Song Pt.1″ from his forthcoming debut.
An intimate, soothing album ideal for late-night or early morning listening sessions. With their gentle folk melodies and melancholy lyrics, many tracks sound as if they were pulled from the Leonard Cohen songbook (When We Say Goodbye, Winters Like These, Close to Love, etc.). Others, such as Enemies, which features The Dears’ Murray Lightburn on keys, display a poppier, Beatles-like vibe. Wonderful stuff, really.
A soft-spoken yet shattering folk album. Tinged with melancholy, JF Robitaille’s new pop-folk offering evokes goodbyes, trembling cities and broken memories. Illustrating the apocalypse of the broken heart, this Montreal local draws heavily from the urban landscape which becomes the backdrop for midnight rambling.
There’s always something to be said of an artist who manages to be in near-perfect control of their craft, and that can definitely be said about Montreal solo artist JF Robitaille.
Considering his previous success, it would be very easy for this guy to simply record predictable super polished pop that could appeal to the masses (the quick path to success). But instead...Robitaille has chosen to retain artistic integrity and record music that comes from the heart instead of digging for gold. Thirteen cool introspective cuts here including "Modern Love Song Pt. 1," "For Better or Worse," "Close To Love," and "Some Of Us."
There's absolutely no denying that JF Robitaille is a gifted songwriter, and one that we are likely to be enjoying for years to come.
Every so often a guitar-toting songster strums his way into our hearts and the hearts of our CD players. JF Robitaille manages to do just that with the release of his newest album "Calendar''.
Throughout the album, Robitaille puts his talents as a gifted songwriter on full display.
These are everyman songs for the times you feel like the last man alive; its hooks will warm your heart while Robitaille’s lyrics numb it still.
-JULY 22nd INTERVIEW ON CBC TV (section 2 at the 7 minute mark)
-OTTAWA MORNING TELEVISION PERFORMANCE
