Lustre Parfait

A collaboration between two Canadian rock totems, Lustre Parfait brings together the late Gord Downie, best known as the enigmatic frontman of the Tragically Hip, and superproducer Bob Rock, whose lengthy resume includes acts ranging from Metallica and the Cult to Michael Buble and Ron Sexsmith. Rock also produced a pair of albums for the Hip (2006s World Container and 2009s We Are the Same) and it was during this period that he and Downie connected to create this joint side venture. As the third posthumous release from Downie, Lustre Parfait is unique in that is was recorded long before the singers terminal cancer diagnosis and is therefore devoid of much of the existential poignancy of his 2017 swan song, Introduce Yerself, and its even more subdued 2020 follow-up, Away Is Mine. Instead, its a mid-career romp of sparkling rock & roll heft, made by two friends who still saw a long road ahead. Begun in 2009, eight years before Downies death in October 2017, Lustre Parfait ripples with classic Gord energy, pairing his manic full-throated vocals and lyrical weirdness with Rocks polished hard rock melodicism. On "The Raven and the Red-Tailed Hawk," Downie dances around the idiosyncratic, almost sing-song verses before roaring into a desperate chorus that leaves nothing on the table. Another standout is "Camaro," an improbable ode to the Chevy muscle car that doubles as a celebration of life and movement. With occasional soulful adornments and detours into husky power balladry, Lustre Parfait is by and large a punchy rock-forward set and a welcome reminder of what a distinctive and undeniable presence Downie was in his heyday. ~ Timothy Monger