Cyrus 
Who: Cyrus
What: Rootsy World-Beat.
Where: Toronto, Ontario
Why: Your spirit requires it.
Website: www.cyruscyrus.com
To Contact: 'A Goddess On The Lotus,' (416) 928-0919 .

Though his publicity material describes Cyrus as "Cat Stevens meets Bob Marley meets Ravi Shankar," I have to admit I was skeptical of such a seemingly grandiose claim. And, after all, it's publicity material - pass the grains of salt. However, with the one caveat that I haven't heard him play a sitar, there is some justification in those comparisons. Obviously he's no Bob Marley (who is?), but on his self-produced debut CD, Sun To Star, Cyrus weaves a musical mosaic from the global loom of reggae rhythms, tabla and other Eastern instruments, lyrical folk guitar, Hammond B3 and spirited singing, that is at once rooted in tradition, while remaining transcendent of categorization - always a good thing in my book. The songs take you on a journey - whether a musical-spiritual journey through the one-world vibe of "Love Rule The World" and "Dance, Dance, Dance," or a journey of the heart as in the romantic yearning of "Four Hours To Rama." "I call them poems, more than songs," explains Cyrus, "because in themselves, in terms of just lyrics, they take you somewhere - they do tell a story. And I think I've also been able to translate that to music, where it also takes you away." It's an album with its feet in the soil and its head is in the stars. Take a spin from Sun To Star for a truly global musical experience.

The Ashgrove 
Who: The Ashgrove
What: Expansive power pop.
Where: Goderich, Ontario (Ontario's "West Coast")
Website: www.theashgrove.com
To Contact: Darin Addison, The Big Music, 507 Oxford Street E., #2, London, ON, N5Y 3H8 (519) 439-4375, .

The Ashgrove is a five-piece modern rock outfit formed in Goderich, Ontario in 1994. The band is Ryan Buckley (guitars, vocals), Rick Lobb (drums), Jeremy Jonjegan (vocals), Lon Doherty (rhythm guitar) and Bill Snowden (bass). Their debut CD, Somnambulant, woke up a few ears at college and commercial radio and landed the band showcases at Canadian Music Week and NxNE. Photo Album, their sophomore effort, was recorded at DB Studios in London, Ontario with Dan Brodbeck (Gandharvas, Morganfields), and shows the band is rapidly developing by focusing on songs that are built on solid foundations, yet aren't afraid to follow their own sonic momentum when the feeling is right. "We were very, very pleased with the quality of sound we got from the studio, and with the production that [Brodbeck] did on the album," drummer Lobb told me. "It was a lot of fun. I'm really happy with the way it turned out." Buckley, originally from Barnsley, England, is the principal songwriter, although the two singles that have garnered some regional airplay on rock radio - "Beauty Myth" and "Never Change," the latter a guitar-drenched marcher reminiscent of early U2 - feature lyrics written by the singer, Jonjegan. The band adroitly juggles sonic brush strokes with enough hooks and melodies to keep the listener's ear, as in the gentle pop jangle of "Rainfall" and the catchy songcraft of "Waiting." Like any good Photo Album, this stuff is worth revisiting.

Tom Fidgen 
Who: Tom Fidgen
What: Acoustic alterna-folk.
Where: Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; now Toronto-based
Why: Because a well-built oak chair is more comfortable than plastic lawn furniture.
To Contact: Wade Langham, 4 Deer Park Crescent, PHC, Toronto, ON, M4V 2C3 (416) 922-3770, .

Formerly of the critically lauded Cape Breton indie band Sunfish, singer-songwriter Tom Fidgen steps forward with a debut solo effort, Human By Trade - a clutch of acoustic guitar-driven alterna-folk songs with depth and staying power. But don't assume from the 'Made in Cape Breton' sticker that this six-song EP is another one-kilt-fits-all Celtic-flavoured offering. Fidgen's songs come from a country of his own making; a slightly darker place that's mapped out in his smoky voice, his nimble, sometimes cynical lyrics and the songs' pared down instrumentation. Yet this bare bones affair is satisfyingly full and rich, thanks to Fidgen's passionate delivery and the unpretentious directness of the music. "I tend to approach writing from a story point of view, or from a character point of view," Fidgen says, describing his songs as "just little slices of life." The rhythmic acoustic guitar strumming of "Humans Being" suggests a stripped down Dave Matthews without the extra world-beat window dressing, while "Silver Submarines" is buoyed by a chorus that will stick in your head for days. And his admirable cover of Spirit of the West's "Political" doesn't stray too far from the original, yet manages to stand on its own. A full-length album is in the works for April, under the working title A Vitamin For Media Love. If it follows through on this EP's promise, it should be an easy pill to swallow.

Credit: Jim Kelly is a Toronto-based freelance writer.

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