New Music Critique: McDougall

McDougall exudes a busker’s DIY confidence on recordings that capture his instruments’ rawboned tones and gritty textures. “Shaken” has an edgy, fx’d vocal and a wonderfully soggy bass-drum that reminds us of early Black Keys, though the dirge-like cadence wore thin after a couple minutes. More to our liking is “Stranger on the Prairie,” about a lonesome, itinerant worker who, despite the odds, tries to support his estranged family. We like how the song avoids the typical VCVCBC format and delivers a catchy chorus that is humanistic and memorable. The speedy, banjo-fueled busker freakout “Flying in Circles” demonstrates the artist’s high level of one-man- band musicianship.