When Cobourg, ON wife and husband duo Brittany Brooks and Jimmy Bowskill unleashed their debut “Too Many Roads” album upon the world back in early 2023 (a GDW Top 20 Album finalist), they single-handedly demonstrated an uncanny ability to completely rewrite the time-honored traditional country music rulebook in the process. Following up with the release of their sophomore “Blissful State of Mind” album today, Brooks & Bowskill refuse to rest on any laurels, opting instead to blast their musical talents well beyond the confines of the stratosphere.
Of course, Jimmy Bowskill is no stranger here at GDW. A musical child prodigy, Jimmy busked on the streets of Toronto outside music clubs when just eleven years old, releasing his debut “Old Soul” album just a few years later, the first of many solo releases that would follow. It would be Jimmy’s time as lead guitarist with Saskatoon retro-rockers The Sheepdogs that first brought him to our attention – and of course, his subsequent joining of Blue Rodeo when the Toronto alt-country band needed a multi-instrumentalist to fill the void left following the departure of Bob Egan several years earlier. Jimmy is quite simply one of those rarities that elevates everything he touches to a mind-blowing level – meaning that the bar was already set ridiculously high for this latest Brooks & Bowskill album.
Not overly indifferent to her husband, Brittany Brooks broke into the Toronto music scene as an alt-country singer-songwriter (though perhaps not at quite the same young age) – releasing her “Star Shooter” EP in 2019, following with her debut “Lend Me Your Hand” album a year later. Brittany and Jimmy were walking similar paths around Canada’s largest city, until fate intervened and brought their respective routes together. With her distinct vocal pitch and a flair for nostalgia, Brittany is siren-like – in sound (but no ship sinking mermaid) – and brings a ton of talent to the table. We marveled firsthand at her abilities when witnessing her fulfil Sarah McLachlan’s vocal duties during a duet with Greg Keelor to perform “What Is This Love” at Blue Rodeo’s “Songs Seldom Heard” concert in February 2023 – so, yes, she and Jimmy are an ideal match for any music project.
Drawn together by a mutual love of old country music, their debut album was a convincing blast from the AM dial radio past – one, as per the duo’s press release, was a record store clerk’s nightmare – impossible to file into any single genre’s bin. Those clerks shall likely endure tougher challenges and be very perplexed when faced with this highly anticipated sophomore release, as the duo progress beyond their old-time country roots and dabble with some whimsical folk-pop, some southern boogie, and even some buoyant 60s psychedelia.
Brittany (vocals/guitar) and Jimmy (vocals/no editorial space to list them all) lead the charge, backed by their studio and touring band The Hometown Beauts: Kyler Tapscott (guitars), Wayne DeAdder (bass), Steve O’Connor (keyboards/accordion), and Ian McKeown (drums/backing vocals). “We knew having the full band playing as live as possible would be the best way to treat these songs,” Brittany shares. “You can hear them playing off each other and that’s what creates the excitement.”
If you simply skim read the previous paragraphs to get to the meat and bones of these new album tunes and hold a firm belief that the music shall prove a continuance of where “Too Many Roads” concluded – well, go ahead and click play on the opening track “Draw The Line” and prepare to watch those preconceived convictions crumble in real time. The sun-drenched cosmic soundwaves that dance delicately to greet you are soon accompanied by Brittany’s shimmery vocals, joined soon after by Jimmy, for a trip into alt-folk-pop territory – their sounds offering stark similarities at times to Kacy and Clayton.
And with barely a pause between tracks, Jimmy takes the lead vocal duties on “Never Be There Again,” demonstrating his maturity into a fine vocalist in his own right. Goosbumps warning – the addition of strings adds plenty of emotional depth, before yielding to a simply amazing acoustic guitar solo to close. And in the spirit of full disclosure, I truly feel that this tune could be fabulous resampled in a yacht rock format – don’t ask me why, it’s just an idea that floated in my head upon the first listen. I’m fully open to an alt-remixes edition.
Revisiting my earlier reference to Brittany’s siren-esque sound, both “Carousel Of Time” and “Take Me Back (For The Night)” perfectly showcase the allure of her mysterious charm. The first of these two tunes accentuates Brittany’s delivery with hypnotic 12-string guitars and some surprise circus-style organ, giving this listener a 360 rotation of my own on this virtual carousel. Blended harmonies with Jimmy demonstrate Brittany’s fabulous collaborative vocal presence on the latter, drawing parallels to their debut release as her husband incorporates some stunning vintage early 60s rock-meets-country guitar tones.
With Brooks & Bowskill tapping into sounds of yesteryear from their own personal influences, it is only natural for the listener to encounter lightbulb moments of their own – hearing something, sensing something, feeling something at brief moments that connect to your own musical leanings. I’ll openly confess to often joining the dots and making (sometimes bizarre) connections. Take, for example, the opening guitar chords on “Francis,” where my mind immediately leads me to “I Am, I Said,” by Neil Diamond – just thinking about it right now, my mind is filled with the lines, “L.A.’s fine, the sun shines most the time / And the feeling is laid back…” But maybe I’m not too far off track, as Jimmy’s lyrical focus describes a dear friend’s cross-country journey in search of personal history, with a strong emphasis on both story and character. Yes, I’m feeling it: “New York’s home, but it ain’t mine no more…”
For those familiar with Jimmy’s stint with The Sheepdogs, I’m sure that you’ll share my sentiments about his signature licks to open “I Guess So” channeling the sound and substance of the legendary late guitar slinger Dickey Betts. Jimmy allows his passion for swampy Americana to shine during this number, balancing Allman Brothers tones against some Doobie Brothers shades once hitting the chorus with plenty of southern boogie gusto. The dominant guitar solo comes courtesy of Kyler, who ratchets up the decibel meter to the max with some mean licks of his own, drenching the listener with plenty of extra reverb down the stretch.
If asked to select a standout track from this album (not an easy task – no fillers to be found here), “Over And Over” proved to be the most intriguing – especially on that very first listen when completely unprepared for what I was about to experience. Saturated in delicate strings and with flute accompaniment (yes, Jimmy brought a flute to the party, as well as handling the score for the strings), the duo whisks us on a sentimental opus that progresses from ‘40s Hollywood movie score’ one moment, to ‘70s psych-rock trip the next. “Brittany wrote this song, and the arrangement is exactly how she presented it to me on guitar for the first time,” Jimmy recalls. “I immediately heard the string section in my head and how it would transition into a rock song.”
While there is an abundance of new music releases to choose from, I’m confident in stating that “Blissful State of Mind” could be one of the most sonically satisfying musical adventures you’ll take this year. It is somewhat scary to comprehend that Brittany and Jimmy have not only pushed beyond their boundaries, creatively speaking, but have completely obliterated them. Scarier yet is knowing that they are still warming up – just two albums in, and with a long and illustrious collaborative career ahead, the sky is indeed the limit. Or is it? Boundaries – we may as well remove that word from the dictionary, given that Brooks & Bowskill have once again debunked the concept.
Photo Credit: Lauren Garbutt
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
