''44'' is the sixth solo album by Canadian

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

musician Joel Plaskett, released on April 17, 2020.Thiessen, Brock (January 24, 2020)
Joel Plaskett Unveils Quadruple Album '44'
' Exclaim!''. Retrieved on 2020-04-25. Dubbed the "spiritual successor"White, Adam (March 22, 2020)
Make A Sound'
'Some Party''. Retrieved on 2020-04-25. to Plaskett's prior triple album ''

Three 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

'', the 44-song, quadruple album was released the day before the artist's 45th birthday. (As a tie-in to that fact, the LP box set contains a bonus 45th track.O'Kane, Josh (April 21, 2020)
The audacity, and necessity, of Joel Plaskett’s pandemic quadruple-record
'

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''. Retrieved on 2020-04-25.) Plaskett recorded the album across Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Memphis, Nashville and Toronto, having worked with 33 other musicians over four years.

Background

Each of the four records in the album contains 11 songs, with their own title and theme. The first record (''41: Carried Away'') is centred around travelling, the second collection (''42: Just Passing Through'') turns to finding a homecoming unfamiliar, the third set (''43: If There's Another Road'') tackles transitioning from lost to found, and the last record (''44: The Window Inn'') deals with arriving at a personal destination. Collaborators include Plaskett's band the Emergency, as well as his former group from the nineties

Thrush Hermit Thrush Hermit was a Canadian alternative rock band active in the 1990s, known for their "highly energetic, humorous, and unpredictable performances," as quoted by Vice News. History Thrush Hermit was formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1992 by Jo ...

; members of Sloan and Local Rabbits; fellow Maritimer and mentee of Plaskett Mo Kenney; Dave Shouse of past bands Grifters and

Those Bastard Souls Those Bastard Souls were an independent rock band formed in 1995 as a solo side project by David Shouse of The Grifters. The name, somewhat of a nod to These Immortal Souls, was one that David Shouse coined as a replacement for A Band Called Bud ...

; Nashville-based Canadians Rob Crowell and Steve Dawson; the vocalist trio Reeny, Mahalia and Micah Smith; East Coast songwriters

Al Tuck Al Tuck (born December 23, 1966), is a Canadian songwriter and folksinger from Prince Edward Island who has spent much of his career based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Early life Tuck was born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, the son of editor ...

Rose Cousins A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...

, and Erin Costelo; folk singer-songwriters Charlotte Cornfield and Ana Egge; and Plaskett's son, Xianing. The cross-Canada album tour for ''44'' had been scheduled for April–May, 2020 but was pushed back to October–November, 2020 due to the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic.Cooke, Stephen (April 3, 2020)
Plaskett unveils box set 44 of new songs stretching from Dartmouth to Nashville
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Chronicle Herald ''The Chronicle Herald'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada owned by SaltWire Network of Halifax. The paper's newsroom staff were locked out of work from January 2016 until August 2017. ''Herald'' management cont ...

''. Retrieved on 2020-04-25.

Critical reception

A hometown review in Halifax's ''

'' summed up the album as, "autobiographical, philosophical, psychoanalytical and spiritual." Another review called it a mix of everything, an eclectic collection from a prolific artist full of multitudes: "rock and pop, country and folk, loud and quiet, electric and acoustic, earthy and spacey, sincere and silly, gems and duds, studio and live, full-band productions and lo-fi solo fare."Sterdan, Darryl. (April 17, 2020)
Joel Plaskett 44
'Tinnitist''. Retrieved on 2020-04-26. One critic described the title single from the third record, ''If There's Another Road'' as "comfort food." The expansive album was said to be a "massive, eclectic" reflection on the depth and breadth of the artist's life journey; "an impressive retrospective."Boer, Sam (April 15, 2020)
Joel Plaskett's Quadruple Album '44' Is an Impressive Retrospective of His Life and Work
' Exclaim!''. Retrieved on 2020-04-25. Also focusing on the reflective nature of the album, a ''

Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it f ...

'' review noted how the album was a labour of love to Plaskett's family and friends, and the years-long effort displayed "the value of slowing down to enjoy the moment." The album was longlisted for the

2020 Polaris Music Prize The 2020 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on October 19, 2020. The longlist was announced on June 15, 2020, with the shortlist following on July 15, 2020 and the winner announced on October 19, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 ...

Track listing

References

External links

Joel Plaskett Unveils 44
at joelplaskett.com
Joel Plaskett profile
at Pheromone Recordings {{Authority control 2020 albums Joel Plaskett albums