Halifax, Nova Scotia artist Goldie Boutilier shoots for a very specific esthetic on her album Goldie Boutilier Presents...Goldie Montana, a collection of songs that revolve around the concept of her alter ego, Goldie Montana. The album’s various themes are explored through the lens of sentimentality expressed with noir-ish dramatic flair suggesting the influences of Lana Del Rey or Nick Cave.

The sparseness of “At The End Of The War” and “I Am The Rich Man” faithfully reflect this aspect of Boutilier’s music, where the mysteriousness and sultriness of her alluring vocals are in the spotlight, exhibiting a “noir damsel in distress” vibe, except that she does not need rescuing by anyone.

Sure, this is great. But Goldie Montana is so much more enjoyable for what Boutilier does musically with her songs. For example,  the lyrical nakedness of “At The End Of The War” (lamenting the heartbreak of war) and “I Can’t” (lamenting the heartbreak of love) are both poignant. But the lush waves of synthesizers and the balladry guitar solo on “I Can’t” add so much more depth to the pain in Boutilier’s lyrics.

Boutilier tells stories through her songs with “country music” simplicity in the lyrics. But her musical compositions are far more exquisite, adding chic-ness to her humble words: swampy bass and drums on “King Of Possibilities,” Fender Rhodes piano-kissed dreaminess on “Who Are You Gonna Worship Now?,” noir-meets-disco on “Snake Eyes,” bluesy post-punk eccentricity on “Favorite Fear,” and the blissful combination of luxurious strings, soft synth pulses, and faint vocalizations on “Yacht Is Sinking,” which doesn’t even have any lyrics.

Boutilier’s voice is unmistakable and so is her stylistic appeal. However, her musical inquisitiveness is able to confidently take these elements to exotic places without foregoing their uniqueness. This says a lot about Boutilier’s command of her work and assurance in herself as an artist.

Rating: B+

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