Ontario based Jory Nash has been successfully ploughing a furrow as an independent acoustic singer/songwriter for the past 10 years or so, and on this his 6th solo recording he demonstrates that he’s developed into one of the finest contemporary independent artists around (and like a good number of Canadian artists, much of this is thanks to the enlightened funding made available by their arts councils that supports artists as they develop).
His writing and performances have always been first rate, but on ‘New Blue Day’ there’s a confidence, consistency, and variety of styles on offer that makes this his best album by far.
The disc starts off with the upbeat acoustic guitar of ‘Our Time Again’ and that sets the standard for the next 46 minutes, where he effortlessly shifts from folk (‘The Getaway’), to upbeat bluegrass (‘Charlie’), right though to full band tracks (‘A Kiss for the Great Unknown’).  It’s stylistically varied, but is all held together by Jory’s smooth and distinct vocals that draw the listener into lyrics.
Highlights include the John Prine like ‘The Getaway’, the jangly folk sound of ‘Our Time Again’ and the unique arrangement and catchy hook of ‘A Kiss for the Great Unknown’.
The whole album is beautifully recorded and produced, and this disc marks a real step up from his previous albums, most notably in the measured arrangements where he manages to create a sound full of texture and instrumental variety but without cluttering the overall sound. There are some superb contributions in places; backing vocals are particularly well used (especially from Lori Cullen and Dala), and the piano and keyboard parts are also worthy of note.

Track listing
1 Our Time Again
2 Atlas Takes a Ride
3 God Don't Know Me Anymore
4 Charlie
5 Before You Get There
6 A Kiss for the Great Unknown
7 You Figured it Out
8 Homily
9 Don't Be Frustrated
10 Soul Kid
11 The Getaway
12 Elegy (how will I?)

£12.99