JJ Shiplett has long been one of my favourite voices in roots/americana/country music. And with his newest release, A Walk Through Time, the Canadian singer-songwriter has caught me again.

The album follows 2020’s Fingers Crossed and Crossed Fingers – and continues to highlight the way JJ tells stories, dives into emotional wells, and shares it all out in the open.

I’m having a hard time being objective about this album because I think I was waiting for it too much. I wanted it. I needed what I hoped it was going to bring to me.

I got what I wanted. What I guess I needed.

Since its release, I’ve listened to A Walk Through Time in my office through laptop speakers, on a Sunday morning in my living room through a Google hub while I drank coffee and watched my kid play Lego, and on my headphones, alone, with the voice and lyrics and feelings all to myself. They were all the right way to listen.

I think my favourite though, was that Sunday morning listening session. It was the perfect vibe and made me think of Sarah Burke’s Sunday Show on Indie88 (big love). It’s the right time if you’ve got the time to give it. It allows you to go in so many directions to so many country, roots, and rock artists when the album is finished at the end of You And I WIll Never End. Highly recommend this experience.

If you’re looking for my don’t miss tracks (so kind of you to ask), I’m going to point you to Oleander and Reckless Heart (back-to-back at tracks 2 & 3).

They are lovely. They are strong. They give me JJ’s voice in the ways I love it most. They make me wish for the opportunity to hear them live

Please don’t skip the rest of A Walk Through Time though. Make your coffee and sit with the whole thing.

The seven-track album only takes 28 minutes to listen to but it doesn’t leave you when you’re done. And that’s the beauty of it.

JJ Shiplett, A Walk Through Time Tracklist

1. Already There
2. Oleander
3. Reckless Heart
4. American Accent
5. Modern Drugs
6. Bad Feelings
7. You And I Will Never End

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Joshua Murray

creator of content, daddy blogger, writer, coffee drinker, fan of the Batman. proud mo bro. prouder dad.

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Trish Cassling

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