Ryan Boldt, lead singer of the Saskatoon alt-folk country trio, Deep Dark Woods, always sounds like he’s forever haunted, and that statement could not ring truer during the latest album, The Circle Remains. Even when he’s crooning about love during the opener “Ruby,” while a bright acoustic guitar and slide harmonize, he sounds melancholy, almost to the point of tears. He’s a kind of sad, dusty cowboy with the kind of vocal gravitas that makes the listener really feel each verse and vibrato he sings. 

Deep Dark Woods should be a household name in Canada at this point, being constantly nominated for the Junos between the 2012 record, The Place I Left Behind, and 2019’s Yarrow. It’s because of the band’s consistent, pleasing instrumentation—a jumpy country-tinged folk with a few sprightly moments, like the grooving organ and piano outro of “Many Days of Leisure,” or the ‘50s-tinged female choir vocals on the interlude “Keep Your Hands on the Throttle.” But it’s always Boldt’s voice that stops you in your tracks, a metaphorical gunshot to your heart and ears. The Circle Remains is a little triumph of nine tracks for Deep Dark Woods, perfect for both new fans and people who have been following them since their self-titled 2006 debut.