Formerly Scott B. Sympathy, and still led by one Mr. Scott B., Toronto’s the Sympathy crafted a quiet, unassuming minor classic in Long Way Down. The title track fuzzes up guitars for a slow-burn, seven-minute, Crazy Horse-inflected spiral to the gutter (the debut Scott B. Sympathy album was, after all, titled Neil Younge Street); “Guardian Angel” oversees a wrestling match between barrelhouse piano and overdrive mutant blues guitar; “Bask in the Glory” juggles acoustic and electric layers over a near-perfect three-minute slice of folk-rock. And so it goes — “I’m Just Dreaming” and “Don’t Wait for Me” revisit the elegant touch of “Aquamarine Blue” while “Distress” and “Purple Joe” wind up the tension to Junkhouse/Horse levels of audio paranoia. Nothing earth shattering or revolutionary, just a dozen hits of tasty, earthy, roots & roll from an honest band with subtle melodic flair. – Roch Parisien
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