The Party (Arts & Crafts/Anti-)

There is party music, and then there is Andy Shauf’s elegantly hushed new collection, The Party. Despite its boisterous title, the Saskatoon singer-songwriter’s third album is not something to run through the speakers when you want a bunch of butts to shake at your next get-together. Instead, it’s a thoughtful, luscious exercise in crowd-watching, one that highlights a series of wallflower moments at mixers.

Above a blend of on-the-beat piano, close-miked snare drum, and funk-lite bass lines, “Early to the Party” is all about social graces, or the lack thereof. Here, Shauf’s subtle croon details an overeager guest, “overdressed and underprepared”, who is seriously stressing out the host with his premature arrival.

Steeped in watery, mid-’70s textures, “Quite Like You” has a quiet guy noticing that a woman’s boyfriend is too stoned to give her any attention, leaving the narrator feeling gutsy enough to start up a convo and, unexpectedly, flirt with her. A steady, staccato piano line and seasick guitar drones ramp up the tension of “Alexander All Alone”, a song that takes a turn for the tragic when a club patron who goes outside for a smoke break suddenly drops dead.

Save for the symphonic string work, all of The Party was performed by Shauf, a master craftsman who traffics in a high-grade blend of Elliott Smith–style pop and low-key Canadiana. Shauf’s studio sleight of hand has made for one of the most mesmerizing releases of the year. By the time the dove-soft finale, “Martha Sways”, fades out, you’ll want to get The Party going again.