Alex Maher
Aether (Independent)

Sometimes the world gets so overwhelming you just want to kick back at home with a cocktail, fire up a roaster, and chill until it all seems better. Alex Maher seems like the kind of guy who can relate.

The Vancouver music-scene veteran first surfaced in Flannel Jimmy in the late ’90s, later forming hip-hop fusionists DNA6 in the ’00s. Aether showcases his classy rebranding as a one-man band who performs live over loops and beats with guitar and saxophone.

Considering he’s not exactly new to the game, it shouldn’t surprise that Maher comes off like a polished pro, with “No One Else” made for heat-hazed summer sunrises and “Say 2.0” giving cheeba-fried jazz a reggaefied backbeat.

Add in the harmony-heavy “The Light” and you’ve got great go-to music for your next road trip down the California coast, especially that stretch between Westport and Little River where the Pacific Ocean shines like an endless sea of diamonds. Then again, you could also just stay home, cue up the smooth-sax jam “Submarine”, fire up the bong, and make it a double on the Yellow Bird front.

When the smokey-voiced Maher sings “I’ve been hiding from the sky/Staying home and getting high,” you’ll have no trouble relating.