Nevertheless

With the release of Nevertheless, Canada sends another chanteuse to America. Christine Fellows, however, is more Joanna Newsom than Feist. Fellows’ eccentricities are matched only by the number of instruments she employs on this, her fourth studio release. Cello, piano, mandolin, vibraphone and more populate these 15 tracks, but, to her credit, Fellows’ compositions never feel cluttered. Surprisingly minimal, songs such as “The Goddess of Macramé” and the instrumental “A Pantry Ballet” are refreshingly spare and somber parlor-pop tunes with the former showcasing Fellows’ quirky lyrical flair with the opening line “Goddess of the owl and the paperweight” delivered with hallowed significance. But Fellows can have fun, too, as the bubbly title track would attest, and fans of Rasputina might appreciate the witty, baroque romanticism of “Yours, and With Ever Grateful Wonder.” Nevertheless can be a bit too cute for its own good, but Fellows is charming enough to pull it off. This may be the beginning of a memorable affair.