Dan Wilkie’s sixteen-song album, "MelodyBox," arrives not with a neat bow but feeling more like an overstuffed cabinet of curiosities flung open by its Shefford-based creator. Wilkie, working solo as a multi-instrumentalist and producer, wrangles virtual instruments and real vulnerability into something uniquely his own, steeped in the melodic hooks of 60s/70s pop but often taking sharp turns down less-travelled, sometimes shadowed paths. https://open.spotify.com/album/0EX2aW7d7JSQ2xonrFDGvZ?si=XRwACPuoRW2vG_PAITRfyg The album...

Some songs grab you by the collar, but "Not Country Enough For You" sneaks up on you. It starts quiet, almost hesitant, before wrapping around you like a heavy blanket. The immediate vibe is one of late-night introspection, the kind of feeling you get when you are driving alone with the windows down and nowhere to be. It is a track that demands your attention...