True Believer is the new release from Toronto-based singer-songwriter Matthew Barber. For this, his fourth full-length album and follow-up to the internationally acclaimed and Juno-nominated record Ghost Notes (2008, Outside Music), Barber enlisted producer and local hero Howie Beck (Hayden, Jason Collett) to man the helm. The result has been an artistic alchemy that takes Barber's trademark melodies to new heights.

True Believer is an uplifting record, continuing the trajectory that began with Ghost Notes. Of course there are pensive moments - Barber, after all, made his name crafting beautiful but heartbreaking "sad" songs on earlier records like Means and Ends (2003, Paper Bag) and Sweet Nothing (2005, Warner) - but the overarching themes of love, hope and wonderment ultimately carry the day.

Stylistically, True Believer doesn't deviate radically from Barber's previous albums, but the presentation is markedly more crisp and confident. It's also diverse: True Believer is a hearty homemade soup with a broth heavily steeped in the rock'n'roll singer-songwriter tradition of Young, Petty, Dylan and Springsteen; yet it features dashes of the ashes of Hank Williams, the soul of Al Green, the spirit of Paul Simon and the timeless essence of The Band.

"On this record, Howie and I aimed to get the songs across in a clear and direct way by letting the lyrics, melodies and rhythm do the work and only adding embellishments when it was really called for," says Barber. "The result is a mixture of stripped-down live performances and more produced tracks that hopefully live together as part of a unified musical statement."

The opening track "I Think You're Gonna Feel My Love" is a Wilbury-esque pop romp with hooks-a-plenty that sets the tone for what is to come; "Revolution of The Sun" is a meditation on the passage of time inspired by the rite of thanksgiving, musically reminiscent of a 70's Lennon ballad; "While Away" is an ode to a lazy summer day and features a gorgeous vocal contribution from Matthew's sister, the accomplished chanteuse Jill Barber; "Hawks On The Highway" proves that Barber hasn't completely given up on fist-pumping rockers, this one lamenting but accepting the inevitable death of the road-trip in an age of shifting environmental consciousness. "Got That Lonesome Feeling On My Mind" (from the original play Haunted Hillbilly for which Barber composed the music) pays homage to the song-stylings of a bygone era;"Comeback Baby" tells the story of a man driven mad by the siren song of a flirtatious bird to whom he has a mysterious attraction; "Insanity or Death">alternates between introspection and an outward despair for a world that seems increasingly insane; "The Little Things" is a tender reflection on what really matters in life; and "Suddenly" is an ode to the dignity of a long life lived and the bittersweet memories of those who soldier on in the wake of loss.

The album was recorded largely in Howie Beck's small but classy 4 Walls studio in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood, after laying down the bed tracks at Canterbury Sound with veteran engineer Jeremy Darby. Beck and Barber played almost everything with Beck handling the drums, some percussion and most of the bass, while Barber handled the vocals, guitar, piano and percussion. For the fancier parts, some of Toronto's finest musicians were called in including Dean Drouillard on lead guitar, Jesse O'Brien on piano, Daniel Stone on percussion, Paul Mathew on upright bass and a crack horn section led by Bryden Baird.

True Believer marks Barber's second release on Toronto-based Outside Music, and plans are being set for him to tour Canada, the U.S., Europe, Australia and beyond in support of this fine record.