Skinny Dyck

Resist the urge to laugh at Skinny Dyck - the alias of western Canadian artist Ryan Dyck (or don’t, that’s kind of the idea). Marinating in the success of his off-brand twang is a new batch of Easygoing material that sees the celebrated songwriter stepping further away from a genre defined by its traditions. A sort of Mac Demarco meets Merle Haggard mishmash, like a second mezcal negroni before dinner. Dyck has steadily “carved out a space that resists easy categorization” (Tinnitist) with a project where traditional signifiers stand with left-field production choices and a restless sense of curiosity. Following steady Canadian and European touring - with recent stops at Calgary Folk Festival, Reeperbahn, the Great Escape to name a few - Easygoing sees Dyck moving a few steps further away from the country music environs he once wholly inhabited, but fear not, twang fans: rather than replacing that sound wholesale, he and his studio collaborators have instead created their own hybrid approaches, “distilling the spirit of wide-cut country” (Exclaim!) with a willingness to stand as a singular artist in a style that often rewards similarity.