CD REVIEW B Borzykowski NOW Magazine| JUNE 21 - 27, 2007 | VOL. 26 NO. 42 Reviewed this week: THE UNDESIRABLES Doghouse Dreams (independent) Rating: NNNN (OUT OF 4) There are intimate records, and then there's Doghouse Dreams by Georgetown, Ontario, duo the Undesirables. Sean Cotton and Corin Raymond have since moved to Toronto, but this stripped-down disc sounds like it was recorded right on their rural Canadian porch. Combining blues, ragtime and country with touching lyrics about their hometown, this disc is a great summer cottage listen – especially the boozy opener This Town. While the gritty, Kid Rock-like choruses and infectious harmonies are worth a listen alone, it's the warm production – it sounds like they're playing right in front of you – and simple arrangements that make this a memorable listen. THE UNDESIRABLES At this very moment, The Undesirables are probably down at The Rogue Studios in their hometown of Toronto, Ontario, delivering the vocals for their new album, Traveling Show. They may well be singing on the duet they wrote with Dala, their favourite other Toronto duo, with whom they've been teaming up. It's just as likely they're planning their third tour of Australia with David Ross Macdonald, another co-conspirator, who, incidentally, will be opening for the duo at Hugh's Room when they officially launch their latest effort (Traveling Show) on Friday, October 9th, 2009. Traveling Show is the duo's third album to date, and they're already planning to record their fourth, Cancer Shoes, in Australia in April 2010, with producer Mick Wordley (The Yearlings, Chris Whitely, Jeff Lang). If they're not planning their September '09 tour of B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, they're probably working on those songs right now. Corin Raymond is folk's only front man. He's a storyteller whose audiences make themselves cozy in the palm of his hand, and as a singer he sweats for his payload like any worker in soul. When he's not sweating for The Undesirables, Corin is singing his own songs, behind a rhythm guitar, with his band The Sundowners. He released his newest solo effort, There Will Always Be A Small Time, in May, 2009. One of Corin's songs will be published in the July issue of Sing Out! magazine. Sean Cotton is The Undesirables' one-man band, a secret weapon in the world of guitar players, and it's no surprise that he also plays with Treasa Levasseur, another peer with whom The Undesirables have schemed, dreamed, toured and triumphed. Treasa sings with The Undies on their second album, Doghouse Dreams, and she has also included an Undesirables song on both her albums to date. She makes no secret of the fact she plans to record 'Fill Me Up With Sound', another from the duo's catalogue, on her third album. The Undesirables are without a record label or an agency, and yet they are touring extensively at home, and further abroad each year. They've become festival favourites in Ontario and in Australia. Their growing coterie of fans are making up their own minds about what The Undesirables bring to their craft, to the stage, and to their audiences. When their new album Traveling Show is released, the duo will often be appearing as a trio, incorporating drummer Adam Warner on a stripped-down kit, throwing their showmanship and stage-energy to new heights. The Undesirables are plotting to entertain you, dear reader, even as you absorb these words. Singer-songwriter Jonathan Byrd (North Carolina) had this to say: "The Undesirables. From Toronto, Canada. Two grown men, one guitar, and a natural disaster. These guys rock harder than rock bands. Visceral, deeply soulful, hand-clapping, foot-stomping, laughing out loud music. Being in the room with them is like standing in the engine room of an ocean freighter pulling 20 knots. There are rumours of a Texas tour in the works for them. Texas is going to freak out. Any of my fans out there, go see them. If I have misled you, I will personally refund your ticket."