CHARACTER TRAITS | VINYL RECORD (LP)

Logan Richard, Logan Richard is one of music's rarest creatures-a compelling and diverse songwriter who also shreds. The P.E.I.-born-and-based artist has been sharpening both skills since he first picked up the guitar as a pre-teen, building a reputation as a deft, genre-fluid songsmith and peerless hired gun for some of Canada's most exciting musicians. But his new full-length, Character Traits, collects the undeniable evidence of his talents under his own name as he navigates slick pop, spacey R&B, and soulful folk. As the thesis song and title track attests, he's a 21st-century renaissance man in both skill and style. Influenced by his axe-slinging brother, artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Mayer, his dad's record collection, and his Acadian mom's fiddle-playing family, Logan hit the stage at just 12 years old, cutting his teeth playing gigs around the island he still calls home. He's built his career as both a solo artist and in-demand live and session player, racking up experience over more than a decade and playing everywhere from dim blues dives to historical soft-seaters. "'Character Traits' was the very last song that I wrote for the record. It came together in one sitting, which doesn't happen to me very often," Logan says. "That song tied everything together-I don't think there are any two songs on the album that sound super similar to each other. Each song touches on a different genre and lyrical theme. They all represent separate little character traits. They all reveal different aspects of who I am." Character Traits is the inevitable result of commitment to craft. It is a collection of considered and close-to-the-heart songs that provide a detailed picture of a songwriter hitting his stride.