Montreal-based alt-folk crooner Jim Audet returns with new EP "Things Have Gone from Bad to Worse." Featured single "The Buzzman" combines a sticky hook on the bass guitar and an edgy, orchestral production style. Building from an acoustic guitar, live drums, and his signature honey-coated baritone vocal, Audet builds a gorgeous affair of swirling melody and lyrical intrigue into a statement about the showdown between artistic inspiration and the greedy forces of commercial appropriation.

With references that range from Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell to Spoon, Audet mixes elements of punk with earthy folk vibes to create a sound that feels both mysterious and deeply accessible. "The Buzzman" quickly illustrates the qualities that make Audet's music so unique: an acute attention to detail shows itself in the effortless counterpoint between guitar, bass, and drums, while the added elements that include strings, percussion, and a horn section are used to intense and genuine effect. The end result is a dynamic sonic experience that feels like an instant classic, as we rise and fall in concert with the temporal ether of innovation itself.

Somebody put out the fire
There's footsteps in the sand
They come from the buzzman
And they want to know - where was he sent from?

This song is featured on our Roots Collection playlist.