Listening to Two Half Words, I couldn’t settle on a word to best describe it. However, after multiple listens, I think the word that seems the most accurate to me is ‘captivating.’ Made up of nine tracks, Sam Tudor’s latest album mesmerises you from the first to the last. Each track is a beautiful blend of heavenly vocals and full, rich instrumentals.

Although Sam Tudor is the leading vocalist and songwriter, this project brings together musicians from across Canada, which is why there are so many different voices and instrumental styles throughout — each one complimenting the others perfectly.

There are beautiful solos spanning multiple tones and timbres, on tracks like “Everybody’s Keeping Their Word” or “Two Half Words,” and different musical styles are represented throughout. There is definitely a strong jazz influence in the music, but the hints of indie, folk and experimental all peak through too.

Because of the varying elements — be it instruments, genres, or voices — that are brought together in each track, each song brings you into a new world.

It seems that Tudor was intentional in the world-building aspect of his sound, as it was mirrored in his album’s release. On Sam Tudor’s website, there is an interactive space in which you can navigate different rooms (think first-person shooter games without any guns) to see pictures from the musician’s life, while listening to each song — something that really brings alive that other-worldliness. Not only are the sounds of this album beautiful, the lyrics and visuals are too.

It is rare that I listen to an album and like every single song, yet here I am, loving each track on this one. This album is absolutely brilliant. —Valie