The first thing you'll notice about Ottawa's Claude Munson is his startlingly beautiful voice. He sports a near-falsetto similar to Antony Hegarty or Harriet Wheeler of The Sundays. His voice is the skeleton upon which The Storm Outside's body rests. The band itself plays the sort of baroque roots-pop similar to the work of The Great Lake Swimmers or Iron and Wine without dipping too much into the depressing end of the genre. The band adds hints of upbeat jangle-pop, blues harmonica and even bits of electronica to the mix. Munson's voice is amazingly expressive, soft and lilting where it needs to be and incorporates a slight edge with a bit of power when necessary. The album is a rich experience. It's playful, it's thoughtful and, most importantly, isn't eminently listenable. Munson should be poised to break out of the Ottawa scene and into the Canadian consciousness very soon, and it will be all of Canada's gain!