The best new American band of the year may very well be Canadian. As its name suggests, Toronto's Blue Rodeo mixes bluesy guitar and cowboy laments – as does a slew of recent bands. But what separates Blue Rodeo from the pack is the ambition of the songwriting by Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy, who share lead-guitarist and lead-vocalist duties, and the confidence of the playing. Rather than the usual empty three-minute ditties, Outskirts delivers four-to-seven-minute dramas, drawing on Springsteen-like themes of desperate lives and broken dreams, spiced with roots-rock jangling guitars and Bobby Wiseman's peppy keyboards.

From the very opening notes, Blue Rodeo displays an inventiveness within its genre; instead of the usual wall of twang, "Heart Like Mine" starts with a cappella harmonies, joined by Wiseman's Acetone chords; then Cleave Anderson's no-nonsense drumming kicks in, and vintage-Sixties organ fills propel the love-lost raveup.

Then comes "Rose-Coloured Glasses," the album's best track. Keelor sings that while he sees "a world that's tired and scared/Of living on the edge too long," his girlfriend only sees "painted skies and graceful romances." His plight is both recognizable and sing-along-able as he wonders, "Day after day/I keep hanging around, can you tell me why/Night after night I know I should leave/But there's something in those eyes."

Most daring are the two extended tracks on Outskirts, "Piranha Pool" and "Floating," which interweave long, moody solos and shark-infested lyrics. Such efforts are somewhat undercut by the slightly snotty liner notes, which include a weird piece of fiction about a "Rodeo Boy" who lives in "Rodeo Village" and, before the lyrics to "Floating," an introduction about how William Holden died in Sunset Boulevard floating in a pool and in real life floating in a pool of blood. It's the kind of explanation that probably works in concert but seems condescending in print. Besides, Blue Rodeo is good enough simply to let the music do the talking; one hopes the band won't be playing on the outskirts much longer. (RS 528)

DAVID HANDELMAN