Jennifer Castle has nothing to prove. For 20 years, she has steadily released albums of sharply observed, impeccably performed folk and alt-country, each of them not merely confident but seemingly unconcerned with anything outside of honing her musical expression. Along the way she has won over high-profile fans, from U.S. Girls and The Weather Station to Dan Bejar and Daniel Romano — the last of whom even recorded a song called “Jennifer Castle” in 2017. Polaris Prize shortlisted and critically admired, you could forgive Castle for coasting if she felt so inclined.

All of which makes her most recent album, 2024’s Camelot, even more remarkable. Castle’s songwriting has always felt timeless, but with Camelot, she’s crafted a true classic, a meditation on middle age, mythology, faith and the pleasure of doing chores in your underwear — in short, the range of human experience. Following the restraint of 2020’s strictly solo Monarch Season, recorded pre-pandemic but aptly reflecting that year’s isolation, Camelot is a bold move in the opposite direction. Its expansive lyrical themes are echoed in ambitious arrangements, veering effortlessly from delicate whispers to full-on country-rock choogle.

You may have heard one of the album’s most moving moments without realizing it: slow-burning ballad “Blowing Kisses” plays in its entirety in the third season of hit series The Bear, executive produced by celebrity chef, actor, and Castle’s former restaurant coworker Matty Matheson. It’s a well-deserved moment in the sun for an artist who has seemed content to stick to quieter paths, and an excellent reminder of what makes her one of Canada’s finest songwriters — not that she needed to prove it.

- Peter Hemminger