The landlocked nation of Bolivia is described by Lonely Planet as "among the earth's coldest, warmest, windiest and steamiest spots".
That this should be one of Ben Sures' chosen holiday destinations therefore seems appropriate since his idiosyncratic songs are stuffed full of such contrasts. Everybody Matters is, for example, a kind of anti-folk celebration of diversity dedicated to life's "winners and failers" which includes hookers, peaceniks, drunkards and teetotallers.
The album's cover artwork depicts a grinning skeleton serenading a red-haired girl. This image makes you think you might be in store for some quirky world music and, at a push, you could describe Gone To Bolivia in these terms as the songs cover a broad geographical range.
Sures won in the best folk song category of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in 2005 for Any Precious Girl but, despite a recording career spanning 20 years, his success to date can best be described as modest.
This album is unlikely to change that although he doesn't seem unduly worried by this fact as it's overall tone is more jaunty than jaded.
It features backing vocals from Rhoda Stakish, Kathryn Rose, Michelle Rumball and the Good Lovelies while country-ish instrumental backing comes from John Showman on violin, Tim Bovaconti (from Ron Sexsmith's band) on pedal steel and members of the Creaking Tree String Quartet.
The songs are , to borrow a line from the title tune, "a blend of ideology and personal experience" . Despite the bouncy beats and breezy tone, they often contain sharp socio-political observations.
In a song called In Burma, for example, he uses black humour to describe the country's tragic situation: "if the junta doesn't get you, the cyclone will" while American Shanty Town, the opening track, offers a less than reassuring message about the 'land of the free', reflecting pointedly "if there's trouble in America, then there's trouble everywhere".
The song Columbus Sailed Here is semi-autobiographical in that it was inspired by his time working on a cruise ship.
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But while in this song he sings about being from America, Sures is actually Canadian. The fact that he is an 'outsider' doubtless explains how he can see there's something not quite right about the sight of desperate third-world citizens clamouring for American products.
This also puts into perspective the line "money doesn't make you a moral authority" on the title track.
More personal songs include High School Steps, an ode to Ray Davies and The Kinks, and a song about his first love (Her Prince).
The one non-original is a cover of Mose Allison's slow blues ballad Everybody's Crying Mercy. To appease Canadian bi-linguists he throws in one French song Embrasse Papa, Fais Dodo.
Singing barbed lyrics in a cheery voice is a hard act to pull off well and a certain smugness creeps in on many of the songs. Sures is at his best when not trying to be too clever and where the message is simple.
This is why my favourite track is Postcards. This is the final track and , in it, the expressed desire to travel and have fun seems a modest enough ambition until you realise it is the dream of someone stuck in a rut in a small town, a man who aspires to be "fearless with a heart that's true, not be the jerk you're married to".
Despite some provocative lyrics, Gone To Bolivia is too playful in tone to ruffle many feathers. It's a warm and friendly record which signs off with spoken word messages from Sures and all who contributed to the album as if to ensure that we part company on the best possible terms.
Ben Sures' Website
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