Day for Night

By Day for Night, the blues-caked grit and ragged glory that fueled The Hip’s early records had flourished into a new boldness of vision. You can instantly sense it on the opening “Grace, Too,” which coolly rolls in on a steady, stalking drum beat before Gord Downie’s trembling vocals summon a tsunami-like guitar surge; the band weave similar magic on “Greasy Jungle,” whose chilled intro yields a punchy rocker topped with an ecstatic chorus of “ahhhhs.” But the album’s high point is undoubtedly “Nautical Disaster,” a Crazy Horse-whipped epic that stands as the most captivating performance of Downie’s career.