Every song that Aaron Karpinka writes is a hall of mirrors. At each turn you’re faced with a jarring reflection of yourself. They are unpredictable, hilarious, distorted, and wholly mesmerizing. One moment you’re larger than life and the next you’re stretched too thin. You’re 10 feet tall and then you’re reduced to a fraction of your self. And yet every song resolves with a sense clarity.

The Saskatoon based singer-songwriter cut his teeth as one half of Karpinka Brothers, with whom he shared the stage with everyone from Gordon Lightfoot to John K Samson. In January of 2020 he released his debut solo album ‘Tenderheart.’ And then, like literally everyone else, his life was thrown into a tailspin. The subsequent tour dates were postponed. And then posted again. Aaron was also a frontline essential worker, managing a grocery store serving the Broadway community. He watched the stress and uncertainty bring out the best in people. And then the worst in people. He retreated to songwriting to help himself through it.

The results are his sophomore album, ‘The Current’. The songs are braver, brasher, and more telling than his previous outing. He drags a fine tooth comb through subjects like mental health, alcoholism, and social posturing. Through it all love is always the message. ‘The Current’ is both the poison arrow and the antidote. It’s thoughtful, goofy, awkward, and daringly sincere. Heart melting songs about devotion somehow nestle up comfortably next songs about pop culture cyborg assassins.