Band comes together for CD sequel

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The title of the first song on the new CD by Burnt Project 1-"Tutte Insieme" (Italian for "all together")-is a very fitting one for the group, which takes bits and pieces from different musical styles and merges them into a sound that is uniquely its own.

Hometown is the follow-up CD to The Avenue, the highly successful album that garnered the Winnipeg-based band a number of awards and a lot of attention. The Avenue was named best rock album at the 2003 Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. At last year's event, Burnt Project 1 was named a Galaxie Rising Star.

There have been a few changes in membership of the band since The Avenue. The band has pared down a bit, dropping from nine members to seven. Lead vocalist David Boulanger, who also plays acoustic guitar on the album, is still with the group, as are Marc Baureiss on lead guitar, Atik Mason on bass guitar and alto sax and Neewa Mason on keyboard and back-up vocals. New to the mix are Dave Schmidt on tenor saxophone, Anthony Giancola handling percussion and David Cramer on harmonica.

There are also a few changes in the overall flavor of the album. Although the first cut of the album-an all-percussion number written by Giancola-harkens back to the sound of the group's previous album, gone are the strains of sitars and didgeridoos that gave The Avenue its world beat designation, replaced by a strong reliance on guitar and saxophone.

The sound of this new album blurs the dividing lines between funk, rock, jazz and blues, with Boulanger and his bandmates putting it all together yet again to provide another enjoyable listening experience.