Waxing Romantic is the debut album from Canadian artist Travis Bretzer. Hailing from Edmonton, Alberta, 24-year-old Bretzer has an appropriately singular, off-beat take on guitar pop. An adroit songwriter and true troubadour, Travis sidesteps easy pigeonholing. On his debut EP Making Love (Mexican Summer, 2013) he managed to touch on the new-pop of Orange Juice, the playful idiosyncrasies of Prefab Sprout, with a freewheeling sensibility present in much of the Stiff Records catalog. Above all, Making Love displayed some truly sophisticated songwriting that belied its occasionally haphazard bedroom production and casual delivery.

On Waxing Romantic, Travis has stepped up the production in a big way, graduating from the bedroom to a full studio environment. Recorded at Gary’s Electric in Brooklyn and produced by Jorge Elbrecht the new environment has allowed for Travis’ songs to be taken to new, fully-realized heights.

The move to the studio also feels very in keeping with the sonic inspiration Travis had for the album, which came in part from memories of rifling through his parents’ soft-rock LPs: think Gerry Rafferty, Al Stewart, Christopher Cross, The Eagles. With their warm drums and smooth, clean studio sound informing Travis’ sonic palette, it makes sense that Gary’s Electric became the venue for the album recording.

‘It sounds like pina coladas and an afternoon spent woozily wandering around, slightly tipsy from said cocktails, hand-in-hand with a beautiful partner in crime.’ Noisey

‘Travis Bretzer’s music has the effect of transporting listeners into a cloudy, ether-effect chamber, like Doctor Who scouring the skies while on valium. Nostalgia swims around, with melodies sharp enough to survive any decade.’DIY