Summing up a noteworthy year in music

ROMI MAYES SWEET SOMETHIN' STEADY (INDIE)

With tales of life on the road (sometimes the wrong one), fair-weather friends,religion, separation and longing, Mayes sounds like a soul who has lived and endured life. Sometimes it's dark, sometimes it's beautiful and often it's raw and gritty, but the Winnipegger always impresses on this stark, rootsy album.