Jon McKiel

McKiel reminds me a lot artists like The Stills and Andrew Bird with his intriguing lyrics and suck-you-in melodies.

When I listen to McKiel, I imagine myself trekking through the frozen tundra of the Arctic one minute and the next, I'm walking around a small mid-western American town. Not really sure what that even means, but I'm enjoying it. - Circles of Concrete

This guy is a "real deal" singer songwriter who will be among the next wave of great Canadian imports to charm the US music community. - Earvolution.com

"Jon McKiel's dark alt-rock may have something of the shoegazer to it, but I found it just the thing for driving around the city streets in an angry funk, with its moody sounds and aware lyrics." - Blogcritics

"This record is a concise 10 songs, clocking in at just about 33 minutes and it does more than so many other records I heard this year....I'm not exactly sure how he hasn't become a household name (if your house resides in Blogtown)." - Hero Hill

"The Nature of Things" by Canadian singer/songwriter Jon McKiel and his band is a great indie pop find. Their label emailed me a couple weeks ago to check it out and I did. It is great! The whole record is good solid indie pop." - Don Relyea

"The Nature Of Things and McKiel's sound reminds me of the seeming subtleties of the Silent Years and The Slip with all the right amounts of pop in it to make for great sing-a-long music." - BBQCHICKENROBOT

"11 tracks, 36 minutes, one solid indie rock record. Those are the results of nearly two years of hard word from Jon McKiel and his bandmates. One need only hear the first track, "War On You," to figure out why. It's a simple, upbeat song not unlike a classic from Pedro the Lion that sounds worn-in, as though the band has been playing it for decades." - eMusic

"The best word to describe Jon McKiel's The Nature of Things is tasteful. The second go-round from the Canadian singer/songwriter makes the most of crystal-clear production and thoughtful arrangements to showcase McKiel's highly refined garage-folk." - Synthesis Magazine

"His music is on the dark side of shoegazer, featuring moody hooks and introspective themes. It's reasonably accessible, but doesn't bend over too far to grab your ears: There's catchy stuff here, but most of it will make you concentrate a little too hard for me to call it indie pop. But I'd definitely call it indie. And I'd definitely call it worth a listen, too." - Berkeley Place

"Vancouver's David Suzuki has become Canada's best known environmentalist over the past 29 years as the host of CBC-TV's The Nature Of Things. Halifax's Jon McKiel is hoping to become Canada's best known singer/songwriter with the Feb. 12 release of his second record, The Nature Of Things.

McKiel's vocals and guitar are joined on the record by the instrumental contributions of bandmates Josh Kogon (bass), Cory LeBlanc (drums), Mike D'Eon (guitar) and Colin Crowell (synthesizer and trumpet).

McKiel's rootsy pop album will be released by Santa Barbara, California's Wednesday Records. The follow-up to his 2006 self-titled debut was recorded at the former location of Boston's famed Fort Apache Studios, where the Pixies, Radiohead and Dinosaur Jr. had gone before him. It was mastered at Toronto's Lacquer Channel by Noah Mintz (The Dears, Stars)." - Chart Attack Magazine