Ex-Northern Pike Swims Solo by Mike Ross, Edmonton Sun, Saturday, July 29, 2000

HEARTBREAKTHROUGH
Bryan Potvin

(Universal)

One can only really tell where the talent of a great band lies after its members have quit to go solo. How sad. It was obvious from Lindsay Buckingham's solo work where many of Fleetwood Mac's most interesting ideas came from. Same for Peter Gabriel and Genesis.

In the case of the Northern Pikes - which is back together (for now) - guitarist Bryan Potvin turns out to be a more formidable talent than some may have given him credit for.

His solo debut album, basically a 10-step program for dealing with a broken heart, is filled with clever melodies, lush arrangements and a crafty pop sensibility groomed for the radio - not that there's anything wrong with it. It's all here: love, hate, pain, bitterness, jealousy. The result leaves little doubt who dumped who. If it's fiction, it's pretty convincing.

Even melodramatic moments resonate with emotional honesty, like What Will I Do?, painting a portrait of a breakup so fresh she hasn't even picked up her stuff yet. Potvin sings, plaintively, "What will I do with all the things you gave me? I guess I'll pack them up in boxes and store them in this empty heart of mine." Whew. Have a drink, man.

There are rockers here that have some of that Pikes' energy, but the best of the lot is the ballad, Heaven Is What You Leave Behind, and its haunting chorus that evokes Elvis Costello, the king of the heartbreak song.
If Potvin, Jay Semko and the rest of the Pikes get back in the studio, I bet they're going to be stronger than ever.