Pop - Bryan Potvin by Darryl Sterdan, Winnipeg Sun. August, 2000

Solo, Heartbreakthrough (Klementine / Universal) With Northern Pikes, Live (Square Dog)

Fans of The Northern Pikes have plenty to celebrate.

Five years after the Prairie pop-rockers called it a day, guitarist and singer Bryan Potvin is back with a pair of new discs one with his former colleagues and one without.

Which to choose? Well, we recommend starting with Heartbreakthrough, his winning new solo album.

It's brimming with charmingly heartfelt, hook-laden roots-pop gems like Read Between the Lines and Too Late, whose jangly guitars and twangy vocals will remind you a bit of Tom Petty or John Hiatt.

To keep from being accused of being one-dimensional and derivative, Potvin tosses in a few trip-hoppy beats and tender ballads.

Of course, maybe the only thing you want to be reminded of is how the Pikes sounded. In that case, look for Live, taped during this spring's reunion tour.

It skips the rockier hits like She Ain't Pretty for older, softer fare such as Better Twice and Wait for Me, although Jackie T kicks up her heels quite nicely.

Oh, and there's one new track, the ballad Out of Love. Either way, Pikeheads can't lose.