The Grand Bounce by Gord Downie & the Country of Miracles

The Grand Bounce, the third solo album from Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, came out through Universal on June 8, 2010. He took the title from Evan S. Connell's Son of the Morning Star, which he was reading at the time and where the phrase refers to desertion. Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla produced it, a pairing that started with a backstage run-in at the Pemberton Festival in 2008, and the whole thing was cut in two weeks at the Bathouse, the Hip's own studio in Kingston, Ontario.

The Country of Miracles are old hands by now, having backed Downie on Coke Machine Glow and Battle of the Nudes: Julie Doiron on vocals, guitar and bass, Josh Finlayson on bass and guitar, Dale Morningstar on lead guitar, Dave Clark on drums and Dr. Pee on keys. They give him a ragged, roomy alt-rock sound to wander around in, and "The East Wind" is the song that blew onto the countdowns.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.