Iz Cox

Former Sellout$ singer, spoken word artist and all-around Montreal performer Iz Cox presents an eight-track disc of largely improvised words and music. Cox's dynamic, Erykah Badu-istic voice is the centrepiece, tackling melancholy pop and a couple of jazzy trip-hop numbers with effective, minimal instrumentation, played and produced by Bob Eaglesham. The improv nature of the pieces doesn't detract much from the quality, save perhaps for the awkward lyrics on "Crying Cowboy," but one can't help but wonder how much stronger Cox could be with a proper plan.