Toronto singer-songwriter Jonathan Davies performs in parallel worlds, one recognizably song structured, the other breaking its rules in unpredictable ways. Songs like “Parallel Elton” and “Beethoven Girl” wear the cleverness gene like a They Might Be Giants deep cut. They’re based on fun concepts with music that makes us stretch beyond the ordinary but still, we can easily follow along. But others like “Runalong Sue” make us work a little harder, morphing halfway through from a Randy Newman kind of story song to something else completely. Needle-dropping across Davies’ bandcamp pages one is tempted to paste a musical theatre label across his ouvre, given its penchant for story exposition and social commentary. “When Larry Jon Played” has a very Lyle Lovett country storytelling style while “Devil’s Cleft” casts its story with a more acoustic folk guitar feel. You definitely get a Broadway sense of musical tension on “Venus, Our Neighbour.”

But the theatre angle doesn’t quite capture everything Davies is offering up. Songs like “Wilson Siding,” “Give a Penny, Take and Penny,” and “Lipstick Smears” all reach for a more commercial folk pop sheen we might associate with Paul Simon or Harry Nilsson or Suzanne Vega. They’re hooky, lingering, sonically sophisticated. By contrast “Incorrigible Germany” leans on the smarts, like Randy Newman but without the cheek. Others like “Until I’ve Heard You Sing” and “Those Eyes: A Coming-Of-Age Novelty Ballad” are touching in their confessional directness and musical simplicity. Davies also writes, sings and records in French. I don’t what he’s on about in “Ton histoire reste a raconteur” but I love the sonic groove he’s got going.

Back in 2015 Davies claimed (in song) that he’d “Already Written All My Good Songs.” But given what we’ve heard here it’s apparent that wasn’t true. Here’s hoping he’ll continue to prove himself wrong.

Check out his worlds of music at his website and bandcamp locations.