His seventh and latest album, Moth Nor Rust II, (Fallen Tree Records, 2019, September 13), revisits his 2009 solo acoustic set, Moth Nor Rust, with 10 years of artistic maturity and his new band, Jon Brooks & The Outskirts of Approval. The original Moth Nor Rust scratched the itch for an uplifting digression from darker earlier themes of urban disappointment in No Mean City (2006), by Canadian war and post traumatic stress stories in Ours and the Shepherds (2007). Moth Nor Rust became a fan favourite because it was the cadence that resolved his first two albums’ tensions by asking, what is it that makes us positively human? Brooks’ answer, borrowing from Matthew 6.19-20: all that neither moth nor rust can touch. Moth Nor Rust II was engineered and produced by the original engineer, Jason LaPrade and co-produced by Brooks’ longtime friend and musical compadre, Neil Cruickshank. In Jon's words, “The song is an art form that operates in time and 10 years has a way of transforming the song in ways worthy of revisiting.” The Outskirts of Approval include Joe Ernewein (electric guitar and pedal steel), John Showman (violin), and Vivienne Wilder (upright bass and vocals).
