Morgan Finlay recently released his first EP, entitled Uppercut. Finlay covers a variety of musical styles over the course of 25-minute disc (and covers them well), ranging from rock to acoustic to funk/dance. The rocking leadoff track, "Zensong," bears a strong musical resemblance to fellow Canadian, Jeff Jones, with a tinge of Nickelback thrown in. This tune has an immediately familiar feel to it, and is the best thing on the CD. "In a Perfect World" finds the vocalist/guitarist dabbling in the funk, which he revisits later in a John Mayer sort of way on "A Lesson." "Flow" is a nice acoustic intro to the final track, "Everything Will Work Out Right."

The thing that puts this EP a cut above most of the independent releases we receive is the degree of professionalism--both in terms of production and packaging. It looks and sounds like a commercial disc. There's nothing particularly original or ground-breaking on Uppercut, but the important thing is that it shows potential.

To listen to samples of the tracks on Uppercut, or to purchase a copy of the CD, go to morganfinley.com.