As one of the most outstanding talents we’ve heard in quite some time, Canada’s Andy Shauf offers up a timeless mix of melody, voice and lyrics that as comfortable as it is impressive. The Saskatchewan-born singer/songwriter began playing in bands at the age of 14 and dropped three EPs before he hit his twenties.

The mature-before-his-years cliche might very well have been invented for Shauf and long-player The Bearer of Bad News engenders the same feelings in us as Fleet Foxes’ first record.

“I think spirituality is a part of life whether you are religious or not, even if you’re just superstitious,” he says of the themes that permeate his latest album. “You can’t really get away from the fact that we don’t know everything.”

We met Shauf at Brighton’s Great Escape festival for a performance of album standout “Wendell Walker”, a near 8-minute song that captivates from open to close.