Ayla Brook (pronounced Ey-Lah) makes music as raw and vast as the Canadian prairies and as broad and deep as the Pacific Ocean. From his remote conception in BC's Refuge Cove, to his upbringing in Lily Plain, Saskatchewan, to forming The Sound Men in the prairie capital city of Edmonton, Ayla has never wavered from his original vision of honest roots rock. That vision is brilliantly captured on Desolation Sounds, the new album by Ayla Brook & The Sound Men, produced by Terra Lightfoot and mixed by Jon Auer of The Posies and Big Star fame. It's a collection of songs and stories about friends and family. With levity, grit and grief we're pulled into human connections stronger than the ding of a phone notification. They burst with rock and soul and the western charm that has become the band's trademark sound. That was proven when they were named Roots Artist of the Year at the 2018 Edmonton Music Awards, the capper to a full summer of folk and indie music festivals. Whether they're packing dance floors in honky tonks or in rock clubs soaked in wine and whiskey, Ayla Brook & The Sound Men deliver a tapestry of hurtin' and feelin' tunes about life on and off Canada's barstools.