For Toronto’s death-country trio Elliott Brood, setting is everything. They recorded Ambassador, their last full-length, entirely in an abandoned slaughterhouse, and the outcome was a bleak, sombre march. In contrast, on their newly released Mountain Meadows they chose a variety of less macabre settings, from town halls to proper studios. The resulting album is a mélange of dark, rollicking jams and subdued slow numbers, striking an ideal balance between the band’s facets.

Kicking off with the steady crescendo of “Fingers and Tongues,” the boys remind us of their penchant for epic guitar-driven rock. Without missing a beat, the album veers off into the land of banjo- and ukulele-driven country jams, with Mark Sasso’s delightfully raspy voice providing an early high point in the jaunty “Write It All Down For You.” As the album continues, vocal contributions from Casey Laforet on tracks like “Without Again” and “The Valley Town” provide an excellent counterpoint.

Mountain Meadows is at its best in its last segment, beginning with “Chuckwagon,” an infectious instrumental that served as a climax for their energetic live set at the Legion during the Sled Island festival. The track that follows is a slow, pretty piece enhanced by female backing vocals and snatches of accordion. Finally, with “I Miss You Now,” the album makes one of its few shifts into a major key to blast listeners with a bright, hopeful anthem. The closing in particular provides a perfect example of the band’s ongoing evolution and their promise of alt-country greatness to come.