Andre Ethier: Jenny The Blues

By Kerry Doole

Andre Ethier - Jenny The Blues (Telephone Explosion Records): On Oct. 11, this enigmatic Toronto singer/songwriter releases a new solo album, Croak In The Weeds.

The nine-song record was created in collaboration with noted sonic adventurer Sandro Perri producing at his Toronto studio in late 2018 / early 2019.  Ethier and Perri worked together on Ethier's previous album, 2017’s Under Grape Leaves, the first instalment in a planned trilogy.

In a label press release describing Croak In The Weeds, Ethier explains that "I was imagining a pond at the swamp. A pond gets murkier the deeper you dive. Frogs are amphibians. They’re in and out of the pond like it’s no big deal, but we stay mostly on the shore and only peer in. Then, when the weather is right, the pond rises in a mist and we can breathe it too. We can be in the pond but also on the shore.”

Jenny The Blues is the second advance single from the album. Ethier terms it "a funky little song about feeling sorry for yourself." 

Atop sparse and sometimes quirky sounds, Ethier uses his warm vocal timbre to tell his tale. You won't find this on any commercial radio playlist, but his work definitely deserves wider exposure.

Prior to releasing five solo albums, he was in highly-regarded Toronto garage rockers The Deadly Snakes for four other records, the last of which, 2005’s Porcella, was Polaris Music Prize-shortlisted in the award’s inaugural year.

Of note: He is also a renowned painter, one whose work has been reviewed in the New York Times and continues to be shown in galleries worldwide.

Links

Instagram

Publicity: Ken Beattie, Killbeat