Andre Ethier- Born Of Blue Fog

Last year my tardiness caused me to miss out on including Andre Ethier's On Blue Fog in my 2007 year end best of, even though it would have definitely been there had I heard the album when I should have. Well wash, rinse and repeat, it look like I've done the same thing again this year. Andre Ethier's sequel to that brilliant album is entitled Born Of Blue Fog and it was released late last year to such little fanfare that I once again heard about it too late. And just like it's predecessor, it definitely would have made my top 10 of 2008 had I been more on the proverbial ball, so to speak.

Born Of Blue Fog takes all of the elements that made the last album so great, namely the grand acoustic versatility of the song arrangements and his highly literate lyrical depth, and just simply makes it better. The Only Wine I Crave opens the album with a classical sound that dips into the progressive pool ever so slightly with its inclusion of mandolin, moog and vibraphone. Andre's voice is dark and brooding on this one, creating an aire of the renaissance. The tenor sax on Easiest Game is a welcome surprise. I used to joke around about the fact that many sax players must of went on unemployment once the 80's ended, but here Ethier shows how to put them to good use on a song that borrows once again from bands like Traffic and Supertramp, but in a way that sounds way cooler than my description would lead you to believe. The string arrangement on By The Stables is chilling, with a sound that is very baroque symphonic and segues nicely into the next blusier number Infant King. Black Is The Colour Of My True Love's Hair features only Ethier's emotive bassy vocals and his acoustic guitar. This is a traditional number that is so hauntingly beautiful that it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. Heaven Above You reminds me of classic JJ Cale, with the vocals being nicely accompanied by a classic Wurlitzer sound. Polynesian Branch takes all of the aforementioned elements and combines them together, serving as a tasty appetizer to what follows, the laugh-out-loud funny Cop Killer. Despite the seemingly angry title, this is easily the most upbeat song on the album which sees Andre harnessing his inner Lou Reed and delivering lines about his girl "really knowing her way around a badge" with an effortless coolness. Y'know, the way Lou Reed does. The album ends with Can't Go Back Again, a subtle acoustic number worthy of all of the Dylan comparisons that has been heaped upon Ethier over the last couple of years. This is true both in the lyrical depth and in the mild delivery.

From what I understand, this album is only part two of the trilogy, with a third album already being prepared for public consumption. I'm going to keep my eyes and ears peeled for this one so that I can pick it up on time to be included on whatever list it will undoubtedly deserve to be on.

This album is a must-have, as far as I'm concerned. It is available on the Blue Fog Recording Label which distributes its music through Sonic Unyon.

Myspace: Andre Ethier
Download: By The Stables mp3


Other stuff: Soundscapes has a couple of really cool in-stores coming up. Timber Timbre are there tomorrow, that's January 15th at 7pm and Bruce Peninsula are going to be there on Wednesday February 4th, also at 7pm. [Myspaces: Timber Timbre, Bruce Peninsula]

Hamilton singer-songwriter Jacob Moon just recorded an amazing video for his outstanding cover of Rush's Subdivisions on the rooftop of the Staircase Theatre. It has to be seen to be believed. Outstanding. [Myspace: Jacob Moon]

Danny Michel also has a new video out for his song Feather, Fur and Fin. A good quality video is found on his website, a crappier quality video is on youtube. [Myspace: Danny Michel]

Massive buzz band Fleet Foxes are going to be on Saturday Night Live this weekend, which is being hosted by Rosario Dawson. [Myspace: Fleet Foxes]

The latest episode of the Zygiella podcast features three members of Dinosaur Bones as Tyler and Jen's very special guests. The episode is available for download here. They are playing their one year anniversary show this Saturday at The Horseshoe. Congratulations to Kate for winning the Dinosaur Bones prize pack. [Myspace: Dinosaur Bones]

For those who care about this kind of stuff: Chart Attack has reported that City and Colour's Dallas Green has recently gotten hitched to Much Music's Leah Miller, while Stereogum has reported that Death Cab's Ben Gibbard is now engaged to She and Him's Zooey Deschanel. For me, the first one falls into the "yah, whatever" category while the second one falls into the "what the?" category. [Myspaces: Dallas Green, Death Cab For Cutie, She and Him]

And after only 85 253 albums, Ryan Adams has decided to call it a day. Apparently the blog where Ryan says that he's quitting music has been updated so as to sound a little bit less drastic but exclaim.ca quotes him as saying that health issues and never ending stage fright are just two of the reasons why he's decided to pack it in. This is breaking news so I'm still waiting to hear more about what this actually means. I'm intrigued to say the least. It looks like he's going to concentrate his time on being an author, since he's got three books set to be released sometime in the future. Oh, and I just noticed that Rolling Stone has reported on it as well. [Myspace: Ryan Adams]