photo of taken at (and courtesy of) The Artel, Kingston, December 1, 2006

A month ago Sandro Perri took the small stage in a small venue and filled it with his very large songs. Listening to the recording it is almost hard to believe that one man was responsible for the lush, full sound produced. The simple percussion of a bass drum grounded Perri’s intricate guitar work and provided scaffolding on which his voice saunters before rising, his words becoming abstractions. It was a bit surprising that Eric Chenaux, who shared the bill that evening and who played on Perri’s “Tiny Mirrors”, did not join Perri onstage, but with a bit of looping, some electronics, some harmonica, and a strange contraption which Perri pulled out from the inside of his guitar, Perri deftly provided his own backing. He moved effortlessly from gentle strums and delicate picking, whispering his lyrics to an emphatic, passionate delivery with thunderous guitar work, never ceasing to be anything less than mesmerizing.

Sandro Perri, The Artel, Kingston, 22 November 2007

1. Double Suicide
2. Love Is Real
3. nice to be back (talk)
4. City of Museums
5. use your imagination (talk)
6. Dreaming
7. Sky Histoire
8. Family Tree
9. enough said (talk)
10. Dreams (Fleetwood Mac cover)
11. severe objections (talk)
12. Tears Die Upon the Floor (with my thanks to Shane for providing me with the title to this track)

Pick up one of the year’s best records, “Tiny Mirrors”, through Constellation. If you are going to be in Toronto for New Year’s Eve you would be wise to check out Perri at the Tranzac who will be performing a Glissandro70 dj set.