Cici Arthur - Way Through (Western Vinyl)

*** This blog post first appeared in TSMM's February 25th newsletter, where you can get all the tips (and more) first. ***

If you’ve been following TSMM on other channels, then you’ll already be aware of Cici Arthur, comprised of Joseph Shabason, Thom Gill and Chris A. Cummings, plus a whole hose of choice Toronto musicians.

I’ve been using the newsletter to feed TSMM’s blog for a while now, hoping that the lure of getting tips early will persuade some of the blog readers and social media followers to subscribe to the newsletter, but the blog isn’t all second fiddle. For the real trainspotters I also write a few blog posts a week that don’t make it to the newsletter, highlighting singles from largely unknown artists - often with debut singles that I feel deserve support and encouragement. So if you want to get the full TSMM picture then it’s worth also checking the blog, and refreshingly decentralised Mastodon or Bluesky social media accounts.

Cici Arthur was born when Cummings lost his job of 20 years during the pandemic, decided to throw himself into making music full time and make some serious life changes. Fortunately he had class acts Shabason and Gill to back him up, and they’ve really gone to town providing him with some classy orchestral arrangements, just perfect for Cumming’s throwback vocal style.

There is serious craft on display that is a real breath of fresh air in today’s ocean of digital workstation produced music. The arrangements hark back to the twentieth century golden age of crooning, they even had an orchestra and conductor on board, which helped create the perfect velvety bed for Cummings low key, intimate vocals to grace.

Scratch under the surface of the vocals, sweeping arrangements, unhurried stand-up bass and twinkling keys though, and you’ll find some subtle sonic deviance, mischievous yet masterly sound design and ambient augmentation that give these classic sounds a modern sheen. I doubt if anyone under the age of thirty will bother with this album to be honest, but it’s surely a recording that both you and your mum will agree on.