This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Andre Ethier may be better known as a member of Toronto garage-rockers Hot Snakes. But the singer-guitarist sheds that skin quite handily on his utilitarianly titled disc Andre Ethier With Christopher Sandes Featuring Pickles and Price.
Unplugging his amp, grabbing his ukulele and lowering the lights, Ethier and his pals make like Bob Dylan and The Band circa ’68. But as they lay back, cut loose and toss off rootsy, folk-blues ditties fulla scrappy drumbeats, strummy guitars, throaty vocals and ragged harmonies, they conjure up magic as surely as Zimmy and the boys did back at Big Pink. Sprinkle in moments of Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Leon Redbone and other kindred spirits and you’ve got Basement Tapes for the new millennium.
