Sandro Perri, the Torontonian singer and multi-instrumentalist producer, is a sophisticated dude. During the early 2000s, he could often be found at local venues stoically sipping red wine before playing experimental lap steel for beer-imbibing show-goers. His relentless adventuring through genre and form, from his early ambient techno project as Polmo Polpo, to various collaborative projects like the electronic freak-folk of Glissandro 70, to his eponymous — and arguably flagship — project that began in 2006, are all as refined and complex as the wine he drinks.
Perri’s voice, and musical output, is often compared to that of Arthur Russell, and for good reason. Polmo Polpo did, after all, record a 20-minute version of Russell’s 1977 disco hit, “Kiss Me Again.” Both artists also share a vulnerable shyness that is often overcome by large, breathy, momentous lines of rhythmic and melodic interest. To wit, acoustic tracks from the ‘08 Russell compilation, Love Is Overtaking Me, share a kinship to the sparse, plaintive songs of Perri’s debut LP, Tiny Mirrors…