Jon-Rae Fletcher Makes Introspective Return

02/23/09 3:11pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

You'd never guess that Jon-Rae Fletcher's new solo album, Oh, Maria, was recorded in four hours.

Fletcher and a studio band composed of New Pornographers vocalist/keyboardist Kathryn Calder, Ladyhawk guitarist Darcy Hancock, bassist Crystal Dee Denham and trombonist Denver Rawson recorded the LP in Victoria last year.

"Originally, I just wanted to record the whole thing from start to finish without pushing stop, but I thought that was kind of pushing it with the musicians," Fletcher says. "So we did it really quickly for what it was."

Fletcher is originally from Kelowna, B.C., but relocated to Toronto. He moved back home after the end of a long-term relationship and the break-up of his backing band, The River. Most of that group's members have since formed Toronto alt.country act One Hundred Dollars.

Fletcher's last disc, 2006's Knows What You Need, was a soul-influenced, sex-filled party album that Fletcher recorded with The River. Oh, Maria stands in stark contrast. You won't find any of The River's upbeat, soul and country-filled tunes on Fletcher's Weewerk debut, which contains more introspective, folky material with very minimal arrangements.

While Fletcher says the album's sound is a direct result of only having so much time in the studio and a few musicians at his disposal, he wanted it to be completely different from anything he had recorded with The River.

"I wanted the focus to be more on the song than the performing of the song. The thing is that it's so different from The River because The River was so party and all about, like, having a good time. This album is more introspective and more of a coffee than a beer. I hope they’ll listen to it and be able to appreciate it."

Fletcher spent much of last spring testing the songs on the road. He mostly performed solo, but this time he'll bring three other musicians along with him to support Oh, Maria. You can see Fletcher here:

March 5 Peterborough, ON @ The Montreal House w/United Steel Workers Of Montreal
March 6 Waterloo, ON @ Trepid House w/The Harbourcoats
March 7 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern w/United Steel Workers Of Montreal
March 11 Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah
March 12 Guelph, ON @ The Attic
March 13 Brantford, ON @ The Ford Plant
March 14 Toronto, ON @ Criminal Records (6 p.m. in-store performance)
March 14 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace w/Herman Dune, Basia Bulat, Elliott Brood and Cuff The Duke (CMW)
March 19 Nanaimo, BC @ The Cambie
March 20 Victoria, BC @ The Fifty Fifty Arts Collective
April 3 Victoria, BC @ Cornerstone Christian Fellowship w/Bob Wiseman
April 10 Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore Cabaret
April 12 Kelowna, BC @ The Benvoulin Church