Toronto's Joseph Shabason, Chris A. Cummings (a.k.a. Marker Starling) and Thom Gill have joined forces, announcing their debut album together — previewed today by lead single "All So Incredible" — under the moniker Cici Arthur.
Way Through arrives February 21 through Western Vinyl, and features contributions from other local scene stalwarts, including Owen Pallett (who helmed arrangements for an orchestra consisting of no less than 30 players), Nicholas Krgovich, Dorothea Paas and Phil Melanson.
According to press notes, the seeds of the record began in 2020, when Cummings lost his job of 20 years amid the COVID shockwaves and decided to delve into creating music on a full-time basis for the first time in his life.
"I wanted to make a really big sounding record for Chris, to really figure out a way to call in favours and make this album as grand as I possibly could," Shabason said of the Creed Taylor ethos behind Way Through. "I really wanted Chris to sing to fully mixed songs so that it was in the spirit of playing with a full band with all the energy of hearing an orchestra swell behind him with horns blaring, and I think this is the grandest approach to making a record that I have ever embarked on."
Lead track "All So Incredible" exemplifies this splendour at the core of Cici Arthur, making for an introductory chamber pop statement that is palatial yet never overstated. The song arrives alongside a video directed by Krgovich (and featuring footage shot by Gary Whitefield Coward in the late '60s, provided to the band courtesy of Mara Coward). Check it out below, along with the album tracklist details.
Way Through:
1. Way Through
2. All So Incredible
3. Cartwheels for Coins
4. Stolen Joy
5. Damaged Goods
6. Prior Times
7. Felt in an Instant
8. No Fight or Flight (So Much Tenderness)