JERRY LEGER
THE TIME FLEW BY EP, TO BE RELEASED APRIL 28
Watch new video for lead track “The Time Flew By”
UK & IRELAND TOUR ANNOUNCED FOR MAY
“Jerry Leger has that spark in him that all the great songwriters have. He’s the real deal.”
RON SEXSMITH
The gently sardonic, arch wordplay and country-rock twang recall Nick Lowe.”
Nick Hasted, UNCUT
Critically-acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter Jerry Leger is to release a new EP The Time Flew By on April 28, ahead of his much-anticipated return to the UK for shows in May. Tour dates are as follows:
May 8 – Kingsmead House Concert, High Wycombe
May 9 – Green Note, London
May 10 – Running Horse, Nottingham
May 11 – Old Cinema Launderette, Durham
May 12 – St. Mary’s Creative Space, Chester
May 13 – The Glynne Arms, Hawarden
May 14 – House Concert, Sheffield
May 16 – Spirit Store (backroom), Dundalk
May 17 – The Court House, Bangor
May 18 – The Doublet, Glasgow
May 20 – TAIGH Festival – Glen Dye Estate Strachan, Aberdeenshire
May 21 – Leith Depot, Edinburgh
The Time Flew By EP features an outtake from each album Leger has made on Latent Recordings, including last year’s Nothing Pressing. Pre-save: https://eek.lnk.to/JLTTFB
Says Leger: “These are top shelf songs; they weren’t left off the albums because of their quality. Deciding which tracks make up an album can be very difficult and tricky. You have to take into account flow and cohesion. Sometimes the best songs are the ones that don’t make the final cut.” This new EP follows the release of the Latent Uncovers EP on March 24.
Notes by Jerry Leger on The Time Flew By EP to be released on April 28:
“Mean Payola” – This was recorded for last year’s album Nothing Pressing but didn’t fit. It’s a cool track and I wanted to get a kind of “Runaway” (Del Shannon) keyboard sound in the break but we got something different. I like to look at this as an update of Neil Young’s “Payola Blues”, though I hope it has the opposite effect. Radio has always been best when the DJs get to play what they want. As I sing in the song, I need someone like Wolfman Jack to play my records and help save me from obscurity!
“We’re A Mess” – An outtake from 2014’s Early Riser, this is one that I dusted off and wondered why it didn’t go on the record. Maybe I thought it was too much of a downer (I was in a low place when I wrote it) but realistically, you have to pick and choose ’cause they all can’t go on the album. This is definitely a personal favourite of mine and I love the recording.
“What Baby Wants” – From the “Nonsense” sessions for 2017’s Nonsense and Heartache. I had forgotten about this version but it’s ferocious! We also recorded a piano led version for “Heartache” and eventually I gave it to my side project The Del Fi’s. It came out on the second Del Fi’s album, Residuals, pretty close to the “Heartache” arrangement.
“And The Time Flew By” – We tried this for 2019’s Time Out For Tomorrow but it didn’t seem to live in that world of songs. It always felt special to me though, so I kept it in the back of my mind. The title came from a repeated phrase in a Kurt Vonnegut book I was reading. It sort of became a cross between Tom Waits’ “Martha” and an old country-gospel end-of-life of song.
Born in the mid-80s and surrounded by music from a young age, singer-songwriter Jerry Leger’s first musical influences were his grandfather’s Hank Williams records. Leger was intrigued by the way that Williams’ songs told a story and often conjured up mysterious images in his head. By the time he came of age in the East End of Toronto, other seminal influences had been added, including John Lennon and the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Leonard Cohen, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, The Everly Brothers, Tom Waits, and Gordon Lightfoot.
In 2005, a nineteen-year-old Leger cut his first independently released album. Since then, the prolific singer-songwriter has recorded 10 additional albums under his own name, with the last 4 released via Cowboy Junkies’ label, Latent Recordings.
Released in March of 2022, Leger’s album Nothing Pressing (produced by Michael Timmins) received positive reviews in prestigious music magazines, including Uncut and Rolling Stone. Evocative lyrics paired with wonderfully crafted melodies, soulful vocals and the spirit and energy of a mature songwriter, Nothing Pressing showcased an artist comfortable in his own skin and growing in stature with every release. Leger and his band supported the album with a successful UK and European tour, before returning to Toronto for a packed hometown show at Paradise Theatre. This performance was captured on tape and film, resulting in the EP Live From Paradise, released at the beginning of 2023.