The most interesting aspect of the fourth record from Toronto folkie Gentleman Reg (a.k.a. Reginald Vermue) is that it almost never happened.
After Three Gut Records—the legendary Guelph indie label that unearthed The Constantines and Royal City, among others—folded in 2006, Reg found himself without a label or a project.
“I made this on my own,” he says. “My record label had collapsed, but I decided that I needed to make a new record. I just started working on it. It was very much ‘Let’s just record these songs we have,’ and after that there was no plan.”
The record sat in limbo for two years until powerhouse Toronto indie label Arts & Crafts picked it up last fall.
“I’ve been around them for a long time, and it felt very natural,” Reg notes, and he admits to having received offers from smaller labels as well. “But they were the best deal for me. Arts & Crafts are putting my record out for the world, which is nice.”
Indeed, the label founded and headlined by Broken Social Scene is putting Gentleman Reg in a much better position than he could have anticipated even a year ago. Aside from releasing the record in Canada, they’re also releasing a compilation of his previous work in the United States and Europe. The international introduction is a little jarring for Reg, who has garnered national attention since his first record, The Theoretical Girl, made him a hit with Canadian indie music fans.
“It’s a little bit strange. It’s technically my fourth record, but in so many ways, it’s the first that anyone is ever going to hear. It’s strange, but it makes sense in a lot of ways. I wouldn’t want anyone to hear that first record—I actually wouldn’t want to be associated with it now!”
The new material is a big change in direction for the Guelph-born rocker, following 2005’s Darby & Joan, a romantic collection of sentimental pop ballads.
On Jet Black, Reg lowers his trademark fey tenor voice to a baritone, and surrounds knowing lyrics with muscular guitar riffs, most of which were provided by The Constantines’ Bry Webb.
The songs also take a more downbeat worldview. The album’s standout track, “You Can’t Get it Back,” is an ode to remorse in all its forms.
“There’s not a big point to hanging onto regrets,” says Reg. “You can’t get the time back, you can’t get the innocence back.”
The rest of the album seems similarly obsessed with the passing of time. Tracks like “How We Exit” and “Rewind” reflect a general downtrodden tone, maintaining a consistent, harder-edged, guitar-rock sheen.
It’s on the album’s sole danceable track, “We’re in a Thunderstorm,” that the idea of turmoil is most pronounced and literalized, while “To Some it Comes Easy” and “Falling Back” temper the idea of tragedy with a weary acceptance.
For Reg, the album’s title reflects a whole new state of mind.
“[Jet Black is] a reflection of the change in direction and what I wanted to put out there. We rocked out a little bit more. I actually don’t know why it happened. There were some ballads, but we decided to keep them off this time.”
Despite this admission, Reg bristles at the thought that his music is becoming more masculine.
“Obviously, I’m very macho,” he blurts out sarcastically. “My music will never be masculine.”
Yet in spite of the newfound blackness in his lyrics, Reg still sees much cause for optimism.
“I’m very forward-looking right now, in so many ways. I’ve been cleaning out my apartment, getting rid of things I don’t need, and just looking at everything in my life. I’m getting ready to tour now, more than ever before. It’s a lot at once, but it’s good.”
Gentleman Reg plays the annual Chartattack Horseshoe showcase (368 Queen St. W.) tonight at 11 p.m. Single tickets are $20, and all-access wristbands for CMW are $50.
