Have you ever found yourself engaging in frequent discussions about a subject that doesn’t normally keep coming up in everyday conversation? That’s been happening to me this month. I keep having these random conversations about the city of Peterborough, Ontario where the person I’m talking to inevitably says something along the lines of “It’s a really great city, and they have a great arts and culture scene, too!”. I always concur and suggest that the other person check out the folk/rock stylings of Nick Ferrio (if they’re unfamiliar with him) to experience one of the Electric City’s most electrifying artists.
Ferrio’s on the cusp of releasing Soothsayer, an album on which he and his band (His Feelings) reinvent themselves, fuzzing up their country-folk stylings with rugged, amplified rock n’ roll. The album’s title track buzzes with super-charged energy. A chunky, chugging guitar riff underpins Ferrio’s trademark storytelling lyrics that concern some insightful counselling from a trusted friend.
I don’t know the true nature of the advice Ferrio received, but from the sound and tone of “Soothsayer”, I imagine that, much like my recurring conversations about Ferrio’s hometown, those words of wisdom most likely revealed truths hidden in plain sight: Trust your instincts; “People are people wherever you go / some are assholes, some are fine”; The grass is never truly greener on the other side of the fence; “It takes a village to raise an idiot”; You’ll find home as soon as you stop looking for it. You don’t always need a fortune teller to divine your future; simple truths delivered simply can have a profound, and prescient effect on your present.
