Legendary NZ singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Graeme Jefferies is well known for his work in Nocturnal Projections, This Kind of Punishment, and The Cakekitchen. Canary in the Coalmine marks Jefferies’ second solo record, arriving 35 years after his first, Messages For The Cakekitchen, released on Flying Nun in 1988 (reissued by Ally Records, 2021). Canary features 10 new songs written, performed, recorded, and mastered by Jefferies during the COVID-19 lockdown. Inspired by Emily Bronte’s spiritual beliefs, NZ’s most famous racehorse, and the haunting timbre of a meticulously-restored Marxophone, Jefferies mesmerizes with perhaps his finest balladry yet. “Where Did We All Go Wrong?” and “Where Do We Run To Now?” wrestle with the challenges presented by pandemic isolation and uncertainty. Jefferies deftly examines the limited choices during lockdown, employing a bit of black humor and finger pointing to stir the soul, and bringing some much-needed levity to this unprecedented time.
