Originally Published: 2007-09-02

Toronto-based roots-rockers Sunparlour Players have created a stir on the local scene over the past couple of years. They are now poised to make an impact on the rest of Canada and internationally when acclaimed independent label Baudelaire releases the trio’s new CD, Hymns For The Happy.
To be accurate, this is not strictly a new album, but rather a revamped and upgraded version of one the group put out on their own just over a year ago. To get the lowdown, Tandem recently sat down with mainman Andrew Penner for patio pints in his new Parkdale ’hood.
Penner is the group’s singer, producer, sole songwriter and a multi-instrumentalist, so it is his sonic and lyrical vision that permeates every fibre of Sunparlour Players work. The roots of the group go back to 2004, when Penner put out a solo album, Mersea, under his own name. “Basically I didn’t have the stones to call myself Sunparlour Players at that point, being just one person,” Penner explains. “Now I’m OK with it. Those songs are ones Sunparlour Players play. It was the same repertoire.”
The first incarnation of Hymns For The Happy was recorded by Penner and long-time friend Mark Schachowskoy. He has since left, and SPP has expanded to a three-piece (Penner, Dennis Van Dine, and Michael Rosenthal). Each member plays multiple instruments, often simultaneously, and this makes for a highly energetic live show.
“As a trio it’s a natural evolution, but I don’t want to go any higher,” stresses Penner. “I’ll sometimes do a solo show, or there may be 20 people onstage. For our CD release on Oct. 18 at The Rivoli, we’re going to have the strings, the choir and the horns.”
On disc, Sunparlour Players show a little more dynamic range and subtlety than live, as Andrew concurs. “Generally, on the album we wanted to expand things a bit, put a string section on, there’s a marching band on one song, a choir. We don’t tour with a marching band or a choir, but on the record we wanted to put in the subtleties. Live, it tends to get a little slam-bangy, slamming away at stuff, and subtleties can get lost.”

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