Edinburgh born, New York native singer/songwriter Antony Cherrie releases Whistling Thru Hell: a tragic-comedy podcast/album and show based on his publishedarticles and one-man shows performed live around New York City. The album kicks off with a series live concerts in NYC, New Orleans, Fire Island and abroad.
The album stands alone as a body of intimately crafted pop gems, showcasing Cherrie’s heart-wrenching vocals and innate talent as a storyteller, The mood varies in pace, from the stripped-back folk sentiments of debut ‘Chasing Birds’, to the soaring, optimistic melodies of ‘Coastlines’, the jaunty black humour of ‘Divorce’ (penned from personal experience), to the up-tempo indie licks of ‘Shot to Pieces’, and the raw connection of ‘Sweet Lightning’, written originally for Cherrie’s younger sister.
Produced by Antony Cherrie and writing partner JulianGiamio, and mixed and mastered by Dave Thomas and Paul Gala (best known for Ricky Gervais’ Afterlife and American Horror Story Hotel) the show features Cherrie as Johnny, a recently divorced, washed up wannabe musician/comedian working a late-night radio show that nobody listens to. Johnny is working through the darkest parts of his life with humour and his love of music. He frequently breaks the fourth wall to provide exposition,internal monologues, and a running commentary as to the art of whistling through hell that he lives daily.
The artist explains:
“I wrote Whistling Thru Hell when I didn’t know what to do during the great plague of 2020. NYC was so quiet it felt like the opening of Walking Dead, which in turn informed the aesthetics of this album. Johnny’s heartfelt attempt to keep smiling and going while all his (and our) world was falling apart at the seams was admirable, andsomething I can strongly relate to."