Andre Chrys’s music hits you like a big cup of black coffee on a cold December morning. His new album, “Window to Nowhere” is a collection of songs that display a unique conveyance of intellectual grit wrapped around expert musicianship and lyricism.

In the title track, Chrys sings about a bleak future with no prospects in sight, literally and figuratively, with the chorus “I stare, I stare I stare into my window to nowhere.”

It’s musical tone matches the darkness of the lyrics and while it’s a depressing subject, somehow Chrys makes it sound somewhat optimistic, not in the words or the notes, but the moments between the notes. It’s something that you have to just listen for yourself to fully understand.

My favorite track on the album, though, has to be “Velvet Rut.” It’s a retro, steampunk-like song with incredible pacing, a funky message and a tight package in which the verses and the chorus pull equal weight. It sounds like a song you’d hear in a show like Terry Prachett’s “Going Postal.”

Chrys has designed these songs in a way that makes for a nice contrast between songs. After “Velvet Rut,” for example, he slows things down with “Love Don’t Understand.” It’s a song that paints a different kind of picture, but isn’t any less vivid then the previous song.

In fact, there isn’t really one song that’s worth skipping on the whole album. Some are more enjoyable than others, but, all of them have something to love, especially if you’re a fan of the Nick Cave/Steve Earle brand of music.

The song “Old Volvo,” for instance, has an incredible personal story attached to it that makes the song that much richer.

The song is an ode to the boxy and utilitarian Swedish car. It came to Chrys after his ‘79 Volvo saved his life. Andre was rear-ended by a delivery truck while stopped at a red light.

“I knew the accident was bad when the auto insurance adjuster looked at the Volvo, then looked at me and asked
me if I was a religious man. He said I’m lucky to be alive,” Chrys said.

Chrys began his music career in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He got his start playing in hardworking bands that toured across Canada, where they played mostly in clubs and festivals.

“Window to Nowhere,” according to the promo info, “introduces colorful characters, and themes of love and
loss, layered into a classic roots rock style that Andre’s known for around Vancouver.”

For more information on Chrys, check him out on Facebook, Twitter and SoundCloud.