When he released his self-titled debut in 2007, Manitoba-born singer-songwriter Michael Peters hoped to follow it up with four more albums in the following four years.

But after the release of that record, Peters found himself facing a year of divorce proceedings after the dissolution of his 10-year marriage.

Now Peters is getting around to releasing Etherised, his sophomore album, and the content was heavily influenced by that trying time in his life.

As a collection, the 10 songs on Etherised all deal with relational collapse.

“It’s from the point of view of different characters,” says Peters, who remarried in 2009 and has since moved to Toronto where his wife is pursuing grad studies.

“It’s really not a confessional sort of thing. There’s moments where I can hear my own self talking through the characters, but a lot of the time, I’m doing my best to be somebody else, and they just happen to be going through that stuff.”

Peters’ preoccupation with writing character songs is evident in two of the album’s standout tracks, Angels or Demons and Etherised.

“ There’s moments where I can hear my own self talking through the characters, but a lot of the time, I’m doing my best to be somebody else.

Michael Peters

In Angels or Demons, Peters adopts the voice of a man whose sister has returned home after facing a variety of difficulties in her life, from abusive boyfriends to living with a cult.

In the title track, an affecting piece of music with a Police vibe, Peters sings from the perspective of an adulterous evangelist begging forgiveness of his wife in order to save his marriage and career.

Musically, it’s an eclectic album. Whereas his debut CD was a sparse affair driven by voice, acoustic guitar and some pedal steel accompaniment, the songs on Etherised were fleshed out with the help of Winnipeg music scene mainstays Julian Bradford (bass) and drummer Curtis Nowosad (drums).

Ain’t Nothing But Jesus is a traditional folk song, Run Run Sylvie is a Steve Earle-inspired roots rocker, and other songs on the album are straightforward rock ‘n’ roll.

Keith Price, Peters’ good friend and an accomplished guitarist in his own right, produced the record.

Now that the record is out, Peters is touring west with Price, Bradford and Nowosad as his backing band.

The tour begins in Winnipeg on Thursday, March 17 with a CD release show at the Times Change(d).

“My ambition for (the record) is that it garners enough momentum so that I can do it again,” Peters says.

“The whole goal is to carry on and to be able to make another record.”

Published in Volume 65, Number 22 of The Uniter (March 10, 2011)