We Are Scientists

I speak to Keith Murray on the day he kicks off the North American leg of an extensive tour with his band, We Are Scientists. Murray along with Chris Cain and their new drummer Andy Burrows, former member of Razorlight, have managed to round up a relatively large UK fan base and have just wrapped up their transatlantic gigs.

In celebration of their fans and the World Cup they recorded a track called “Goal, England”. Sadly, their performance at Glastonbury coincided with Germany’s clobbering of England and the band was unable to perform their tribute. “Which I’ll be honest came as something of a relief to me. It was so humiliating for them. Normally in the backstage area at Glastonbury they have TVs set up that broadcast what is being shown in the field, but during the game – which unfortunately for them was exactly when Grizzly Bear was on – they were playing the game... there were a lot of sad, sad Brits backstage.”

Good thing Burrows, a British national, was able to keep his cool despite the somber mood.

“Burrows was good, he was limber. He has a record coming out in August so he’s sort of right in the midst of the pre-album promotional wave so he hadn’t been doing most of the dates with us… so that was really the only show of that tour that he did. We rehearsed the day before, it was our first rehearsal in about three months and we were vaguely nervous but Andy is a weirdly perfect drummer. We kinda like marginally ran through our set, at the rehearsal stage and were like ‘this is good – let’s go have beers.’”

Although Cain and Murray have been performing together for upwards of ten years, Burrows has been melding with the band nicely.

“I think the love is mutual. He’s a quiet man but I see the electricity in his eyes. We had just been friendly with him when he was in his old band, not musical friends; we never played with his band. He wasn’t having that great a social time in his band at that point and we didn’t have a drummer and we were just starting to think about making our third record… so when he dropped the bombshell that he had just quit his band and was totally free and wanted to play on the entire record we immediately adapted to that idea.”

We Are Scientists have toured extensively with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Art Brut, Kaiser Chiefs and many more. Aside from their high-energy punk-infused indie rock music, concert-goers are pulled-in by their stage presence. Cain and Murray often engage the audience in witty banter and their comedic abilities have recently led them into more formal writing. MTV UK had them create a mini-series entitled Steve Wants His Money.

“We’ve built our improve chops on the stage and now we’re parlaying that into written comedy. When Steve Wants His Money was done MTV was super excited about it and wanted to do sort of a more long form thing and it just unfortunately coincided with us starting to record our latest record. So we were sort of knee deep in a process that is not easy to sort of multi-task during. Then by the time we were done MTV was sort of feeling financial crunch and didn’t really want to commit to doing a summer series. The idea was that we were going to come back in the fall and talk to them. I’m not a man who holds his breath so I’ll believe it when I see it, but last we spoke to MTV they were very excited for us to do it they wanted us to start straight away. So hopefully that enthusiasm will have weathered seven or eight months of total absence on our part.”

This time around though, the duo are going to depart from the old storyline and will hopefully have even more creative freedom.

“The format that kind of incorporates British celebrities into it wasn’t that much fun. That was sort of an idea that they brought in that we massaged into – our idea of a great We Are Scientists show is just us being idiots for half an hour – so I think that is the sort of thing that we’d like to pursue. At one point we were sort of thinking about doing a space sitcom, so we’ll see if they let us.”

Although the writing for MTV was pretty much 50/50, Murray admits that Cain dominates the written word, while Murray dominates the music writing.

“Most of the stuff that appears on our website – or our latest record has an insert that is 24 pages of writing – and that’s 100% Chris.”

In the meantime, the band entertains through surprisingly diverse comical offerings on their website which includes an advice column in which fans ask about how to win prom dates, what to expect from drinking for the first time, muffins vs. cupcakes and other such things that two veteran gentlemen should have plenty of experience with. However, Murray makes it clear that the advice column is a one-way street only.

“I think fans are probably the worst people to take advice from. They’re going to be incredibly biased either way – they’ll be like ‘naw, you don’t need to change anything’ or they’ll be the sort of fan that, you know, likes only the first record so any bit of change after that has been betrayal. When I was in eighth grade I had a history teacher who would makes us have our reports proofread by an adult and have them sort of like sign off on it. The caveat was that you were not allowed to have anyone in your immediate family proofread it because you know they like their children or brothers or sisters too much to be honest about what terrible writers they are. I feel that way about our fans.”

Is this as true with personal life advice?

“Especially in my personal life. I would prefer to ask an enemy for advice in my personal life.”

Making music that they like rather than attempting to please fickle fans has been working so far. Two singles on their last album hit the top 40 charts in the UK. Given the bands success and accolade with both music and comedy it is natural to question whether they would ever decide to combine the two. Murray affirms however, that such an event will never transpire.

“We really do legitimately hate comedy music. I think we pretty much hate comedy songs almost as much as we hate organized improv comedy. Those are the two worst art forms I would say. Musical theatre I’m fine with, musical theatre’s great! I don’t partake very often, but I have zero qualms. Improv comedy though, get outta here. And what was the other thing? Oh yeah – comedy music – get outta here.

“We did have an idea for a band that we wanted to start though, called ‘The Mundanes’ whose music is really, really bland straight forward rock and whose lyrics are absurdly straight forward and anti-poetic. I feel like giving you an example wouldn’t really do it justice; you’d have to hear a song. But I think that that’s the closest we would ever get to comedy music that would be like totally anti-comedy music.”

It is clear that The Mundanes would be the antithesis of what We Are Scientists have been able to achieve thus far. Following the subtitles of their most recent video for single “Nice Guys” and looking for some advice of my own, I confess to Murray that I feel as though I’m the night sky but am unsure how I should act. His advice comes from J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey in which a character is told to write as if all their stars were out. Whoa! Hilarity and depth. Make sure you look to these guys for a good giggle, some body-moving beats and mind-bending lyricism.

-Chantelle Reynolds

Sleepy Sun: Across the World

I got a chance to speak to a guitar player by the name of Matt Holliman on the musical entity he helps make complete, Sleepy Sun. Along with members, Rachel Williams, Bret Constantino, Even Reiss, Jack Allen and Brian Tice, Holliman has had the opportunity to create great music, meet new people and travel the world visiting cities each blooming with its own diverse environment.

The group just recently released their second album, Fever, and are currently on a tour to help promote the album, visiting places all over like Chicago, Florida, Germany, Gothenburg and of course Toronto.

“We've played all over Canada,” Holliman explains. “All the coastal cities are the ones I enjoy, they're beautiful. Vancouver is where we recorded both Fever and Embrace, we’re very excited, we love coming to Canada. We get great reception up there from everyone, everyone is really, really nice.”

The album Fever is what’s highlighted on this tour and as Holliman explains, the album is a reflection of their lifestyle in their home town, of San Francisco.

“Fever is very much a record about living and working in San Francisco, trying to do that whole thing,” Holliman says. “Much of that record, Fever, took place and was written when we were living in San Francisco, so prior to that the previous record was Embrace and during the writing process of Embrace, we were still living in Santa Cruz, we were university students over there so it was kind of just juggling life.”

The album consists of a great musicianship and amazing sound arrangements that keep listeners engaged from beginning to end. What really stands out is the wonderful blend of vocals and instruments, not that the combination is anything new, but the way it's done by Sleepy Sun and presented on Fever is totally different.

Though Sleepy Sun is currently touring with the music of Fever at the forefront, the band has already begun work on their next album.

“This next record,” Holliman explains, “whenever it comes out, which we're currently writing, is definitely a product of touring nonstop and trying to put pieces of songs together while we're not on the road and writing about being on the road; it's a completely different thing. Much has changed from the last year. While we're not on the road we're usually writing new material, trying out new things, arranging songs and arranging songs that we've already recorded.” 

Sleepy Sun began their tour on June 11 in Reno, Nevada and is set to end the tour on Sept. 23 in Las Vegas. Being that the six are on the road for so long, Holliman explains, “we’re rarely home. It’s generally about a month, a month and a half on the road and maybe a month off — when I say off meaning it usually happens that if that month we’re not touring, we’re recording or working on new material, visiting family, trying to patch things up,” he says laughing.

With all that’s put into the touring, the music, the production and everything else that lies in between, it’s great that the band is able to stop and take a look at their music as well as remember why what they do is, what they continue to do.

“I don't know,” he says. “I think there's something very rewarding about — I couldn’t force writing a song that I couldn't feel some sort of connection to. I’m actually at this point with being involved with music that I’d say I’m fairly happy with what we’re doing. You know, there’s not much sense of this band trying to make a specific sounding record, we’ve never done that. Whatever comes out comes out and if it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn't.

“With touring, I’d just much rather be on the road than off the road, there’s just something about being in a new city every day, seeing sights and sounds. It’s very exciting so I don’t really see myself giving that up anytime soon. I would say as long as we can keep the scene going and keep everything together and on track then we’ll probably very much be here for years to come, as far as touring and putting out records . . . I just want to make music that makes me happy.”

— Xolisa Renee Jerome

Free Energy: An NXNE party and
everyone’s invited

Free Energy has been hitting the road hard and are on their way to join the hundreds of other indie acts to play this year’s North by Northeast festival in Toronto.

According to lead singer Paul Spranger, every gig is “kinda like a party and we’re the house band. We try to replicate the parties we have for our friends at home.”

The last time Free Energy was in Toronto, they played a half-full El Mocambo but were very pleased with the crowd’s energy and recognition. Shortly thereafter they headed down to Austin, Texas to participate in NXNE’s sister festival, South by Southwest, where they played two or three shows every day. While they definitely had a number of fans singing along, in terms of exposure, Spranger recounts, “somebody from France saw us there so now we’re gonna tour France but I don’t think it like broke the band . . . it’s just there’s so many people there at one time that more eyes get to see you.”

Break or no break, Free Energy is experiencing a level of success that Spranger’s previous band, Hockey Night, did not. Although admittedly not a hockey fan, Spranger explains that himself and songwriter Scott Wells are from a small hockey town in Minnesota but really, “I just thought the name sounded cool cause you don’t know what the music will sound like. I honestly didn’t know about Hockey Night in Canada and it wasn’t till later that we were made aware of what a massive phenomenon that is.”

Now joined by Scott’s brother Evan, guitarist Geoff Bucknam and drummer Nick Shuminksy, Free Energy has set up camp in Philly. Despite the relocation and member shuffling, Spranger admits the creative process hasn’t changed much.

While he and Scott Wells still write and co-produce the songs, with Hockey Night, “we were younger and we were doing it with friends who we’d grown up with so it was harder to kind of assert ourselves and know that our vision was what was leading the band.”

They found the tradeoff between being a “dick” to their longtime friends versus articulating a clear vision by heightening their level of artistic dominance very difficult, and it ultimately led to the dissolution of the band. Free Energy is thus, “not different in that it’s still me and Scott from the last band, but it’s much different in that we’re free to make exactly what we want.”

The newfound clarity and freedom has been amplified by their signing with DFA, the same label that carries heavy hitters like LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip. James Murphy, lead signer of LCD Soundsystem, was instrumental in the production of their album, Stuck on Nothing, named such for their ability to scrap whatever didn’t feel natural in the studio. On the recording process, Spranger states, “James has so much experience, recording and producing and playing as a musician, that to have that behind you when you’re making choices that maybe you previously didn’t feel comfortable making, it’s just so empowering.”

The confidence certainly comes through on the album. Every track is high-energy, positive, and undeniably pop even amidst so many classic rock and Thin Lizzy comparisons. The first track, “Free Energy”, features some fever-quelling cowbell and Spranger jokingly admits Christopher Walken has heightened his love of the instrument to a new degree. In addition to the cowbell, the ’70s rock comparisons come from their guitar prowess. The guitar solo on the last track of the album, “Wild Wind”, is like “something out of a Brian Eno song but it also to me sounds kinda like something from The Eagles or Don Henley. It’s really good, it’s really melodic and felt very kind of damaged and weird.”

In terms of more recent pop music, Spranger lists Surfer Blood, Yeasayer, Hot Chip and Endless Boogie as some of his personal favourites. He also listens to a lot of electronic music and acknowledges that Rhianna and Lady Gaga are awesome.

“Really good pop music to me is better than anything in the world,” Spranger says. “I love a big hook and catchy melodies.”

So to any future attendees of a Free Energy gig, Spranger warns: “buckle up your party pants.”

— Chantelle Renee

And you can buckle up your party pants when Free Energy plays a free outdoor show at Yonge-Dundas Square, June 17, 6 p.m.

Pernice Brothers

Although Joe Pernice has called Toronto home for over four years now, the Massachuesets born-and-bred musician/author is still a diehard Red Sox fan.

In other words, don’t expect any songs about Vernon Wells on the Pernice Brothers’ latest album Goodbye, Killer (out June 15 on Ashtmont Records). 

“I don’t mind the Jays, I like the team alright as long as they lose,” Pernice says with a laugh. “Vernon Wells, he’s a strange dude. A few years back I was hoping the Sox would go after him and I don’t know how that guy’s production can fall off so much and then come back. It makes you suspicious. It’s weird huh? What a strange year Wells had last year. I don't know if he was injured or what but that was an odd, odd year but he’s crushing it this year.”

Goodbye, Killer marks the Pernice Brothers’ return after an extended hiatus (their last album was the 2006 release Live a Little) while Pernice worked on his debut novel, It Feels So Good When I Stop. Pernice was offered the chance to write the novel by a publisher at Riverhead Books, who was a fan of the band as well as Pernice’s contribution to the 33 1/3 series, Meat Is Murder: A Novella.

“While I was signing my book deal, I said to myself that as soon as the paperwork, the contract, was signed for the book I would put the music on hold until I finished the book,” Pernice says, “so I actually had the songs written before.”

Having now dabbled with writing songs and writing a novel, Pernice explains that it takes a different kind of approach for both forms.

“The book you have to sustain it over a longer time; the songs are pretty quick,” he says. “For me, you can pop in and out of writing songs but you can spend an hour or two and then step away, then the next day you can get right into the zone, usually work on something new.

“But to work on the novel for that long, it takes a lot of energy to get back into the vibe that you had the day before. Whereas for the music you can bounce around a little bit and it’s easy to dip into and out of music, for me.”

With a dual career, Pernice loves being able to juggle both at once and can’t choose one over the other.

“I’ll always love the immediacy of [writing songs] and I love working in the studio with people. That’s something else,” Pernice says. “I couldn’t choose [one or the other] because writing a book, spending that time alone and it’s very uncluttered, no personalities really, mine or others, it’s kind of refreshing spending eight months working on something completely alone. That was a trip.

“At the end of the day, if I had to choose one thing I’d have to choose music but I don’t have to choose.”

As for the future, Pernice plans to continue writing and recording but is looking to add a third element to his repertroire as he’s looking to pitch a few TV shows as well.

“If you can believe that,” Pernice says.

— Jon Brazeau

Liz Worth: Treat Me Like Dirt

Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk Rock in Toronto and Beyond 1977-1981 is now on its third pressing and author Liz Worth couldn’t be happier.

The book, which focuses on the individual stories from those at the heart of the scene, has picked up a lot of buzz since its release and continues to win supporters. Worth, a Toronto-based freelance journalist, still isn’t used to dealing with the attention, especially now that she’s on the other side of the tape recorder during interviews.

“I’m definitely not driven by being the centre of attention,” she says. “I’m happy that the book is getting so much attention and that people are so interested in it.That’s so awesome, especially all the work that went into it, that was three years of my life. It’s a new place for me to be in and I have to get used to it but I’m okay with that.”

Three years is a long time as Worth interviewed various musicians from the scene (and sometimes re-interviewing them). It was almost like she was experiencing her own musical odyssey. Along with the more familiar bands from the scene like Teenage Head, the Diodes and Viletones, Worth searched far and wide to include bands like The Mods so that nobody was left out. Worth says the project was both the hardest and easiest thing she’s ever done, simultaneously.

“In one way, I really wanted to do it,” she says. “This project came from a real genuine place in me and I approached it as a fan. I was really sincerely interested in learning about the history of Toronto punk.

“Another part that made it really easy was a lot of the people I interviewed were really supportive of the project and they were really open and often enthusiastic to meet up with me and talk to them. They were really helpful, sometimes I’d go back and interview people three or four times and they were always really cool about that, so I was really lucky that way.”

But with the good comes the bad and Worth describes the experience as having completely taken over her life.

“There were times when I would wake up at three in the morning and think about the book and thinking about how I should re-arrange a chapter I was working on and sometimes I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep and forget about what I was thinking of so I would just get up and start working on it,” she says. “It kind of took over that way and the book was controlling me. It sounds really weird but it’s true.”

As the first book to examine the scene in depth, Worth initially had trouble with publishers but she always felt that somebody would have faith in her project and get it out there.

“Some people said it’s too Toronto-centric,” she says. “I was surprised because I thought the story itself was so interesting and compelling that it shouldn’t really matter. I also feel that Canada is at this point that we don't have to be inclusive anymore, it’s okay to celebrate cities individually.

“So I was really surprised by that but even when people would come back and there’s too much about Toronto or they’d want it to be broader to include more Canadian cities, I still never got discouraged.”

She says her favourite part of the book is the beginning, which lays the groundwork for what the Toronto scene was like prior to the punk movement.

“In the ’70s, a lot of these punk bands weren’t welcomed with open arms by a lot of people who were booking music,” she says. “A lot of bars that were booking bands wanted Top 40 cover bands to play and they’d want to book them for three nights or a week. They didn’t want anyone playing original music but [the musicians] wanted to do what they wanted to do.

“They didn’t get discouraged they didn't just give up or try to conform to what the current music scene was looking for. They just persisted and pushed on with their own songs and now we have this huge scene and I think their persistence helped that.”

— Jon Brazeau

English Beat: Interview with
Dave Wakeling

Lee’s Palace, Toronto May 18, 2010

I was in high school when the English Beat first played in Toronto. My friends and I went to see them three nights in a row; I’m not sure how we pulled that one off with our parents. We went to the top balcony of the venue (at the time it was called the Concert Hall) and danced ourselves silly and I remember the walls perspiring from all the sweaty bodies. What good fun! Now over 20 years later, the English Beat can still provoke the crowd and get them to start dancing!

The EB — known just as The Beat in their U.K. homeland — manage to work the room into a fury of skanking, sweat drenched bodies. The sold out Lee’s Palace show was no exception with perspiring walls and all, and it took me back to that same spot decades ago, only this time around I needed to take a puff on my asthma inhaler at the end of the show and the next day, although joyful as ever, I along with many of my peers suffered for it.

Prior to the adrenaline-fueled show, I sat down in the tour bus with singer/guitarist Dave Wakeling for a chat on music, politics and his philosophies of life (the man has many). There was much disparity in the pre-show Wakeling and the man who took the stage just a few hours later. He was very calm, relaxed and reflective but still witty, clever and brimming with verbose and very approachable and down to earth. Here are the best bits of what transpired on that tour bus.

When asked about the two previous nights shows in Waterloo, Wakeling stated they always get a good crowd out there, although this time they seemed as if the audience drank too much. He told me about the new material they plan on releasing and on playing a few tracks at the show later that night.

“We plan on releasing an EP this summer on our own more than likely as the record labels now seem to want to own everything and demand more rights yet give little support initially,” he said.

He is still weighing the options and said he has no desire to take on the business side of the recording industry and ideally would like to concentrate efforts on the creative side of things. Why an EP, I ask (that takes me back)?

“I think there will be a return of the EP as attention spans are shorter now,” he said. “Who wants to listen to a full album anyway, and it seems like drudgery!

On questions about staying relevant and not falling into the class of just another sad retro act that won’t disappear gracefully, DW had this to say: “We use the media, all sources of technology are now at our fingertips such as MySpace, making it easier to get the word out and also stay in touch with what is going on. The present state of the world is not much different from when we were angst young men singing so I think today’s youth can relate to our music on that level. Of course, a little bit of irony, humor and history can take you a long way. Back then, there were so many rules, regulations and being told what to do in order to succeed, now you have more freedom because it’s all new to everyone and you can break rules and invent them, all in keeping things exciting.”

How have his views regarding music, politics been altered with time? “It’s become tempered, not as optimistic as in my younger days; with age I have witnessed many changes, most none for the better! I’ve had my heart and mind broken, it’s had a sobering effect,” (sober not by choice) he said, half in jest.

Wakeling put to rest any rumors about reuniting with Ranking Roger for the next record or near future shows.

“I doubt it, I’m just a simple three cord folk singer who happens to love Motown, Roger, he’s into that trance trippy experimental stuff and the two shall never mesh!” he said. “When we split and we became General Public and the other two went on to become the Fine Young Cannibals, I took the blame for the splitting once Roger and me left but the other two wanted out and we just went on left to our own devices.”

He claimed to have made his peace since then with the old band fellow 2 Tone label mates, “alzeimers is really a blessing in disguise, it’s all forgotten and forgiven (Margaret Thatcher included?). Looking back, we over dramatized situations and decisions which is just behavior typical of youth.”

We got to talk about how the times have changed him and how he has changed with the times and some how the conversation turns to the phenomena of bi-polar disease.

“I much prefer to call it manic depressive as opposed to bi-polar, I wear that term like a badge of honor,” he said. “It means you still are able to feel things and be affected by them. If you aren’t depressed by the state of the world as it is then I think there is something wrong with you!”

Strong opinions are shared when we talk about the outcome of recent elections in England.

“I think things may have to get worse before they get better,” he said. “I think England has lost the script. They seemed to have gotten wrapped up in exotic investments when they should just be wrapping themselves up in exotic . . . . Women (my eyes are now rolling) the enormity of debt that greed got them into is only just about to hit Britons. I am glad I am not there to be part of it (he currently resides in California). It is no place for an old band to be playing, especially with arthritic knees and still singing, gonna die before I get old is just so sad!

I wondered where he sources his creative inspiration from nowadays and Wakeling replied, “I like to immerse myself in current events and absorbing new music from others.”

A lot of young people don’t have a full sense of history and what went on during those dark days of Thatcherism. This prompts the question of how they ever managed to get their anti-governmental musical views heard?

“By being the Monkees with Beatles lyrics,” he said. “The media would hear our pop -infused songs and think we were cheery and upbeat, we would get invited to be on TV shows and then we’d start talking and we knew once we voiced our views we would never get invited back but we didn’t care so we got on stage and let it all out! I think the younger generation takes the freedoms they have today for granted, the video stars haven’t really paid their dues and they are making it faster and with less sacrifice and hard work. There are many, however that are very mindful and respecting our generation’s efforts and they come to talk to me and address me as Mr. Wakeling! That’s change.

“I recall that last year when they did Stand Down Margaret, the young females beside me asked me who this Margaret chic is that they keep going on about! He laughs and shares a story about an interviewer (in Britain) who was very polite and enjoyed the band but asked why did they have to put down Princess Margaret, sure she may have had a bit too much of the drink but she was a lovely harmless member of the Royals!”

Inquiring if there are songs he absolutely can’t bear to play anymore and if there is any that still send chills down his spine when performing them DW replied, “No, I honestly still love performing them all! When we are on stage I access a place in me that brings on all those feelings playing the songs in the beginning gave me and I like to reflect it back to the audience and we feed off one another creating the good vibe and energy of our shows.”

“Save It For Later” (mine is “Can’t Get Used to Losing You”) still gives him chills and it can be felt in the delivery of the song.

Lastly does he ever get tired or depressed about touring or the music business?

“Hell no! I love it and how lucky am I to still be able to sing songs and have people respond?” he said. “Also of course, there are other incentives such as peeping down sweaty girls tops dancing near the front of the stage and being immerged in a steam bath of estrogen! What more could I ask for?”

On departing from the tour bus, I recall one of the many Dave Wakelingisms encountered during the interview — “the love you give lasts forever” — and that sums up the feelings that the English Beat’s music still stirs up, after all these years. I left feeling Dave Wakeling is a wise, thoughtful, playful soul who remains generous in talent and spirit. I will continue to look forward to seeing the English Beat live as long as my aging bones allow me.

— Daria Essop-Lafontaine

Plants and Animals: Digging into the sounds of La La Land

One thing listeners should have come to learn about Plants and Animals by now is that they are a very dynamic band.

Between their self-titled EP and Parc Avenue, the band changed their sound so drastically that it was hard to imagine one band created those albums, rather than two different bands. So if you’re approaching La La Land expecting that it will sound like Parc Avenue, then you don’t know Plants and Animals.

“We didn’t want to produce another Parc Avenue.” says Plants and Animals guitarist/bassist Nick Basque.

Although some fans will hear some familiar characteristics, the new tones on the album distinguish La La Land from its predecessor. Basque credits extensive touring and playing with louder sound systems as inspiration for the more conventional rock sound on La La Land.

“Before recording Parc Avenue we never really played shows,” Basque recalls.

He goes on to explain that playing live shows exposed the band to these new tones; so when they came into the studio to track songs for La La Land, the new sound came naturally. He describes it as an “electric tone”, whereas Parc Avenue had an earthier tone due to the folk influence.

Basque characterizes Parc Avenue as “an earth album,” whereas this new album, “is an air album, it’s up in the air.”

Even though the new tone on La La Land is evidently different from Parc Avenue, the biggest difference between the two albums is the layering of the songs. In Parc Avenue, the band invited many musicians to add more texture and depth to the songs. La La Land, on the other hand, is not as layered. According to Basque, they “tracked other instruments . . . but [the recordings] didn’t work with the songs.”

The lack of layering on the new album, although lamentable, is a good thing because it presents Plants and Animals as a more autonomous band. Basque speaks fondly of playing with his band mates and the energy they create when playing together, which makes it good to see them put themselves in the foreground in La La Land and rely primarily on the sounds the three of them produce.

So, could this mean that due to the band’s steady progression from a complex, mutli-layered sound to a sound that is more distilled and traditional they have finally found a definitive sound they are content with? Probably not, because if their albums are any indication, Plants and Animals still have many musical territories to explore.

— Joseph Fava and Jess Harris

Everybody Was in the French Resistance...Now!: Fixin’ the charts...now!

Eddie Argos is moments away from his fourth gig on the North American tour of Everybody Was in the French Resistance…Now! when I speak to him from Portland, Oregon, “we just stayed in our first horrible motel last night. We’re just beginning to feel like a tour now.”

On the road with him are Dyan Valdes (the other half of EWFRN and keyboardist of The Blood Arm) and Ian Catskilkin (of Art Brut) lending guitar support. However, “due to the unpronounceable volcano,” Catskilkin had to forfeit the California shows to Nathaniel Fregoso, The Blood Arm’s lead singer.

Argos jokes, “it’s funny cause Nathaniel’s such a charismatic song man that when I was supposed to be singing all the songs I kept looking at him. He was playing the guitar and background vocals, climbing on chairs. I don’t want too much of that – I’m glad he’s gone.”

Argos and Valdes are definitely not shy of commanding attention with the release of the first album, Fixin’ the Charts, Vol. 1 - a compilation of cheeky response songs to pop music crimes - from their newest band Everybody Was in the French Resistance…Now! Argos recollects the seeds of this idea when he was driving with Valdes and “Jimmy Mack” came on the radio.

“I really like the music but it just kind of annoyed me for ages cause it’s such a mean sentiment – come back home I’m gonna cheat on you – I was getting really angry about that, telling Dyan how much I hated it and how someone should respond to it and he said, ‘Either you do it or shut up about it,’” he says. “So when we got home we wrote a response to that and it was just kind of fun, you know, playing around with people’s characters from songs. It’s a bit addictive. So it started from that one song – Jimmy Mack.”

The opening line of “Hey it’s Jimmy Mack” proclaims, “ya I heard your track/and if that’s your attitude/I’m never coming back.” It’s clear that Argos and Valdes are keen to take issue with pop songs which may be weak in substance despite their success.

Referencing the French Resistance, the movements that fought against the Nazi occupation of France during the Second World War, leads one to question whether the pair aims to imply some kind of Nazi Germany element to pop music today.

Argos laughs at the suggestion, “A little bit. . . . . Dan studied history at UCLA and he used to have a lecturer who would refer to revisionist history as like, ‘Oh ya, everybody was in the French resistance…nooow.’ So what we’re doing really is like revisionist history. We’re rewriting how the story ended and stuff so it just kinda made sense.”

The first song of the album, “Creeque Allies”, specifically deals with this subject matter and Argos admits writing the track, “was good, it was kinda like studying.”

When the band played Paris, “all the kids were asking us about it and because we’d studied it through our song we knew a little bit about it so it was alright. We were a bit worried that maybe they’d be offended, the French, but they seemed to really like it. . . . We’re not taking the Mickey out of the French Resistance.”

This isn’t the first time that Argos has been able to educate his fans. Inspired by the lyrics of Art Brut, in 2007 a university in Berlin had a lecture called “The Depressive Dandy – the Lyrics of Eddie Argos.”

“The first time I read about the lecture in Berlin it kind of surprised me, I didn’t know I was an intellectual,” he says. “Maybe they’ll fit this one into an intellectual band too.”

Yet “Creeque Allies” seems to be the exception, rather than the rule of EWFRN. Although they most definitely take a more intellectual approach to parody than say, Weird Al, most other tracks substitute historical references for dry wit. This is most evident in their first single, “G.I.R.L.F.R.E.N. (You Know I’ve Got a)” which is an astute attack of Avril Lavigne’s “B.O.Y.F.R.I.E.N.D.” Even the video includes a brief, loosely choreographed dance sequence.

Perplexed, Argos stresses, “I don’t know how they managed to get that dance sequence in. I was dancing really badly and I was like, ‘this is bullshit I can’t do it’ and stopped so I thought there wouldn’t be any dancing in it but somehow . . . actually Nathaniel from The Blood Arm directed that video so I’m not sure how they did it, maybe it’s CGI.”

The outcome in this case is far less intellectual than humorous, perhaps to all but Avril.

When Argos was doing another recent interview, he recounts, “I was talking about how Avril Lavigne’s a bitch and the guy that was interviewing me knew her really well. That was embarrassing. He was like going, ‘oh she’s really not she’s really nice in real life.’ It was the first time I’d met a person that had met a person I was talking about you know what I mean? Ya that threw me - but I didn’t change my position!”

So far this is as close as Argos has come to a counter-response although the song “Think Twice It’s Not Alright,” has him dreaming of a day Bob Dylan might phone him up and say, “‘Ya, good job Eddie. I was gonna write that myself – just like that - but you saved me the trouble.’ That’s what I’d like to hear. I love Bob Dylan obviously, it became sort of an homage by the end. We ended up responding to songs we really like.”

B.O.Y.F.R.I.E.N.D. being the obvious exception.

Next to the lecture hall may be a Donovan song called Atlantis, “where Donovan sings about how the world began from Atlantis and all the poets and such. I really like the song but obviously I’m a scientist. You know, we were thinking of responding to it like in the same style as Donovan but saying it in a more scientific way. We’ve got a few ideas – volume two is already underway.”

— Chantelle Renee

Thrush Hermit Reunited

It’s been over ten years since Thrush Hermit released Clayton Park and decided to call it a day. Along with Eric’s Trip and Sloan, Thrush Hermit were part of an East Coast music scene that was a response to Seattle’s grunge explosion. Thrush Hermit were a group that revelled in recreating the big rock stadium sound of 1970s rock ’n’ roll and having fun was always the primary goal. They released numerous cassettes and two full-lengths during this time, many of which are now out of print. The recent decision to release an all encompassing eight-disc box set of the group’s complete recordings also prompted the idea of putting on a week of reunion shows.

“We haven’t all been in a room together for years,” states guitarist/vocalist Rob Benvie with enthusiasm. “We still remain friends, but the whole reason that we decided to go our separate ways was because musically we were interested in something different.”

Which means that those of us looking forward to any new material or an extension of the tour may be disappointed.

“This is not a creative project,” he says. “Maybe some of the songs will be things that we never played, but this is more of a nostalgia trip. Like a high school reunion without all the passive aggressive behaviour.”

One would think that the strong response to these reunion shows might cause the group to reconsider stretching things out a bit. Sold out shows all over Canada is no small feat. Even the all ages, dry, finale at Toronto’s Lee’s Palace is a packed house.

“It’s fun to revisit these old songs, but it’s important not to wallow in that nostalgia,” Benvie says. “We wrote some of these songs when we were seventeen, and as you get older the purposes as to why you play music change. It takes a real mental leap to get back into the mindset of that kid you used to be. When we started out we were just students of rock, aping our heroes and ripping off so many bands.”

Kind of ironic that these East Coast pop stars would end up inspiring so many young artists today and a tribute album featuring the likes of The Meligrove Band and Junior Pantherz. Benvie suggests that he doesn’t see how influential their music could have been, but that “if we were influential for anything maybe it was just the energy of the whole scene.”

So what is it that made the East Coast music scene so important and memorable?

“Living in Nova Scotia at the time we were pretty isolated, so we were basically just doing it to entertain ourselves and our cohorts,” he says. “The idea that our friends Sloan from down the street could make such great music was inspiring.”

He states that all the bands in the area had a shared sense of making music for fun, with no delusions of becoming Bono or of achieving massive record sales.

“Free of commercial concerns we were able to focus on just making good music and playing shows,” Benvie says. 

This casual music loving approach led to the groups playing as a cohesive unit, with each member contributing equally.

The finale for this week of reunion shows takes place on a Sunday afternoon at Lee’s Palace, for an all ages crowd, which is somewhat appropriate since the group was not old enough to drink when they started playing. Benvie states that this is not an attempt to lure a younger audience but was rather the only way to get one last show in and Lee’s Palace is not licensed during the afternoon. Before the group comes on, a terrific “back in time” playlist booms over the speakers featuring the likes of Cher and Huey Lewis. Throughout the show the group will poke fun at the fact that their journey into the past is just about up.

Bassist Ian McGettigan is dressed as though he never left, wearing a terrifically haggard tanktop and ball cap. The show opens up with him doing a bass-balancing act on his chin, while the others worship him as though he were a rock ’n’ roll demigod. It takes a little while for things to really warm up. It is pretty obvious from the get go that Plaskett, Benvie and McGettigan will get equal opportunity to sing, and the first half of the set is split pretty evenly. Many of the songs sound dated which isn’t too surprising, but this is more than made up for by the group’s enthusiasm. Throughout the show, Benvie walks along the stage and plays his solos to the crowd with a serious rock ’n’ roll snarl, and Plaskett shines bright lights all over the stage and crowd before shredding some solos himself.

The big surprise perhaps is how well some of the songs (mostly off of Clayton Park) still hold up. Straight up rockers like “From the Back of the Film” and “Oh My Soul” have the crowd totally riled. As they play, the Thrush Hermit Rock & Roll sign flashes triumphantly on stage, though it seems to be wired up so that the “roll” illuminates before the “rock.” This may be the after effects of McGettigan’s daughter who he alleges broke the sign days before the reunion shows began. No harm done though, as it all adds to the ramshackle nature of a Thrush Hermit show. In this vein, they also played a few songs that had been commissioned from them years ago for an inline skating hockey league. These silly jingles are also available on the box set and were one of the afternoon’s highlights. Joking throughout the show that eventually they would have to return to the present time and abandon their journey through past glories, things would eventually wind down. Before launching into “The Day We Hit the Coast,” they acknowledge that it was time to kill the reunion, and finish their final show ever. “At least until the next box set comes out.”

— Daniel Demois

You Say Touring? We Say Yeah!: Getting back in the van with You Say Party! We Say Die!

“We're first and foremost a touring band and that has really been the key to our success — our willingness to get in the van,” states Stephen O’Shea, bassist of the socially conscious Vancouver-based You Say Party! We Say Die!

When I spoke over the phone with O’Shea, at home in Vancouver, the winter Olympics were into its second week and to be honest, discussing women’s hockey and men’s curling was the last thing you’d expect to talk about with a stranger — and be so into talking about with one nonetheless.

Sports aside, the band, originally from Abbotsford, B.C., is known for their charged lyrics and community-based livelihoods outside of playing music, so the question on the Olympics rightly deserves mention. While on a break from touring their six-month-old third release XXXX (out on Paperbag Records), YSP!WSD! was invited to play a few shows throughout the games that many top Canadian acts were invited to perform at. Amid all of the controversy surrounding the games, the invite created an awkward situation among the band due to some members’ involvements with their city’s downtown eastside initiatives.

“The five of us had very different views [about the games] and when we were offered the chance to play these shows at the Olympics, we had varied levels of interest in them,” O’Shea said. “To reach a consensus and agree to play, we decided to take part of the proceeds from the performances and donate to the Pivot Legal Society, who we felt were doing positive work with people most affected by the Games.”

Despite initial trepidation, due to the high profiled sold-out performances, YSP!WSD! got the chance to perform songs off their new album to audiences who may have never had the chance to see them play. And with all of the positive attention that XXXX is receiving, it’s fair to say that momentum is growing once again for this dance punk five-piece. Yet nothing could bring about momentum like having a highly publicized four-year ban from touring the U. S. lifted right before the band’s early February American release. Visa issues all cleared up, the band is currently fulfilling a 14-city tour south of the border, bringing the party back up to home turf in early April, and then heading off to Europe for the remainder of the summer.

Continuous tours up and down endless Canadian highways is the norm for most indie bands, and YSP!WSD! is more than okay with this fatigue-inducing fact. After all, chocking it up to hard-earned staying power as the reason for gritting and bearing their more than half a dozen trips across Canada, their five European tours and their two trips to China and Japan has had its rewards.

But when at home again, downtime for the band is giving back to their community in the form of good old-fashioned day jobs. O’Shea and Becky Ninkovic, the band’s vocalist, both work as caregivers for people with developmental disabilities in group home settings; keyboardist Krista Loewen works for an NGO called Hope International that provides aid in developing countries; and drummer Devon Clifford works for the Portland Hotel Society, offering services to the downtown eastside of Vancouver. This semblance of normalcy when not confronted with sometimes 10-hour long gaps between gigs while on tour arguably makes for a fuller, more grounded life. The point of playing in a band, however, is to put out new material to tour with, i.e. to constantly be moving.

Looking back on the band’s junior years, O’Shea recalled the early days of performance anxiety when he felt that being completely crazy onstage could make up for not yet being completely comfortable playing live. This hyperactive tendency went well with the intentions of making dance punk albums and givin’er live, but with seven years of extensive touring, each band member has become fully formed live musicians and vocalists, no doubt contributing to the mellower, more complex arrangements on XXXX. Featuring softer melodic vocals, it’s a record that is a tribute, in a sense, to Ninkovic and her richer, more flexible voice that seems to come out on top to guide the album in a way that hasn’t been explored in the previous two. But O’Shea was hesitant to consider this new sound as a maturing in their music, rather it’s bringing more variety to their live show while still keeping true to their dance punk roots.

“It was a really natural process for us to write these songs [on XXXX],” O’Shea said. “After having written nearly 20 songs across two albums with a fast pace, we began writing songs that would fit between the speed and intensity [of those songs] for a more varied live show. These songs collectively came together as a different type of song writing for us: the first two albums was us trying to make dance punk records. This record was us trying to make the music that the five of us wanted to make.”

O’Shea was quick to note that the music they want to make is still of that late ’70s/early ’80s synth-driven era, offering up some pretty sound advice to all the vinyl-obsessed about finding real gems in a heap of blahs: “I have a pretty solid system for finding good music: I first check the copyright date, ensuring it’s between 1978 and 1983 (never go into 1984) and then check the list of musicians; it's fair for the lead singer to be listed first, but if a guitar player is listed before a keyboard player, then I don't get it. Keyboards must come first.”

All methodologies aside for his tried and true hunter-gatherer approach to sourcing out obscure music, what is most striking about the 10 tracks on XXXX is not a departure from that late ’70s/early ’80s era that the band has a penchant for. Rather, it’s the presence of moodier songs that could fit nicely alongside The Cure or New Order. And if in the past, as O’Shea claimed, the band members had the “you play the instrument, you write the part” policy for songwriting, their approach has evolved into a more thoughtful, intuitive push and pull between all of the members.

“We took the time to ensure that every part worked with everyone else’s,” he said, “isolating just keys and guitars so that the notes flowed properly to our ears and making sure that we were all on the same page.”

It’s within the singles “Laura Palmer’s Prom” and “Dark Days” where you really take notice of a more unified sound amongst the band members. When asked about the breathy, sentimental track “Heart of Gold” penned by Loewen (no reference to the Neil Young classic, albeit the reason for asking) featuring her on lead vocals with Ninkovic harmonizing, O’Shea said it took a lot of convincing to include the track on the record, but not by Loewen — she wasn’t too keen on including the track — the rest of the band wanted it on.

“We've really grown closer and have determined what it is we want from this band and why we're doing it,” he said. “We have learned to express our feelings more clearly and be concise in explaining our needs and desires.”

This closeness, of course, helps with the living-in-the-van thing. Fittingly, there are a few short edited tour videos made by the band’s guitarist Derek Adam that have been added to the band’s MySpace profile, providing a behind-the-scenes look at life on the road. But in case there was any point missed about future plans for YSP! WSD! O’Shea sums it up one word: Tour.

“We plan to keep making records and touring them. That's it,” he said. “That's always been the plan, and always will be.”

’Nuff said.

— Chloe Vice

The Hoa Hoa’s: Never Too Complicated

On Jan. 20th, at about 7 p.m., I made my way down to Ronnie’s Local 069, a small pub located in the heart of Toronto’s Kensington Market. After obliviously passing each other by (and laughing about it afterwards) I finally got to sit down and get to know the quartet who prior to that night, had been only voices on the album I held in my hand; faces I’d seen in videos on my computer screen.

With Richard Gibson boyishly perched on top of a ledge to my right, Femke Berkhout bundled up in spite of the crisp winter weather beside Gibson, Calvin Brown sitting to my left and Lee Brochu relaxed and casual next to him, The Hoa Hoa’s share their story.

“They were a band a couple of years before I joined and then Calvin came along and we were like, ‘let’s be a band!’” Brochu jokingly began.

Note to fans: There’s a bit more to it than that!

 “We’re from St. Catharines originally,” Gibson explains. “I remember I wanted to move to Toronto so I stayed at their place for a little bit and that’s when we started playing, then we just kind of became friends with Calvin. We didn’t take it that seriously, but we kept doing it.”

The four have played instruments for quite a while now and as Gibson explains, they tend not to over-think the sounds that go into their compositions.

“I think we kind of like the music where it doesn’t take a virtuoso to be able to play it,” Gibson says. “It was never a problem of how good we were at playing as long as we had it in our heads that that’s what we wanted to be, like the right spirit. We weren’t too concerned about how good we were at doing whatever; I think it still goes the same.” Berkhout, Brown and Brochu jump in, in agreement.

What’s cool is that between Brochu, Berkhout and Gibson, the three often alternate on instruments and as the process goes, things just kind of fall into place.

“I don’t think any of us plan out the entire song until we all play it together,” Gibson explains. “We have our own ideas that we bring and then after that it’s like, ‘whose got ideas?’ Sometimes it requires a keyboard, or you know I’ll hear a bass line and I’ll be like, ‘ok, I’ll play bass on this song.’”

“It’s never too complicated,” Brochu continues. “When the songs get too complicated, the formalities are lost. Or maybe there’s a good song and then everything else gets too complicated. It’s like you just let it happen, try to keep it simple.”

Looking back on how the band has grown musically from their first album, Flower Flower, to their current work, Gibson recalls, “Flower Flower seems pretty old to us now. We were a band for about maybe six months or so when we recorded that so I kind of think of it as us just learning what it was like to be in an actual studio, we never got to do that before. It kind of feels like it was a bit of a practice run.”

Brown explains his own musical growth: “I’ve never played drums before in a band so it’s kind of like, growing musically, I think I’ve just been putting myself in different positions, trying to adapt to that.”

“I think we’ve just improved over time really,” Gibson adds. “The more we play together, the more we practice together, the better it gets. So far it’s been getting better and better all the time.”

And better it has gotten. The Hoa Hoa’s recently released their third album, Pop/Drone/Pedals, under their record label, Optical Sounds. The album offers 13 tracks, most of which hold its own unique tie to some of music history’s greatest psychedelic rock songs of all time.

“There are lots of influences and we could list bands forever but you know from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, all of that, just what we’ve been into for the last couple of years,” Gibson says.

“I think it’s more of a combination of a lot of different experiences, it’s not inspired by just one thing,” Brown adds.

One aspect that differentiates this album from the bands’ previous work is that it was written, produced and recorded by the band themselves.

 “Yeah, we have a studio,” Brochu says.

“Technically it’s a living room,” Gibson adds.

“It’s not the kitchen though!” chimes Berkhout in laughter.

“Yeah, it’s the first one (album) since we’ve gotten our own studio in our place,” Gibson explains. “The ones before, we did in St. Catharines at the recording studio with Joe Lapinski. We just decided that these days, you can do everything yourself. You don’t need anyone pushing buttons for you; we get to do it at our own pace. I think it’s important to take control because it’s like, if you were doing a painting or something and had some other guy touch it all up for you; it’s not really your painting anymore right? So this is something we’re proud of because we really did everything from the very beginning to the very end so it’s really truly our thing.”

Pop/Drone/Pedals was a completely hands-on project, down to the albums artwork which shows a serious of snapshots of the group in gritty contrasts of black and white.

“We all kinda decided like,  ‘should we go with this?  Or this? Or I really  like this,’ ” Berkhout says.

“That’s a photo of me and Femke at like four in the morning,” says Gibson, motioning to the albums’ front cover which shows him and Berkhout side by side, looking downwards.

“There’s probably a big jug of wine right about . . . here,” adds Gibson laughing as he uses his hands to place an imaginary jug of wine on the table in line with the albums’ cover  image.

The Hoa Hoa’s have performed in and around the city at local pubs and annual festivals such as Toronto’s NXNE. Similar to NXNE, the Hoa Hoa’s have also performed at Austin, Texas’ SXSW.

Recalling their past performances at the two festivals Gibson says, “It’s always really great, they put on excellent shows but SXSW is so much bigger than NXNE, I mean literally thousands and thousands of bands go down there and it makes NXNE look very tiny. They’re both good, we try to do them a lot. You get a lot of coverage and it introduces you to people that wouldn’t know you otherwise.”

With local performances, the band explains the vibe of Toronto audiences, “Toronto crowds are kind of famous for being really boring and stand offish,” Gibson explains, “but we’ve been doing it for a while here now and I think we’ve managed to get a crowd that is the opposite of that and aren’t those kind of hipster dudes that try to be cool. People who come to our shows now are trying to have a good time and are kind of dancing up a bit and not trying to act so cool. When we played in New York a couple of weeks ago, or when we play in Texas, like automatically, the first thing they think is to like it. People have come to expect that from us now, you know Toronto has lightened up a little bit to us because they know what we’re all about and what it’s all about-having fun, doing shows.”

The Hoa Hoa’s are preparing for a return to Texas for the 2010 SXSW festival and are looking forward to a bit of touring in the U.S. sometime in the summer. Also, fans will be happy to know that the Hoa Hoa’s are currently recording new music.

“For the rest of the winter and spring, we’ll probably be spending a lot of time recording in our studio,” Gibson says. “We’ve got a lot of new songs on the go so we’ll keep it moving.”

With all they’ve accomplished and continue to work towards, the Hoa Hoa’s have a great quality to their music because it speaks for itself; the playing, the brainstorming, the naturalness.

“I’m playing with people who are really sincere about it and we’re not trying to be rock stars or trying to do it for fame or anything like that,” Gibson says. “We’ve been doing it since day once first of all because we’re all really big music fans. That’s kind of special, were not just some band, a bunch of guys trying to look cool. We’re actually friends, we do hang out. If we don’t feel like doing it, we won’t do it.”

“There’s nothing like it,” Berkhout adds.

“We’re not concerned about anything more than the actual artistic qualities of it. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.” Gibson concludes.

— Xolisa Renee Jerome

Woodhands: The Heartbreak Kids

“We’ve got lasers,” singer/songwriter Dan Werb of Toronto-based Woodhands states matter-of-factly. “We’re very laser-positive.”

Referring to what we can expect to see for Werb’s band’s upcoming tour and not to some wacky new sexuality, this indietronic duo has been known to whip crowds up into a hyper-charged Bacchic frenzy during live shows, working their own asses off in the process. With the much-anticipated follow-up to 2008’s breakout record Heart Attack, Werb is excited to be hitting the road this February on a Canadian tour in support of Remorsecapade.

Touring constantly throughout ’08 and ’09, attention from a multitude of international media has helped to create some impressive buzz for this little island of a band. Q named them “One of the Top 10 bands on Earth” in their post-SXSW wrap-up last year, and iTunes Canada listed Heart Attack as the best electronic album of 2008. While touring last year, Woodhands remixed Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue,” receiving props from Rolling Stone, NME and Grant himself for their spunky rendition.

And while it may go without saying that being recognized for your hard work is in itself the major pay-off, when asked whether all of this attention has put the pressure on, Werb’s response is sincere, if not proud.

“It’s lovely — it’s stressful at times because people you don’t know expect things of you, but it’s wonderful. I love making music,” Werb says, adding with a laugh, “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it, and I want to be the best at everything.”

For Werb, part of being the best at everything would include putting his all into their live shows, where the synth and drums duo paradoxically strive to achieve a greater emotional connection with the audience by way of their aggressive, hard-hitting songs. Pairing crunching electro noise with emotive lyrics and live instruments has made Woodhands somewhat of an anomaly in the electronic scene, no doubt helping them stand out from the pack.

But this is all a part of the master plan for Werb and bandmate Paul Banwatt, of not being trapped behind a cold barricade of computer equipment and pre-recorded tracks. Rather, it’s in making music and performing in earnest that the band in their current formation has always set out to tackle, but it wasn’t always this way.

As Werb explains: “The project was initially something that I worked on, on my own, like a basement recording thing when I lived in Montreal years ago. I never really saw it as being live — it was just a way for me to explore and it was a way for me to express and just sort of do whatever I wanted. And it went through different formations, where there were more people in it, less people in it, but I think throughout the whole process, it was me wanting to meet the right person, and that person was Paul.”

Similar in energy and enthusiasm, it was through collaborating with Banwatt where they felt real magic happen. A move to Toronto in 2005 and a supportive live music scene made them continue to perform and work on material to record. And while Woodhands does record fun dance music, it’s in their often improvised live shows where you will experience what they’re really all about: making every person in the room feel physically and emotionally connected to what they are doing. Let’s be clear here: when there are just two dudes on stage who are pretty much kicking the shit out of each song they’ve created or remixed, it’s hard not to feel a bit stoked.

“We never really knew what the hell was going to happen, but somehow it worked,” Werb says. “Our entire show is based around the premise that we want to elicit an immediate reaction from the audience and we don’t want anything mediating the experience that we’re having and that they’re having.”

Werb and Banwatt wrote most of the material for Remorsecapade while on tour last year as they both tend to live very busy lives outside of the band. The album treads along the same lyrical path as Heart Attack, focusing on love and all those insane feelings that accompany it. Intimate relationships are a central theme in the majority of Werb’s material, and not without careful reflection, for Werb tends to display his own matters of the heart on his sleeve when songwriting.

“I have a tendency to only write about my relationships,” he says. “I think if you only write about your relationships, no one can ever accuse you of being wrong; and everyone kind of knows what you’re talking about. But for this album a lot of the lyrics were really about trying to evoke an environment and a feeling rather than just talking about particular experiences — they’re informed by heartbreak and relationship stuff, but for a large part, they’re really just trying to paint a portrait.”

Pop songs, in general, are based on love and heartbreak; the difference with Werb’s lyrics and the band’s output of their songs is that love and heartbreak to them is totally maniacal. The first single off of Remorsecapade, “CP24,” is a play on Werb’s tendency to sensationalize emotions, fictitiously plotting ways in which to get on the news (the title is a reference to a 24-hour regional news station, making the song all the more visually hilarious).

Another standout track, “Pockets,” sounds a bit like a countdown to Armageddon, and don’t be surprised if you find yourself listening to it again when it’s finished, almost not believing what you have just heard. In fact, a way to describe Woodhands’ music is just that: cleverly addictive. And if it wasn’t clear from the start, Woodhands is really excited to get back on the road and test drive the new tracks and stage set-up to a hopefully receptive crowd.

“It’s going to be another fun journey into trying to basically . . . almost start from scratch, getting comfortable with the new equipment and seeing how the songs are received live and tweaking them live,” Werb says, “and that’s the really fun thing about the set-up: we have a lot of freedom to do things because of our set-up and because there are only two of us.”

So when band and crowd unify in a club by dancing to songs about lost souls in clubs, it can make for a darn good meta-narrative. But unlike the sensationalized lyrics of their songs, Woodhands is in the end only two guys on stage, improvising and getting sweaty, and this time they have lasers.

— Chloe Vice