by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Montreal’s Vulgaires Machins were largely known for quality punk rock with a heavy dose of catchy pop. Their new record Compter les corps, however, proves to be a completely different animal, with arrangements stretched far and wide while pianos duke it out with their familiar down-stroke guitars. Although still more than able to deliver a perfect pop ditty, Vulgaires Machins’s songs are now allowed to rest comfortably in the minor key.

“We just seemed to be more open to using different instruments, as well as different moods,” explains singer/guitarist Guillaume Beauregard. “When we started writing for this record, we knew we definitely wanted to experiment a bit more and incorporate a bit more of the piano.

“Although there aren’t really any political songs, I would say that the current political climate definitely played an influence, especially on the darker songs. Songs were written from a personal perspective, and we’re hoping that we can touch on people’s emotions more than making political statements. A lot of songs just ended up in minor keys, so the record can have a bit of a melancholy atmosphere. We’ve always had darker songs, but in the past, it was always a little bit on a lower level. Now it’s a little more in the foreground.”

Smacked down

If the lyrics come from dark and personal places, Compter les corps does manage to squeeze in a bit of grandstanding in the liner notes, where they quote Quebec’s solar-energy leader Benoit Perron, not to mention that at their live shows, they’ve always provided tables of political literature. It’s safe to say that, although Vulgaires Machins have never really tub-thumped too much in their lyrics, they have always encouraged political debate and education.

The one song on the record on which Beauregard’s soapbox gets a bit rickety is when he goes way out on a limb on the self-explanatory “Legaliser l’heroïne.” Since the controversial song has come out, Beauregard has had to answer to a lot of people who have taken offence, as well as members of his audience criticizing him while coming forward after their lives have been ravaged by the drug.

Beauregard hardly back-pedals when the song is mentioned, and also adds that if the song in the very least provokes discussion, his goals have been achieved. “I must say that I don’t agree with full legalization of heroin, but I think it should definitely be decriminalized—but ‘decriminalize’ just didn’t sound that good when you sing it.

“Before I wrote the song, I had checked a lot of stats on the legal fight against heroin and found out billions and billions of dollars are being spent trying to fight the drug and it’s just turned into a mess. People’s lives are being destroyed by heroin and it seems like they aren’t winning the fight. The taxpayers’ money that we could save would be better spent towards rehabilitation, and it’s been proven that the crime rate associated with the drug would be cut down. It’s already working in other places, like in Europe. These people need help, and so far the drug trade just doesn’t seem to be affected.”

The fans, ignored and adored

Controversy aside, what makes their new record so good is that the band have managed to grow while keeping a purity of vision and proudly displaying their hearts on their sleeves. It would have been too easy for Vulgaires Machins to simply deliver another set of pop gems. Instead, they took chances and chose to dig deeper in their psyches, sometimes finding themselves in dark places but remaining passionate throughout.

“After we finished the last tour of Europe for the last record, we just didn’t see each other for a long time and almost forgot that we were a band, so when we finally got back together, we really realized what we had together.

“We felt a little bit of pressure when we started writing because I think a lot of people were really passionate about our last record, and a lot of people said it would be impossible for us to do anything better. I started asking myself if I had really done the best I could, but that really slowed down the creative process, so I think we forgot about our audience like they had started to forget about us. After that, we suddenly had 26 songs to choose from for the record. I think that by not following fans or doing what they necessarily wanted us to do, we were able to keep the purity in the music. I think that is the most respect we can give to our fans.”

With Le volume était au maximum at le Spectrum on Friday, Oct. 13, 8 p.m., $15

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