Pinnacle psychology

>> The towering tunes on Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band’s
fifth album are rich and raucous,
monumental and very Montreal

THE VIEW FROM HERE:
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band

By JOHNSON CUMMINS

Whether Montreal band Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, formerly simply A Silver Mt. Zion, realize it or not—and I suspect they do—they have crafted a near-perfect “rock” record. Their fifth release, 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons, is loud, experimental, demanding of the listener’s attention at all times and, most importantly, possessed of balls. Just like a good Sabbath record.

Throughout Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band’s career, they’ve dipped their digits into the deep ponds of free jazz, experimental noise, psychedelic studio tricks, minimalism and modern composition, with a dose of good ol’ fashioned punk rock vitriol poured in for good measure. Knowing full well that most fans of the band are sure to get their jockeys in a twist at my mere mention of ar-oh-see-kay, the band members I have talked to in less formal circumstances fully admit that this is indeed their rock record.

“I don’t really find it weird if you were to hear a rock element in us, because I’m just a guy from southern Ontario that grew up smoking hash and listening to Black Sabbath,” admits guitarist/singer Efrim Menuck.

“People aren’t really that close-minded, and when you have a band playing live, you find out that people are really much more open to other things. The only time that music gets segregated or gets weird is when it gets written about. Then it’s like complaining about the weather. In the real world, I think people don’t care about buzzwords and will always connect to music if it’s done with the right intentions.”

Weird workings

Although Thirteen Moons clearly shows the band taking new directions at every turn, it would probably be a bit misleading to describe the record as a grand departure. In true signature style, Silver Mt. Zion are able to carve out compositions of epic proportions, lasting at least 15 minutes and working dynamically with lush string sections, choral chanting and hypnotic grooves, but at the same time smashing through the ceiling with a sharpened, bombastic ballast.

It’s within the dense cacophonies to which they steadily climb, when the VU meters get pinned mercilessly in the red, that Silver Mt. Zion prove, this time around in particular, that they’re not merely a good band but an important one.

“Most of the songs we record have already been played live and are pretty loud, with a lot of natural harmonics coming out,” says Menuck, “and we try to get that feeling in the studio—which is impossible, but we try. Before we record them, they’ll go through a lot of changes before we finally do get into a studio.

“We’re a week away from this upcoming show in Montreal, but we’re trying to get a new song ready for it. Right now, it’s just lying in pieces on the floor and we’re scrambling to try to put them together in time. We really put songs together weird. We’ll have a series of riffs and just hammer at it and hammer at it and, after we have something, try to cut away parts that just aren’t necessary. It’s a weird, laborious and frustrating process, but it works for us.”

Hometown heft

Perhaps stemming from the catalytic days of godspeed you! black emperor, of which Menuck, bassist Thierry Amar and violinist Sophie Trudeau were members, Silver Mt. Zion’s line-up, both individually and collectively, have asserted a huge influence on the city, both musically and culturally.

Menuck owns the Hotel2Tango recording studio along with Amar, former Arcade Fire drummer Howard Bilerman and Radwan Moumneh of Jerusalem in My Heart (who’s also Silver Mt. Zion’s soundman). “The Hotel” continues to work within bands’ budgets, doesn’t practise genre exclusivity and continues to generate some of the best records to come out of Montreal. Never to mention that Silver Mt. Zion’s guitarist Ian Ilavsky co-runs the band’s record label Constellation, and has released recordings from such diverse acts as Carla Bozulich, Vic Chestnutt and others.

“I just like to think that we have done our part in investing in our own local community,” says Menuck. “I really don’t think we are the only ones, though. There’s always a new generation coming up with new venues, new record labels and new ideas, and doing it with a lot of passion.”

CD launch with Anemones at la Tulipe
tonight, Thursday, March 20, 8 p.m., $13