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A Family reunionThree years after their auspicious debut disc,
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“I can’t seem to understand how the press can actually comprehend this album,” says Martin Cesar, the singer in Think About Life, of the Montreal trio’s new sophomore disc, Family. He’s joined by his bandmates Graham Van Pelt, the keyboardist and also leader of the Polaris-nominated band Miracle Fortress, and Matt Shane, drummer and visual artist to boot. “I was not expecting any reaction from the press at all, because it doesn’t sound like anything out there that’s easily categorized, or almost worth categorizing in some way, this indescribable, can’t-put-your-finger-on-it album.” Well then, Mr. Cesar, allow this Mirror scribe to try. The best reference point would obviously be TAL’s eponymous 2006 debut on local label Alien8, a rich, rambunctious yet scattered effort that drew on punk, funk, indie rock, synth-pop, neo-classical and hip hop, reflected an undisciplined devotion to all manner of cultural detritus and radiated a fierce sense of fun. Family is all that again, but coming back to the kitchen table three years later, the trio have brought a greater degree of focus and polish to the proceedings, some needed order to their bright and inviting chaos. Family could even be heard as having two sides, LP-style, the first half upbeat and giddy, the second more pensive with just a dash of melancholy. The Mirror got a taste of all of that when TAL gathered at Café Romolo on Bernard for some Family counselling. Mirror: Compared to the first record, Family is far more cohesive. It’s like the first one was a matter of filling the toolbox, and now Family is about using those tools effectively. Matt Shane: When we started recording the first album, it was three months into starting the band. We were brand new. We didn’t really know what we were doing, we didn’t feel we needed to know, we just vomited it out. We had a little keyboard and my drums, and jammed it into songs. With Family, it was much more calculated—we were for the most part using samples to begin with, so we would sit in front of the computer, the three of us, and map out a song. Graham Van Pelt: We felt our way through the first album, and then sort of wrote our way through the second one. On Think About Life, we would come up with three minutes of sounds and then move on to the next three minutes. This time we were working on all the compositions at the same time, coming in and out of things and getting together at different points in the development of a song to kind of work out problems. I don’t think we worked out a single problem on the first one. MS: I don’t think we ever asked, “Does this song have an issue?” GVP: It was like, the first thought is the best thought, let’s just do it, record it and mix it quickly so we can move on. Chemical miraclesM: Graham, Miracle Fortress was a pretty substantial detour. Coming back to Think About Life, did you bring anything back from that experience, other than van-seat sores? GVP: The first Think About Life album, we felt our way through, and then Miracle Fortress’s Five Roses was a bit closer to being a totally composed album. Family was so much more of a collaboration from the start, which was a pretty new experience for me. There was way more delegation than any project I’ve ever done. Think About Life had actually been around longer, and we started as this sort of punk band. We’d built a chemistry that way, getting used to playing live together more than writing music. Then with Miracle Fortress, I got another taste of doing stuff totally alone. Coming back to Think About Life, we had all this chemistry that we hadn’t even tapped before. M: During that time, what did you two keep yourselves occupied with, creatively, Matt and Martin? Martin Cesar: I stayed away from this music thing, because I detest it so much! (laughs) It was a really good break, to have peace of mind, the mental cohesiveness for it. These boys who I love so much, they knew it was needed after a while, to be able to be creative. GVP: I’ll add to what Martin said—he was writing a lot of the skeletons of the songs on his own. MS: Me, it was mostly art—draw a lot, paint a lot. M: Well, you did a gorgeous job on the packaging for Family. GVP: I just want to finish the thought—it felt like it had been such a long time, the first album was three years ago, so it felt like we were almost a new band. A new band, a new approach to the way we make our music. Glory daysM: I want to get into individual songs. I know this is always a tough question, but do you guys have particular favourites on the album? MS: I probably like “Sweet Sixteen” the most. One of the major differences is that there’s a lot more space on this album—even though there’s not a lot of space on this album (laughs). The first one was a lot more chaotic. My drumming was really busy, trying to cram as much drums in as I could. That was my approach to drumming in general, get a workout from it, y’know? But on Family, I was slowing down a lot more, a lot more spare. That was one of the last songs and there’s enough space that Martin’s voice really comes through, really soulful. I like that it’s kind of narrative and I like that it ends in, um, glory (laughs). MC: I’m pretty torn between “Set You On Fire” and “Life of Crime.” “Set You On Fire” represents, lyrically, the constant state of confusion I’m in every day, and “Life of Crime” is basically a summary of, uh, well, of a lot of troubles, troubles I’ve had. GVP: I like them all, but I think my favourite is “Sofa Bed.” I like playing them all and everything, but listening to the album, “Sofa Bed” is the one that makes me feel—this may come across badly in print, but Martin’s words in that song and his singing, it just makes me feel a very specific way. I think it’s a really beautiful song on his part. For some reason, that’s the one I get the most out of hearing. It’s built in a really satisfying way. I like the party songs too, but I feel like that song’s more about matters of the heart. I think I’m that kind of guy. Breakfast of championsMC: The thing is, all these party songs, y’know, I would want to hear them at a party but I don’t necessarily—ah, I can’t explain it. All the songs that are upbeat on this album, it’s like, when you get up in the morning, you know you’re going to have an amazing day, put the album on for the next 40 minutes and it just makes everything brighter. But in terms of party atmosphere? It would work, but it wouldn’t have the same… know what I mean? MS: I’ve talked to a few people who’ve said that they kind of prefer listening to it in the morning rather than at night as well. It’s more like really exciting breakfast music. MC: Even though I’ve listened to it in the dark in my room at 1 a.m., and it’s good. MS: That’s morning—A.M. MC: Oh—aaaaah! GVP: Gotcha. M: Final question—the title. MS: Everyone looks at me for this one. MC: Yup, it’s all yours, buddy. MS: Well, I guess where it came from was, I was just trying to encapsulate the band somehow, how does this feel to me, what does it seem like to me. It just seemed impossible, in so many ways, to put a name on it, and the only way I could do it was to liken it to a family, where you have a role in this family. You sometimes hate your family and sometimes love your family but it’s this fixture in your life. It can support you in a very specific way and can bug you in a very specific way as well. Also, I think we’re living in a time when family is much more fluid than it used to be. It’s not always connected to bloodline. I felt that when I left the house, my family home, I fell into a new family right away where I had a role and a place. This band’s just another version of that. CD LAUNCH WITH TUNE-YARDS AT |
