Preview
THE MUSIC
Thursday, December 9
MacEwan Hall (U of C)
If Rob Harvey weren’t in The Music, what would he be doing with his life?
"That’s a horrible question," he says. "Horrible."
For Rob Harvey, there wouldn’t be much left in life if it weren’t for The Music.
"For me, music is my life and it’s one of the very few things that I take happiness from," says the band’s lead singer. "I got into music because it makes me feel good. I’ve gotten to the point right now where I’m in a really fortunate position. I’ve got probably everything I could possibly need."
It’s been more than two years since The Music hit North American music charts with their hit single "Take the Long Road and Walk It" from their self-titled debut album. And now it’s trying to do it all over again, but this time with a little more flair.
Welcome to the North tells a different story than fans heard the first time around. The album is more lyrically dominant and showcases Harvey’s vocals in a more mature way. This time, there’s no hiding behind wailing guitars or psychedelic rhythms. Instead, the album combines the genius of its sound with a voice reminiscent of a Led Zeppelin-era Robert Plant.
"I think the lyrics were brought forward, more so on this record, because they make a little more sense to other people. The lyrics from the first record only made sense to me and a few others," he says. "The first record was about making tunes, feeling good. I want my lyrics to be understood by a lot of people and I want my music to reach a lot of people, but I still want to keep my musical integrity."
Referring to the band’s home of Leeds in northern England, Welcome to the North is about returning to a life left behind after seeing the world through a different set of eyes.
"I think the world itself is very good and I feel blessed for the fact that I’m in it," says Harvey. "People forget that. They think their home is just the bit they paid for and if anyone steps on it they’re going to shoot them. To me, it goes beyond that. I like the world a lot, but I don’t really like a lot of the people in it."
Kicking off its North American tour in the United States earlier this month, The Music are in for a different ride than they experienced in 2002. That time they toured as the opening band for Coldplay and it was the first time audiences beyond the United Kingdom were exposed to their unique sound and funky style.
The roots of Welcome to the North reach back to that tour. Between sound checks and travel, Harvey and bandmates Phil Jordon (drums), Adam Nutter (guitar) and Stuart Coleman (bass) were already writing and planning for the next trip to the studio.
"We had about a month just to get our heads together but I think we all wanted to, once we got rested up," says Harvey. "We had a few ideas we were excited about, but we needed to do the bulk of it away from the road and away from interviews and things. We just needed to get into making music again and doing it for the right reasons."
After that tour and getting away to record Welcome to the North, Harvey is able to put his career into perspective.
"I couldn’t make music the way I make music now, with anybody else. We have a chemistry – that is one of our biggest assets – which I don’t think a lot of bands have. Normally bands have one or two songwriters and they tell everybody what to play and that’s it…. We’re pushing and pulling each other all the time," he says.
"Sometimes it’s arguing, sometimes it’s a celebration and sometimes we can’t believe how fortunate we are and how lucky we are that we’ve got this chemistry. That’s how we do our communicating – through music – and I think that’s why a lot of people understand us."
THE MUSIC
Welcome to the North
Capitol Records
· There’s no music like The Music
Still riding high from their 2002 self-titled debut album, it’s nice to see The Music follow up with an album that doesn’t sound too much like the first. It’s the same Brit band, the same gut-wrenching vocals of Robert Harvey and the same post-psychedelic ’70s groove, but on Welcome to the North it’s like they took a step forward and put more lyrical substance to the pounding rhythms. For those of you who didn’t appreciate their first album, the second may be more your style. Although they’ve toned down the songs and made them more accessible, nothing about it is formulaic. While maintaining their integrity of style they also deliver the same energy they have in concert. It’s a wicked album that makes me want to listen to music again. I put it on and I groove.
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