>>PREVIEW
THE REASON
Thursday, April 19
The Warehouse
You can’t saddle The Reason with the sophomore slump. That’s partially because their latest album, Things Couldn’t Be Better, is a pop-punk gem that actually lives up to its name. And it’s partially because this record is such a departure from their debut, they don’t even sound like the same band.
Two and a half years ago, The Reason released Ravenna, complete with dual guitar assaults, guttural screams and all-ages swagger that is part and parcel of the Canadian post-hardcore community. Things Couldn’t Be Better opens up with a jangly acoustic guitar riff. The remainder of the album deals in slower tempos; it’s layered with new-wave synth riffs and even features a duet with Sara Quinn from Tegan and Sara. Putting both albums back-to-back is almost whiplash inducing. What gives?
"I wasn’t really pissed off, so I didn’t really have a lot to scream about," says the band’s front man Adam White. "Plus we’re a lot older now. You go through a lot of shit from the time you are 22 and when you are 26. You think about a lot more stuff and you kind of take a step back. It’s a lot more chill."
But maturity and anger management weren’t the only influences behind Things Couldn’t Be Better. Long before they went into the studio, members of The Reason went on a bit of a pilgrimage. From their home in Hamilton, they retreated into the lake country around Toronto for a few weeks of home cooking and unfettered rock ’n’ roll. After hammering out some new material they recorded demos that caught the ear of Gavin Brown. He’s the producer that worked magic for Juno winners Billy Talent. Before you start rolling your eyes at the prospect of Brown overstepping his bounds and cleaning up The Reason, it’s important to note the band had the same concerns.
"In the beginning, we were like, I hope it doesn’t sound like Billy Talent," says White. It didn’t take long for them to realize that wasn’t going to happen. "He almost takes the best parts of each band and focuses them around that."
Brown’s touch wasn’t invisible, but for his part he brought a level of restraint to The Reason. Songs that sprawled out with five or six different parts got pared back to a more traditional verse-chorus-verse structure, and the album was all the better for it.
"We were trying to be too technical with a lot of stuff," White explains. "We’re not a tech-metal band at all.
"We just kind of got a focus on songwriting that we always had in us…. He just brought out more melody with us that we always had but didn’t know about."
Once the band members shrugged off their tech-metal aspirations, it left them open to become the band they always wanted to be. The guitars became crisp, the bass lines supported the melody instead of pummelling audiences into submission and the vocals became more relaxed.
"We found a niche with melodies and different beats that we knew we had in us, but we were scared to explore," says White. "This time around, it was like, let’s put that in the song, because we wrote it. We can’t hide from what we are. Let’s just do it."
In the end, the gamble paid off. In a genre that is known for viciously fickle fans, The Reason hasn’t heard a word of dissent. And they were ready for it. White speculates that while the band was growing up,, the fans were, too. But he also notes, their new material crosses age barriers more readily than Ravenna ever did.
"If you are into catchy music and melody, you’ll like it," he says. "I know kids, like my 14-year-old cousin, who love it, and my dad loves it. That has never happened before."
Things couldn’t be better. |
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