‘Grey skies are going to clear up’ — the members of Elliott Brood put on their happy faces
Last year, Elliott Brood — a band, not a person, consisting of guitarist Casey LaForet, bassist Rob Sasso and drummer Stephen Pitkin — scribbled down, via e-mail, their thoughts about their then newly released sophomore album, 2006's Ambassador. Its success, primarily in Ontario, saw the relatively unknown trio from Stratford emerge as a force to be reckoned with in the Canadian alternative country scene, as the album is laced with their strong songwriting skills, lyrical sensibility and melodic shtick. Employing songs written primarily about human misery, depression and all those dark moments spent alone cuddling a glass of cheap whisky wishing for the weight burdening one's head to subside, Ambassador was a step forward from their debut EP, Tin Type, as it successfully blended Nick Cave, Wilco, The Old 97s and a morbid sensibility into cogent, pensive songs. In addition, in an effort to save space and differentiate their live sound from other acts enjoying similar stature, the band used a suitcase in lieu of a bass drum, creating sparse, haunting rhythms that blend with their morose lyrics beautifully.
"I do not think we have ever sat on a theme in our music, " says LaForet. "We just try to write about what interests us. Still, a lot of times, it is those dark stories and deathly influenced tales that interest us over anything us."
Now, a little over a year on from Ambassador, the trio is readying a yet-to-be-titled album due out sometime in March. So far, the trio has been relatively quiet about the whole process, but after another conversation with LaForet, transparency is emerging. To be sure, the new album will more-or-less work with the same themes as the previous two.
"We just want to keep recording the songs we love to play live," explains LaForet. "There is no real objective, other than to serve said songs properly and record them well. We may introduce new instrumentation on the ones we feel could use it — who knows — but the grounding has never changed. Since the album has yet to be sequenced, anything can still change, so we have to remain somewhat tight-lipped about the project."
"However, I can say that we have been working on this next release in pieces for about a year now," continues LaForet. "It has been recorded in a bunch of different places, including The Healey Lake Hunting Lodge near Parry Sound, Ontario, various studios in Toronto and a community hall in Drumheller, Alberta. We've recorded, mixed and produced everything alone as well. While we have discussed some ideas on terms of a general theme, it has changed and evolved through the life of the recording, so I am not sure what the core theme is yet. I think we've settled on something generally, but I do not know for sure, so it is best to keep the surprise. Saying that, our influences remain the same.”
The concept may be fuzzy, but rest assured their haunting, blood-boiling country twang remains. The band has used much of the same instrumentation, recording techniques and production methods as on previous releases. In preparation for the new album, the band decided to add another video to the mix. Rather than filming their new material, though, Elliott Brood chose one of their oldest songs to record. "Oh, Alberta," a seminal track off their debut EP Tin Type and an ancient song in the land of Elliott Brood, has been revamped and reinvigorated, resulting in a video that exemplifies the uniqueness inherent in Elliott Brood. The “making of” video is already up on their MySpace page, and according to LaForet, the finished version should be done by next week.
“The ‘Oh, Alberta’ shoot was great,” says LaForet. “Our friend Andy Wherspan, the man who directed it, has been trying to put together something for a couple of years. Finally, and patiently, it all worked out, which is why we are releasing it now, even though it is an old song. The theme is kind of a Bonnie-and-Clyde-come-to-Canada idea shot on film in black-and-white. We even have a cameo from Walter Gretzky, which is fantastic. Plus, the song has always been a crowd favourite, so doing the video was natural for it."
Until the new album comes out, Elliott Brood will continue to tour. This time, they’re taking part in the Wood, Wires and Whisky tour for Exclaim! alongside The Acorn, another brilliant alternative country band. "We're really happy to be doing this with them," concludes LaForet. "We've known the Acorn for many years, and we did a small tour years ago where we played to very few people, but we all talked about going across the country together one day. Now that we are doing it, most of the rooms so far have been sell-outs. Our two bands have kind of grown together, and we're both proud to share the stage. Expect a blast."
