liner notes
Sum 41: Heroes again?
By Tamara Holmes
The beginning of Underclass Hero was, in truth, almost the end of Sum 41, according to the band’s
frontman Deryck Whibley.
Hero, the band’s sixth release in seven years, comes on the heels of turmoil so extreme, Whibley, along with bassist Cone McCaslin and drummer Steve Jocz, were uncertain future recordings would happen at all.
“This album was a long thought process,” reveals Whibley on the phone from the L.A. home he shares with wife Avril Lavigne. “We weren’t sure we were going to do another album at all. I spent five months just thinking about direction and sound. I started asking a lot of questions and ended up writing them all down. One phrase that continued to loop in my head was ‘confusion and frustration in modern times.’ I really wanted to know what it meant.”
Hero, being the first album after the much-roasted release of Chuck, also comes after guitarist Dave Baksh exited the group. About the resulting songs, Whibley says the Ajax, Ontario-born band “went farther beyond creatively than we’d ever gone before, and said everything we wanted to say.
“It’s a truly honest and artistic album and is the most meaningful stuff we’ve done,” he continues. “It’s scary. It’s personal. This is not a fictional story.”
The band used a strict hands-on approach, with Whibley acting as sole producer for the album and Jocz co-directing the first video, for the album’s title track.
“It made it a lot easier,” says Whibley of going it alone. “Though, it was hard not having a producer or a writing partner to bounce ideas off of. It was just me in my studio at home, though I still shared stuff with the guys.”
A long lead time meant that all the songs were finished — in demo form, anyway — by the time the band entered the studio, so they already knew exactly what kind of album it would be.
About 200 fans showed up to participate as Jocz directed his video, which Whibley says always adds a lot of excitement.
Whether those fans behave is a different story.
“They’re good for the most part,” says Whibley. “One guy — I forget what video — but he got so wasted that he puked and passed out all inside our trailer.”
Interpol branches out
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Interpol's Our Love to Admire
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Indie eccentrics Interpol have swayed
outward, attracting their largest fan base yet for their current tour
and — they hope — to their third album, Our Love to Admire, in stores July 10.
Few bands offer equal satisfaction
live and on record, but Interpol’s movable rock is emotive in all the
right corners, asking for a breezy commitment of only an ear or two.
The soft-keyed intro to “Rest My
Chemistry” transitions well into breathy vocals and well-grooved riffs.
The first single, “The Heinrich Maneuver,” shows off the wide-ranging
musical talents of each band member, while album opener “Pioneer to the
Falls” takes advantage of that prime real estate with a sleepy journey
of guitar and drums. Each track is worth heavy play, but fans will soon
determine their faves making Interpol the everyman’s band.
Oh, and Interpol bassist Carlos
Dengler is also pushing a side career as an aspiring film and
television composer. Become a believer at www.carlosdengler.com.
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Out this month
Los Campesinos!
Sticking Fingers into Sockets - July 3
If your finger’s on the U.K. pulse, then it’ll be in the socket as well as this Wales-based septet release their boppin’, coveted six-song EP in Canada.
Peanut Butter Wolf
The 777 Mix - July 7
Founder of Stones Throw Records and famed producer and artist PBW will take on the triple-digit day with a downloadable MP3 available for intense summer bliss at www.stonesthrow.com.
Tegan & Sara
The Con - July 24
Despite living on opposite sides of the country these days, these indie darlings have honed their twin instincts to release a killer fifth album accompanied by a full tour, already sold out in some cities.