If I live you’re the star of the show
Canadian culture is an odd thing. In a lot of respects it is as much a mirror of the pervasive American entertainment spectrum we’re inundated by through no fault of our own. But while Canada struggles to create mainstream, popular art in the film and television realms truly Canadian music is a lot easier to come by. You know it when you hear it, whether it’s the punk-tinged story songs of John K. Samson or the choral allegories of Bruce Peninsula or, yes, even the overtures to modern rock radio of The Tragically Hip.
That’s a big part of what makes The Warped 45s’ sophomore LP such an unexpected delight for me. I’ve heard great things about their debut, 10 Day Poem for Saskatchewan, but I’ve never managed to find a copy of the damn thing. So when I got an email asking if I’d be interested in giving new record Matador Sunset a listen I jumped at the chance. And boy howdy is it ever Canadian.
The easiest shorthand for describing The Warped 45s is probably alt-country, but they see it differently. Their bio suggests “northern gothic,” “back porch of the apocalypse,” or “alt-country noir.” They’re a little more country than The Wheat Pool, a little more rock (at times) than Elliott Brood. But they also don’t pigeon hole themselves, at times fully embracing either or all sides of that spectrum.
Matador Sunset gets its hooks, both Can-con wise and musically, into the listener right from the get-go. A pure example of the band’s storytelling, “Pale Horse” paints a picture as stark as a Saskatchewan sunset, describing in vivid detail the visage of a stallion galloping out of a burning forest against the backdrop of a golden sunset. The band backs it up with some honky-tonk piano, loping bass, and lap steel guitar, a taste of the more country side of their particular brand of alt-country. This song is an antiquated oil painting flecked with specks of wind-blown dust, slapped together on a dirty canvas on a sun-baked porch in a Louis L’amour novel. But with, uh, words and music and stuff.
The story-song gets a lot of play on this record, in fact. “Grampa Carl” is a detailed account of Ryan McEathron’s great grandfather, who was a rum runner who traveled across the border via Lake Eerie and the Detroit River during prohibition. The song chronicles the sudden rush of wealth he experienced after the beginning of those dark, dry days in the U.S. and the bad deal that eventually sent him home penniless. It’s a superbly-written tale that is backed up by a stellar, muscular rock guitar riff that carries the band into a meaty bridge that will no doubt be an overpowering moment on a live stage.
There are splashes of genuine rock throughout the album, including the 50’s-era stomp of “Grime of Earthly Glow” (which features gospel-ish backing vocals and an energetic rhythm that would work equally as well for spiritual cousins The United Steel Workers Of Montreal) and “Live Bait,” an apparent long-time live favourite that found its home on this more upbeat album. It’s a lively number that seems like it would have had to come out of the west, not Ontario. The following track shows what happens when the rock edge wears off as the group gets downright old-timey on “Talk About Evil,” a fiddle-laden colonial-era country vibe that could practically give you the vapours.
The intriguing musical mix might most readily bring to mind the band’s American contemporaries in Okkervil River, another band that has crossed and melded together many different genre lines over the course of their six LPs and numerous EPs and singles. The two diverge in that Okkervil saw a fairly gradual progression from the heavier country influence of their first record through to the rock/folk meld of Black Sheep Boy and beyond to the more typically-structured pop and rock of The Stand-Ins and The Stage Names. This is only the second album from the 45s but the mandolin-heavy tracks here are very reminiscent of Okkervil’s first effort. The outlaw country vibe on “Grampa Carl” and “Hurdle River Crossing” bring “Westfall”’s dark brilliance to mind while tracks like “Widow’s Well” and “The Blade Thrower’s Wife” (an incredible number about a woman who puts everything on the line night after night only to have someone else win the praise and applause) have the deft story-song element that makes so much of Okkervil River’s work (”A Stone” or “Okkervil River Song” are some of my favourite examples) so intensely evocative.
And if were talking Canadian how about “Victoria Day,” a song that openly questions the need for continued celebration and/or recognition of the monarchy. The McEathrons sing, “It’s less about history than a day without labour” and insist that if we’re honouring history we should go back to before colonies and queens and borders and do it right, honour Canada and not the antiquated forbears that spurred its creation.
Matador Sunset is a real accomplishment, especially for such a young group. Their alt-country sound covers enough territory to put them alongside Okkervil River, Drive-By Truckers, The Wheat Pool, United Steel Workers Of Montreal, Elliott Brood, and others but their detailed tales of pale, riderless horses, regretless rum runners, buffalo jumps, and mysterious river deaths will continue to set them apart.
Here’s hoping we get another record within another two years.
the Warped 45s - Window's Well: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download the Warped 45s - Grampa Carl: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download the Warped 45s - Live Bait: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadMatador Sunset can be purchased through Maple Music or digitally through iTunes.
The 45s will be on an extensive tour this summer that will see them play both Saskatoon and Big River (through the Ness Creek festival). Check out the long list of dates here.
