Can you talk a bit about your new album Fizz and how it came together?
Fizz has been on our radar for a long time now. We had these songs that were all ready to exist in the world in some form, so we pulled them together and came up with this indie-garage-pop sound that they all work within. Each song could stand on its own without the others, but it was fun trying to make a through-line from track to track on the project. The drums were tracked at the old Ocean Floor location by Franc Lopes and then we recorded the rest in house. We had finished the first 4 and then felt like we had 2 more songs that fit on the project (Easy Target and Stop), so we tracked those with John Mullane at the last minute.
What do you credit for the new sonic elements you’ve added on this release?
Working with John Mullane helped us make this into a cohesive-sounding project. He’s worked on a lot of indie pop in the city, and it was fun taking different song elements to him to see what he would do. I think we pulled John into our weird little universe, and John helped us polish the ideas so that they made sense on the project. We also realized the songs had potential to be larger than life in the studio whereas on stage we only have 2 guitars, so we recorded way too many guitar layers. We may be hiring 3-5 more guitarists for upcoming shows.
Listening back to the album now that it’s finished and released, what are the biggest musical influences you hear coming through?
Hard to say honestly, it’s challenging to zoom out when you’ve been inches away from something for so long, you become very aware of the details and it’s hard to compare it to anything other than what it is – The Backseat Lovers come to mind – someone mentioned their track Kilby Girl sounds like Stop and we definitely hear it, at least in the songwriting – although we only heard them after we had written Stop. Felt like when the second guy to invent calculus realized that a week earlier, some other guy started selling calculus worldwide with a patent and everything.
If Fizz could leave fans with one thought or feeling, what would it be?
The project has a buzz to it that’s high energy, but it also has some moments that’ll crush you once you take a closer listen. It has multiple faces, some only a mother could love.
What have you been listening to lately?
Jon Mckeil, Jpeg x Danny Brown, Geese, Dijon, Ovlov, Pom Poko, Daniel Romano, Alvvays, Do Nothing, Motherhood, Pinegrove, Mauno, Julie Doiron
What is the Maritimes music community like?
It’s starting to get more eclectic which is great. It’s nice to go out and get a whole range of sounds and genres in one venue, with the cohesive factors being respect, admiration, and support. We did a brief maritime tour this summer and got to play with some incredible bands we love: Dad Patrol, Tortue, Merci Buckets, Norter, Green Eyes Witch Hands, Steel Cut Oats, and Like a Motorcycle.
Is there a consistent “sound” that runs through most of the acts in your area?
No, but there does feel like there is an east coast music scene bubbling in this post-covid environment. Everyone’s had at least a little time to live life again, witness the good and the bad in the world more first-hand, and reliably throw together shows and recording projects.
East Track Mind has done a great job curating songs from Nova Scotian artists, here’s a link to their playlist:
Tell us about Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
It’s probably like where you’re from, but better in some ways and worse in other ways. You get a lot of great nature space without having to travel too far, you can order food & weed to your door, run into a friend and have a nice convo, go home if you’re lucky enough to be able to afford to overpay for someone else’s mortgage, assuming your apartment didn’t flood or burn to the ground in the recent climate disasters, and pay your large privatized-power bill. It’s mostly the people, not the city, that makes it a good place.
What are your favourite haunts in your city?
The Brothers Chutney ghost tour is, ironically, one of our favourite haunts. The stories feel realer every time. Also, heading down to Fizz Brewery (@fizzbrewingco) to see how our fake small business is running. (We used this as a promotional bit and created a whole stock-footage advertising campaign. Check it out.).
Honestly, we don’t get out too much but if we did, we’d probably go to Celtic Corner or The Local
What are you most looking forward to for the rest of 2023?
Working on the next one. We have a new sound and new process moving forward, and a bunch of irons in the fire we’re excited to start hammering. We’re hoping to reveal a full set of new songs the next time we step on stage, which is at the Seahorse on September 22 with Customer Service, June Body, and Lloyd’s Money
