Vanessa Heins“Death country” might seem like an awkward pairing of words, but once you’ve heard the music of Elliott BROOD, you’ll understand how perfectly this self-labeled genre can work. Although the label is descriptive of their older work, the band’s newest album, Days Into Years, strays from this categorization. Their third full-length release is a record as rich in narrative as it is in rock n’ roll.
The album was largely inspired by an accidental road trip through the French countryside during the band’s 2007 European tour. In an attempt to avoid highway tolls, the band strayed from main roads only to stumble upon a World War I military cemetery. They had already been interested in Canadian military history, but witnessing this site really hit home.
“It just got us thinking in many ways and really moved us,” lead singer/guitarist Mark Sasso says. The band members were exposed to ex-military soldiers growing up, and they’ve learned a lot from these veterans.
“I have an uncle who was in World War II. I also had a really good friend whose house we would hang out at to discuss with his grandfather things that went on … he was really open about his experiences. When we went to the cemetery, we saw people’s names that we recognized, and we thought of those lost lives and their families, maybe children. It really resonated with us,” Sasso says. “There are just so many stories there; so many lives that had never got born from that. Our emotions really just took over.”
It’s remarkable that such an emotionally-laden experience was translated into an album, and you can hear the passion that went into their work. Though one might think the heavy subject matter would be paired with a somber sound, as the band themselves anticipated, the album turned out to be louder and more aggressive than previous releases.
“We’ve evolved as a band, lyrically as well as musically,” Sasso says. “We just kept gravitating towards more instruments and more sound, and I guess it just kind of fit with this album.”
More sound includes the first time addition of electric guitar which gives songs a new, edgier feel.
“The electric guitar is kind of what brings the album together,” Sasso says. “We used it to create space, and I think it would have been a totally different record without it.”
Despite the war-related lyrical inspiration, Days Into Years is first and foremost a musical project, not a political one.
“I’m not telling anyone what to do with their life,” says Sasso said. “It’s really more of a personal; [the whole album is] told from different first-person perspectives.”
It’s now been 10 years since the members of Elliott BROOD played their first show, and they’ve accomplished much more than they expected in that time. Their previous album Mountain Meadows was shortlisted for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize, and they were signed to Canadian indie label Paper Bad Records just a few months ago.
“When we started the band I was 27 … I had a full-time job. I had already gone to university and was working in order to save up money to make records for fun, not really thinking anything would ever happen,” explains Sasso. Here’s hoping for more great things from the men of Elliott BROOD.
Elliott BROOD plays Salle Andre-Mathieu (475 boulevard de l’Avenir, Laval) Friday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. Jason Bajada opens. Tickets are $17.50.
