Montreal-based alt-folk upstarts Bent By Elephants have begun work on their first full-length album, which has a hopeful release date for sometime in November.
The group released a self-titled EP this past spring, and now they're taking things a bit slower, the band recently told Exclaim! in an interview, applying for grants, as well as writing together more than they have in the past.
"We're going to incorporate a lot more of [guitarist] Luke [Fowlie]'s improvised sound and texture," front-woman Chesley Walsh explained of their developing sound. "We're doing a lot more vocal harmonies too, which is good so far."
Recently, Charlotte Cornfield, a student jazz percussionist at Concordia, joined Bent By Elephants as the group's drummer after Avrum Hollinger departed to focus on a PhD. "She has a very different sound and I think it's going to add a lot to the new record," said Walsh of Cornfield.
Walsh admitted that the upcoming album will sound a lot like "Saskatchewan Pool," from the EP. "That sound is probably going to flavour a lot of what we're going to lead into," she said.
Trumpeter Ryan Frizzell went on to say that their "songwriting process is building a song around the guitar on songs Chesley writes and other times we build the songs around what Luke plays on guitar. I think that it will probably be more coming from the acoustic sound that Luke writes, and we'll build on that."
Fowlie added, "We each write songs and bring them in, but I think we want to start working on things earlier together, so then it can be more as a band."
While no firm release date has yet been set for Bent By Elephants' debut album, you can catch them on these tour dates:
7/30 Montreal, QC - Santropol Roulant (tent by Burnside at McGill)
8/25 Montreal, QC - Sala Rossa (Yellow Door benefit)
The group released a self-titled EP this past spring, and now they're taking things a bit slower, the band recently told Exclaim! in an interview, applying for grants, as well as writing together more than they have in the past.
"We're going to incorporate a lot more of [guitarist] Luke [Fowlie]'s improvised sound and texture," front-woman Chesley Walsh explained of their developing sound. "We're doing a lot more vocal harmonies too, which is good so far."
Recently, Charlotte Cornfield, a student jazz percussionist at Concordia, joined Bent By Elephants as the group's drummer after Avrum Hollinger departed to focus on a PhD. "She has a very different sound and I think it's going to add a lot to the new record," said Walsh of Cornfield.
Walsh admitted that the upcoming album will sound a lot like "Saskatchewan Pool," from the EP. "That sound is probably going to flavour a lot of what we're going to lead into," she said.
Trumpeter Ryan Frizzell went on to say that their "songwriting process is building a song around the guitar on songs Chesley writes and other times we build the songs around what Luke plays on guitar. I think that it will probably be more coming from the acoustic sound that Luke writes, and we'll build on that."
Fowlie added, "We each write songs and bring them in, but I think we want to start working on things earlier together, so then it can be more as a band."
While no firm release date has yet been set for Bent By Elephants' debut album, you can catch them on these tour dates:
7/30 Montreal, QC - Santropol Roulant (tent by Burnside at McGill)
8/25 Montreal, QC - Sala Rossa (Yellow Door benefit)
