For those of you who, like myself, are becoming tired of the reworked cover songs with a dance beat that have flooded the market lately, there is still hope for the future of "alternative" music. Valentino, the newest release from Kingston based band Weeping Tile, is a great mix of string lyrics and solid melodies.
The songs take a look at real life: and like real life, the album depicts the ups and downs of a typical everyday existence.
In their relatively short existence -they've only been around for five years- the group has already undergone some serious changes. Two new members have joined since the release of their second CD Cold Snap, but the new sound that has evolved as a result is most appealing.
"Different people have their own (musical) influences and we're a collaborative effort for sure," quips Sarah Harmer who sings, plays guitar, and does nearly all of the songwriting for Weeping Tile.
The lyrics contained within the melodies tell a story, and the stories cover a broad range of emotional highs and lows. Harmer explains she writes about "just things that seem, to me, exciting...I think that I'm inspired by lots of things...stuff like extremes; season changes...I'm pretty affected by just the natural environment."
These extremes become obvious as you run through the tracks on Valentino: from the darker tracks such as "I Repeat" and "2" expose Harmer's lyrical imagery to a more simple country sound found on "Old Perfume."
Growing up in Kingston, Harmer listened to a variety of groups such as the Waterboys and the Bodeans, but find it though to specify one particular artist that made a big impact on her songwriting and musical style. "I think that I would be attracted to songs," she reveals, "and over time you get back to the real storytellers; Joni Mitchell and that kind of folk tradition. But I think everybody has come from a varied background and influences in style."
Many of the tracks on this release were written during a break from touring last winter, and Harmer finds inspiration and creativity can't be forced.
"I don't really sit down," Harmer explains. "The thing to do is just pick up a guitar whenever you can. So whether you're feeling particularly inspired and you come up with something that sounds new to you or whether you just pick it up and play that Neil young song that you've played 500 times before. It all depends on state of mind, mood, but it's always great to have a guitar handy; that usually comes first for me is the music. Sometimes lyrics and the music come at the same time and that's when you're really on a roll."
So what does the future hold for this band? For now, they look ahead to the release of Valentino in the US, which will hopefully be received well by the small group of fans that they have acquired from past performances in New York and Michigan while on tour with Blue Rodeo. The group will also be producing some videos and, of course, learning new songs.
This album is a refreshing change from the overdone, overworked melodies that are crowding the alternative scene these days. As long as Weeping Tile keeps on playing and evolving as a group, they should have continued success.
Harmer and the rest of the band are just enjoying themselves: "luckily, pretty much, the bottom line for us is that we have a good time."
Weeping Tile are in town next Wednesday to play a show at the Fratt House.
