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You know, just when I was getting bored with all the trust fund punks ripping off Mark Winter for the fifth year in a row, THINE RETAIL SIMPS have lifted my spirits once again with the release of their third full-length album STRIKE GOLD, STRIKE BACK, STRIKE OUT, out now on Total Punk (Alien Nosejob, Tee Vee Repairman, Itchy and The Nits). This rather raw and maniacal document channels the Montreal band at their finest hour—Dadaist rock 'n' roll, primitive guitar freakouts, charming rants and raves, and vocal maelstrom from various members sharing the mic. It's the type of ramshackle mess that would've made Terry Ork jump up and down. While there were no pre-orders or pre-release singles, here's an interview of the band discussing the new album and how additional time and space allowed them to further improvise, experiment, and switch roles.
What were some of the highlights of your trip to Memphis?
Obediah Anderson: Everyone was really nice and seemed stoked about the band which was cool.
What was the idea behind your aftershow set at B-Side? Hélène [Barbier] and Kay [Moon] were both involved, even the Meyer brothers [Rik and Marty].
Obe: Originally the Simps were only doing an afterparty set at Gonerfest so we wanted to make it fun and crazy. Hélène and Kay both sang backing vocals on a lot of songs on Live On Cool Street, so we thought it would be great if they got involved and sang some songs, and it was great! I don't know how the Meyer bros got involved but I'm glad they did, they laid a solid foundation for us to go to the extreme side of looseness. It was an honor to share the stage with all those amazing musicians and open up the Simps family.
We've been fans of yours since the beginning, but how do you feel looking back on the previous Simps records? I read around the time of the first album, you weren't really a band.
Obe: I joined the Simps mix around the time of the first record coming out so I didn't play on it or the Itchy Self record, but I listened to those two records a lot when I joined the band and was trying to catch up to everyone, I really think they're great. The best thing is that each record has its own distinctive style that the guys seem to be excited about while making it, I think we're keeping that trend going.
Thomas Molander: Each time we made a record, my idea of the band changed during the process. The first one felt really exploratory, like an experiment or something just for fun that might never see the light of day. For the second one, there were tons of collaborators, like the Simpettes and the Horny Boys, and we were more ambitious. This third record is the most collaborative. It involved the most trying stuff out together, improvising, and switching roles, and it felt the most like a real band record, which makes me like it the most.
What insight can you share about the new album and how exactly did it all come together?
Tom: We recorded in my brother's basement in Montreal again, where we recorded the first album—I moved my tape machine and all my recording stuff back down into the basement while my brother was out of the country, and we had loads of time to make as much noise as we wanted; we had more time and space for exploring and trying out different sounds. We did overdubs and vocals at my studio in the Atlas building, which used to be a school. Kind of a party environment doing the vocals and overdubs, it was fun singing together.
How would you describe working on this new album compared to last year's Live on Cool Street?
Obe: I missed the vocal sessions for the last record so it was fun to be there and try to add backing vocals to every song and talk about lyrics, adding overdubs and messing around with different instruments. We busted out a lute, recorder, synth pedal, 12-string guitar and other funky stuff. Metal Cabasa.
Tom: This album was ideal recording-wise for me, because we were able to have long sessions in one location and it was the middle of winter. We used the same tape machine for all three albums, but on Cool Street, we had to do some janky switching between analog and digital. For this album we were able to just record the whole thing to tape without really using digital stuff at all, which is my favorite way to record. The best parts of recording were these long jams where we would just let the tape roll and see what happened.
All the members share the mic here, so let's dive into some of the tracks. What can you tell me about the opener "Retail Simp$"?
Joe Chamandy: It's sort of a Pretty Things cover of another cover. Chris doesn't sing. it's a common misconception. He was born with no voice.
Chris Burns:
"O.B. On The Move." What's the story behind that song and its video?
Tom: Obe brought this tune in and we were calling it "Obe's Blues" at the start. I told Joe I could imagine the lyrics being like "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" but about Obe.
Obe: I played that riff while we were jamming one day so when Joe wrote lyrics for it he decided they should be about me. I think at one point I said it sounded like Roy Orbison's "Ooby Dooby." The video was fun to do, we travelled far and wide across the city to capture me on the go. I carried my empty guitar case through the clubbing district and got many strange looks. Joe specially requested that our name was on The Marquee when we opened for Bikini Kill in Montreal just for the shot at the end.
Joe: I can't believe The Marquee thing worked out. That was cool!
How did "Reality Rights" come together?
Joe: Strumming around on a guitar for me. It was in a flexible tempo and the vocals are modelled after Chris' lead lines. Thomas played drums, we added intermittent percussion. I think this was one of the ones where the bass drum mic gave out.
Obe: I remember Zak and I came up with the ba-ba-ba's.
How about "I Was Watering A Plant"?
Tom: I had been wanting to try to write a melodic "Sunday Morning" type song for the Simps. I have a part-time job watering plants, and I thought of the verses while watering the plants at a retirement home, and I recorded it as a voice note in the utility closet where I fill up my watering cans. I showed the song to my girlfriend Ali and she wrote a new chorus for it, and then I brought the song to one of the last recording sessions for the album. We learned it together in like ten minutes and the guys came up with these great parts, and that was that. I am still surprised that it really made it onto the album.
Joe: Once we got the keys to the plant shop the video was a no-brainer. For the song, there is another more "symphonic" version that is cool but didn't fit on the album.
What were the inspirations of covering Neil Young's "Barstool Blues"?
Obe: It's a great song and we were doing it live for a while before we hit the studio so we knew we could make it rock.
I really dig the '60s garage royalty of "On Us"? How did this one come about?
Tom: Joe bought a lute in Ottawa.
Joe: I had the riff on lute, Chris plays some circular leads over it and the rest of song is split between a piano and classical guitar. I like the instrumental cause we tried giving each instrument its moment. its about war and atrocity. It's hard to sing, but Zak pulls it off!
What was it like putting together "Bug Life March 16th"?
Joe: We heard how the music sounded and we said, that sounds like a bug! There is a more bug like version with a synth guitar pedal and horribly mic'd garbage guitar, but some may find it tremendously annoying. The bass rocks.
Tom: The first time I heard Joe's lyrics to this song I was cracking up, it's so creative and crazy. I love the commitment to the bug's perspective and the honoring of the bug's observations. There's an even more bug like version that Joe sings, which I also like, but Joe wanted me to sing it in a more melodic style.
What can you tell me about "Knotted Up"?
Obe: I've been having a blast singing backups live, and Joe had been pushing me to bring in a riff so I wanted to try to write a song for the record. I put "Knotted Up" together late one night and we recorded it the next afternoon. Everyone added their own killer part and it came together in a couple takes. I only had a few days to write the lyrics to it, but the pressure really helped. I'm very proud of it!
Tom: I was impressed by Obe's extended metaphor skills on this one; it's a breakthrough moment for the young star.
Joe: Obe has attitude. Also I loved playing the bass. While Tom was recording the keyboard break the Acetone toppled over and a metric ton of shit crashed to the ground, you somehow can't hear it all in the recording and it was unscathed!
Joe, I saw that you travelled to Bloomington and recorded with Eddie Flowers and other Midwest stalwarts for a new project. What can you tell fans about that?
Joe: Eddie Flowers put this insane impromptu band together, we recorded it and played a show at State Street Pub. It turned out and it's supposed to surface in the new year.
Aside from the new album, what are some future plans for the Simps?
Obe: We have a single coming out as part of Total Punk's singles club. I know that those two songs are really good so look out for that Simpheads.
Joe: The single is cool and we've been playing the songs live. There is footage of some other songs like "Bug" and "Soda Jerk." Other psychedelic experiments. Stay tuned.
Thank you for taking the time. Any advice or last words you'd like to share with our readers?
Obe: Thanks! I advise everyone to buy a Simps record or two. You never know when you're gonna need it.
Joe: Go read a book. (The records make a great gift it's true!) and… thanks.
Strike Gold, Strike Back, Strike Out is out now on Total Punk Records.