Whitehorse

Canadian roots-rockers Whitehorse will release their new album, No Bridge Unburned, Feb. 17. We spoke to the spousal pair about the writing of their upcoming record.

When did you start writing songs?

Luke: 1986, when I was 13.
Melissa: For as long as I can remember.

What was the first song you ever wrote? Tell us about it.

L: I can’t remember. It was terrible though, and it had too many chords. You’d think young writers would write dead simple songs but they rarely do. It takes a long time to learn to use 2 or 3 chords and a simple melody.

M: It was a Thanksgiving song called “Keep Walking.” I recorded it on my cassette player & I think I was about 5 years old. I keep modulating throughout the song & by the end the key is so high I’m just shrieking into the speaker. It’s pretty funny.

What’s the last song you wrote or started?

L: The last song I completed for Whitehorse was probably “Downtown,” from Leave No Bridge Unburned. It was born out of a “what is this record missing?” conversation with Gus Van Go & Werner F (producers). Gus figured we needed a Bo Diddley beat … maybe in the “Lust For Life”/”You Can’t Hurry Love” vein. The next day I showed up at the studio with the first draught of Downtown, which although all agreed had the potential to be the “right” song, nobody actually liked. Melissa & I rewrote and tweaked it endlessly… ultimately with Gus’ help. We don’t usually write to order but sometimes it can be fun. Gus can be a thug that way.

But the last song I wrote personally is called Jimi and is a lullaby for our new son, Jimi. We often break into it when we are all in the car and he gets fussy. Spontaneous three part harmony (my daughter, Chloë is a great singer too) always makes him smile. At least for two or three minutes.

M: This has probably been the longest stretch I’ve ever gone without writing a song. Luke & I had a baby six months ago, so everything I have, physically & emotionally has gone to little Jimi. I think the last song I wrote for Leave No Bridge was the song “Tame as the Wild Ones”. I like to think of this as a sexy song, which is funny because I wrote it when I was about three months pregnant, in the throws of morning sickness & feeling very, very un-sexy. I managed to tap into some alternate reality though.

How do you go about writing songs?

L: Usually in a very solitary way. I get a line. Either something that I think s clever or contagious… maybe a punch line or a great way to open a song. It usually has a melody, a beat and a lyric. Then once I have a single gem, I can go about the task of actually working towards a full song. Melissa & I have become good co-writers although we arrived at that place kicking and screaming. I prefer to create in a solitary way but I will admit, nothing has ever gotten worse from her input. Always better.

M: Luke & I are both very private writers. We usually retreat to opposite corners of the house to create on our own. We’re both really good at handing our songs over, though & we let each other tear into the other’s work at the end. That’s how we “Whitehorse” a song- by the time a song is finished we each have our stamp on it even if the song wasn’t ours to begin with.

What is your approach to writing lyrics?

L: I used to look for couplets or stanzas that might include something I think is poignant or clever—a turn of phrase or what have you. With my limited attention span, that has always sufficed to grab my attention (I have no idea what “looking through a glass onion” is about but I scream those words at the top of my lungs). Gus had other ideas on this record. He actually forbade us from employing run on sentences as choruses—as if it needed to be articulated (it did). On this record we really endeavoured to tell stories that had beginnings and endings. If there were lines or verses that couldn’t be tied to the primary story, they were tossed or edited to contribute meaningfully. The laziness that I have often favoured was verboten. Writing is hard work when someone breathes down your neck.

M: To me, lyrics have always been the most important part of a song. The story you tell can be infinitely unique, as opposed to melodies & rhythms which are regurgitated over & over. Gus, our producer, pulled me away from that way of thinking just a bit for this record, which ended up being incredibly liberating. The story was just as important, but the goal was to simplify & only use words which were absolutely necessary. This makes for an easier listen. It’s harder to pull off, but so satisfying once you get there. It is music after all & the lyrics can’t be there to overpower or weigh down the song.

Are there any songs of yours you wish you could change now?

L: There are always improvements to make. We have actually rewritten songs that were previously recorded (both “Broken” and “Passenger 24” existed on previous solo records of mine and Melissa’s respectively). Once we get out on the road and sing songs a hundred times, we get attached and the compulsion to rewrite tends to fade. Fortunately. Those two songs benefitted from the rewrites but I’m not sure we’ll do more of that. I also value the approach that a song is a captured moment, so to speak, and once it is released it takes on a life of its own in that it has a relationship with listeners. They deserve to believe that the story is immutable—if not in interpretation then at least in ingredients.

M: Nah. I’ll always out-grow songs. I’ll even be embarrassed by a few, but I think that’s the natural evolution of a writer. If I didn’t think my old songs were a little bit shitty it wouldn’t push me to write better songs. There are definitely a lot of songs that I’m still proud of, but there are some that I wish I could just make disappear!

Which of your songs was the most difficult for you to write?

L: I got beat up the most on “Downtown.” Lots of people were telling me what they thought it needed. I hate that, given my predisposition for a solitary creative process. It can produce good work but it isn’t fun. Fun is not the primary goal, good songs are the goal, so I don’t begrudge anyone their contributions or opinions. In fact the opposite. That song works because Shauna (president of Six Shooter Records) told us she hated it. Then, after we had already mixed it, Gus came up to Toronto from Brooklyn and we tore it apart. At the end of the day, we all poked away at it until we were satisfied that it was doing a good thing. The irony is that “Downtown” is kind of a knuckle headed blues. I sure doesn’t sound like it needed more than a few pints and a bout of mild inspiration. But it did.

M: Sometimes songs just fall out all at once, fully formed. Those are magical moments in a songwriters life. Usually the process is a lot more strained. I’d say Evangelina was my biggest challenge on this record. I had the bass line (which ended up being the main guitar hook) & I played it over & over again for months. The melody & lyrics were pieced together in a painstaking way. Luke definitely helped push this song in the right direction & then Gus helped us put the bridge together. The song has an unusual arrangement, but that’s what I love about it.

What were the primary influences behind the record?

L: We wanted to remain true to what we had created on previous records. We wanted to make sure that the Whitehorse sound remained largely intact. So the original 15 songs we wrote were mostly in major keys with sunny choruses. Gus cancelled the first 2 weeks of recording and made us write songs that A) had real stories, and B) sounded like Whitehorse. For those who find this record dark—we tried to lighten it and were rebuked!

We found ourselves drawing on sources that were new to us. I’d never really acknowledged the Zombies before but people keep telling us they hear them. I still don’t know if I’ve heard more than a couple of their songs. James Bond was lurking in the shadows, as he does. Howlin’ Wolf is never far. Keith Richards. Patsy Cline. Tom Waits. Elliott Smith. John & George. Sloan. Cash. Williams. Beck. Petty. Sexsmith. Costello.Young.

M: I wish I could say that we’re that deliberate when it comes to putting a record together, but we’re truly influenced by anything & everything under the sun. It all makes an appearance in the songs, vibe, sound. I find us continuously falling back into the “all or nothing” theme. This record has everything from space travel to super hero prostitutes. And sonically I think we keep coming back to a James Bond, 60’s R&B sound.

How do you feel you have grown as a songwriter between this record and your last release?

L: See above re: stories vs single lines. I’ve learned to stand further away from the song and blur my eyes. If I can still make out the story, I’m on the right track.

M: I think we’ve become better co-writers. We still write in a solitary way, but we have a pretty good system of editing each other’s work. I’m definitely a different writer now than I was as a solo artist.

Do you have any standards for your songs you try to adhere by when choosing them for an album?

L: Do they fit with one another? Do they tell stories individually as well as collectively? Would any of my heroes veto any of them? Do we actually like them?

M: We both just have to feel it. It’s as simple as that.

What’s a song on your album you’re particularly proud of and why?

L: “The Walls Have Drunken Ears” is my pet on this record. It’s a deep cut (you won’t be hearing it on the radio) but I felt really connected to the poetry and the arc of the story. Plus it changes time signatures in the middle and my daughter, Chloë, likes that. She’s got golden ears.

M: “Fake Your Death” was my favourite demo. I don’t think I’d say it’s my favourite on the record, but as a song it’s the one that’s closest to my heart.

What’s a lyric or verse from the album you’re a fan of?

L: This is fun to sing:

“In the back of El Ranchero
Collecting all the scraps
A coaster with a number
And a dented baseball bat
He dialed unfamiliar digits
Maybe deep into Durango
There’s a city made of tin cans
And another made of gold”

It’s primarily a Melissa lyric, from “You Get Older”. She’s got a real ear for the cinematic. I always love singing her words.

M: From “Fake Your Death”:

Now I’m the villain in this piece
& back when I was a thief
I broke hearts like they were teeth

Or from Luke’s song “The One I Hurt”:

sung gospel style into my phone mic:

Break for the sound of thunder
Break for the smell of dirt
Break for the hand of misery
I break for the one I hurt

The most annoying thing about songwriting is….

L: Having to consider what people think. I really wish I could be a hippy about it and just write what I want (maaaan) but we are a band and we have people around us who want us to be at our best … so we get lots of opinions. I hate opinions (except my own—which are generally quite excellent).

M: Starting or finishing a song can be torture. And all the in between parts too.. ha! The satisfying moments of songwriting are when you crack the code to a verse or a killer line just slips out, or you finally find the magical bridge & yes, when you truly finish a song it feels so good. But, all the “trying” in between is murder.

If you could co-write with anyone living or dead, who would it be?

L: Elliott Smith.

M: Beck, Suzanne Vega, Joni Mitchell

Who do you consider an underrated songwriter?

L: David Lowery. His writing with Camper Van Beethoven was, at times, pure genius. And then with Cracker, which some people dismissed as yawner country rock, his word play got even more pointed and visceral. I think he’s as good as any: Dylan, Cohen, Waits, Beck, Smith, Lovett, Lennon, Parsons, Adams, Young, Lucinda. No problem.

M: My friend Janine Stoll is one of my favourite writers. I wish she was more known. Also, Luke’s brother JD is a brilliant storyteller – an incredible and unique voice.

What do you consider to be the perfect song (written by somebody else), and why?

L: I don’t know. That question is too hard. Lennon’s “I’m Only Sleeping”? God, I have no idea why.

M: I know it’s incredibly tired & cliche’d to say Leanord Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” but I truly believe it’s a work of perfection. It’s kind of a shame that it’s been done to death, but it’s no surprise. The melody & lyrics are a work of genius.