Sun Leads Me On, is the latest stunning effort from Canadian rockers Half Moon Run. A follow on from their 2012 record Dark Eyes and comes off the back of two years of touring the world (which included an Aussie visit back in 2012 and appearances at Woodford and Peats Ridge Festival)
The band’s Dyaln Phillips explains the formation of this record “Sun Leads Me On came from a place that felt a little bit like being underwater,” says Dylan. “You kept powering through because ultimately it was worth it. You had this beautiful thing, this wonderful chance, but through a lot of darkness, losing lots of friends, having struggled at home, losing your sense of home, trying to let the music guide you but having trouble even finding that. There was a lot of struggle in this, but at the same time the sun just keeps pulling you forward, and you just keep powering through and trying to find beauty in what you do.”
And finding beauty they have! The album was recorded in Bathouse Studios, Ontario with Nyles Spencer and producer Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Adele, Kasabian, Bombay Bicycle Club, & Temper Trap) and sees the guys push their sound to new unexplored depths while still maintaing the iconic Half Moon Run sound.
To get to know this record a little better the guys have given us a track by tack rundown of Sun Leads Me On which you can check out below. If you like what you’re hearing be sure to visit the band’s Facebook page for more info.
Warmest Regards
“This is the first track off our new record, and we used it as the first track on the record because the opening notes we think sound pleasant like a nice handshake or something. Which is how we wanted to invite people to hear the new record. An Ice-breaker in a way, a friendly welcome. And it was also used in Jean-Marc Vallée’s new film Demolition which is exciting for us.”
I Can’t Figure Out What’s Going On
“We started writing ‘I Can’t Figure Out What’s Going On’ over two years ago at a cabin in the woods that we sometimes like to isolate ourselves at to song write and really get immersed in the songwriting process. It’s a lot of late nights and sometimes we get crazy, but this is one of the songs we wrote there.”
Consider Yourself
“I remember Dylan, our drummer, came in to jam one day and he had this crazy bass synth riff that starts the song and we all just started screwing around and howling away on our guitars and it started as kind of a joke but eventually it got more serious and now it’s one of the songs that we like to play the most live. It’s got so much energy.”
Hands In The Garden
“This song was written during a trip we took to California, where we wrote some of the record. People sometimes ask if the place that you write has anything to do with the sound of the music you make, and I’m often not sure how to answer that.
Except on this one, I think, in retrospect anyway, it’s clear enough that the surfing and the sunshine did make a difference and you can hear it on the record – it sounds sunny and be achy.”
Turn Your Love
“Of all the songs on the new record, this one’s the oldest. We started writing it almost three years ago before the first album “Dark Eyes” even came out and we wrote it during a time when we were experimenting with our schedules while we were writing.
We woke up at 5 o’clock in the morning and the agreement was that we wouldn’t speak to each other until we had at least jammed something together. The first thing that came out that morning, before anyone said anything to each other, was the guitar riff for this song.”
Narrow Margins
“This is one of my favourites from the record. I think the subject matter has to do with the early days when the band was starting, full of ambition and drive just to get where we thought we needed to be… and now that we’re lucky enough to have a bit more control over the choices we make in life and in music, it becomes a greater questions exactly what you want to do with your life.
The ‘rules and narrow margins’ that you set for yourself, I’ve found, and we’ve found, that they get called into question, and that’s kinda what this song is about.”
Sun Leads Me On
“This is the title track from the record, which I think has some of Devon’s strongest lyrical work. I think it’s got beautiful lyrics. It was written mostly on our trip to California, again, where we were driving West and felt like we were constantly chasing the sun.”
It Works Itself Out
“Half Moon Run started as a three-piece and then three years ago Isaac joined the band and has been sharing the drum duties with Dylan and now they kind of function as one eight-limbed drummer. This is the song where they took that shared percussion role to a new level, this percussion whirlwind.”
Everybody Wants
“Playing ‘Everybody Wants’ is like climbing a mountain or something, it’s a real journey to play. Among other things it features an instrument that we found in a little store in Montreal that’s from 1929 – a tenor resonator guitar – that’s a real hassle to tour with but a real joy to play.”
Throes
“This song is an anomaly as far as our band goes because we normally write things together but this one’s all Dylan (the drummer) and he wrote it, I think it’s safe to say, during a time of personal struggle, and we all think that it’s a really beautiful solo piano piece and it showcases just how good of a piano player he really is.”
Devil May Care
“We wrote part of the record on a trip to California, where we stayed for about a month, and driving out West across the United States has a certain romanticism about it and the way that this song sounds – kind of like a classic folk song – I think was influenced by the way we were feeling while we were driving across. It’s a road song, a travelling song.”
The Debt
“There was a time during our song writing process for this record when we were reminding ourselves that just using dynamics often can be just such a valuable song writing tool, without having to change chords too much or do whatever else to generate interest from people I guess.
If you really focus on the ebb and flow of your dynamics, that it can be enough. And this is one song where we basically just stay on the same chords for the whole song and just build and build and build until the climax that comes crashing down like a tidal wave or something. That was the idea, and now it’s one of our favourite songs to play live.”
Trust
“This is the last song on the record, and I consider it in some way to be like the “afterparty” pf the record. Like, when all is said and done, and you wanna stick around and dance – that’s kinda what it’s for. Because we had so much fun jamming it in our jam space when we were writing it, just dancing around and being silly, and so now we do it live.”
Sun Leads Me On, is out now via Indica Records/MGM.
