Kat Harlton
JUNO Award winners The East Pointers recently released their new album Yours To Break. Produced by multiple GRAMMY and JUNO Award-winning songwriter and renowned producer Gordie Sampson (Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts), Yours To Break finds the band drawing on their historical Canadian Celtic roots while redefining the ever-evolving genre of modern folk. When asked about the difference between this album and past work, Koady (banjo/tenor guitar/moog) shares that in large part, it was the instruments used, “One of the fun things from my perspective on this album is getting to play new instruments. I think whenever you start a band with certain instrumentation, you kind of stick to it pretty tastefully for a couple albums, and people expect that of you, they don’t realize you play other instruments. I think a fun part of this record is just the mixing it up a little bit.”
Yours To Break was written across the globe, with Koady (banjo/tenor guitar/moog) in Australia, Jake (guitar/keyboards) in England and Tim (vocals/fiddle/percussion) in Costa Rica. Each of those experiences and sense of place played into the creation of the album and showcase the band’s willingness to let loose and expand dramatically on the traditional music they grew up performing, something Jake (guitar/keyboards) says happened organically, “It was talked about, but it definitely wasn’t a big decision to change direction or anything, it felt very natural. I guess we just started writing more music that involved other instruments and other sounds. It was a path together, it didn’t feel like a big switch for us, more of an evolution.”
When asked about the recording process, Koady shares that for him, it can be stressful, and that he prefers writing, “We spent a lot of time with Gordie Sampson who produced this record and I really enjoy the pre-production side of it. Being in the actual studio I find incredibly stressful, it doesn’t really jive with my personality. For me it’s the stress of just putting down that perfect performance, or the best you can do.” Writing is such a beautiful thing for my mental health, I always feel like I’m in a better head-space. It’s the ability to write down ideas and thoughts and all that kind of stuff that you just need to get out. There are definitely days where I’m in the right mood and I think I take advantage of that and I always bring it to the boys. Bringing individual ideas to the table is something I think we do really well as a band and then collectively build on it.”
“I actually enjoy the entire process, but there are certain things that can be stressful, and you put to much pressure on yourself” shares Tim(vocals/fiddle/percussion) “I enjoy the writing process a lot, but I think I had the most fun when we sat back and listened to the mixes. We had an evening at our producer’s house and chilled out, had a few drinks, listened to the album and picked an order. It’s also a lot of fun to write a song you’re really excited about, it kind of provides this energy through your whole body, feeling that creative energy and flow is so cool.”
Yours To Break features three-part harmonies and songs that include catchy pop vocals and instrumental tunes that blend traditional folk music with modern textures, playful keyboard tones and rumbling bass lines. The lead single off of the album, “Wintergreen”, brings the bands furious live show energy to a song. Koady points to this track as his favorite, “I feel a deep connection to that song, and to the mental health side of it.” While Jake points to Halfway Tree as his, “It’s a song for me of what we’ve been trying to do for a long time. Bringing the traditional side together with the pop side, and it feels like for me, that we’ve sort of captured both, and it’s really fun to play.” Tim agrees, “I think I would probably say Halfway Tree as my favorite, and kind of for the same reasons, it just captures a little bit of everything in one track.”
For more on The East Pointers head over to: https://www.eastpointers.ca