By Steve Moody
Lead singer Trevor Hurst didn’t know Econoline Crush was playing the MacEwan Ballroom this Fri., Sept 21. Such is the band’s situation–for the past four years. Trevor himself said he was on a "need to know basis."
It’s not that the band members are ignorant of their schedule. Instead, they’ve been unbelievably busy between their last album, The Devil You Know, and their newest release, Brand New History.
For the past four years, the band has been on tour across Canada, the U.S. and even Europe. They’ve played all venues imaginable from outdoor festivals like EdgeFest to smaller clubs and concert halls like the now-closed Republik. They’ve even graced our own Mac Hall Ballroom.
Fortunately, the band has had a chance to grow over these busy four years.
"It’s sort of an amalgamation," Hurst says about Brand New History. "The album, thematically, is sort of what we went through during the Devil You Know tour. It sorta turned the corner in the sense that there’s some optimism on it, where as a lot of the records in the past have been angst ridden."
Is this an understatement? Perhaps coming from the band behind hard hitting songs such as "Home" and "Surefire." Trevor confesses that while on tour they "grew a little as song writers," and began to lean away from sequencers and electronic noise, while trying to bring about a new sound for themselves. Instead, they opted for a more organic, live sound.
This, the birth of their newest album, is indeed a departure from the heavy synthesized sounds utilized throughout their previous release. "We wanted to get as close to a live sound as possible," says Hurst. The band felt it would better suit the environment of the live stage performances.
In fact, the band is still around because of their fans’ dedication to live performances. Touring for the past several years has been the biggest treat for them–to see their legions of old and new fans alike.
Brand New History is a fitting title for the triumphant return of a former Canadian alternative rock icon. Having run the gauntlet of venues across several nations, they are prepared to return to the studio to create another album–sooner rather than later.
On the same token, about the ongoing rivalry with fellow Canadians The Tea Party, Hurst says the competition isn’t a threat.
"We’d just kick their asses," asserts Hurst. "It would be so bloody."
Perhaps one day we shall see.