ALEXISONFIRE with NORMA JEAN, FOUR YEAR STRONG and LA DISPUTE at Sound Academy (11 Polson), Thursday and Friday (December 16 and 17), 5:30 pm, all ages. $33.50. RT, SS, TM, UR.
Alexisonfire are failing miserably at underselling themselves.
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Take, for instance, their recent plan to press 200 copies of an Australian tour 7-inch containing covers of Midnight Oil’s Dead Heart on the A-side and a stripped-down version of the Saints classic (I’m) Stranded on the flip. The intention was to give something back to their Down Unda fans, the band’s second-biggest market outside of home.
Instead, Canadian radio locked in on Dead Heart, and it’s quickly become the most spun song in the band’s catalogue, forcing Alexis to put it up on iTunes. The tune, a leftover from the Old Crows/Young Cardinals sessions, had been collecting dust until the idea for a limited vinyl run arose.
“It’s really bizarre,” says singer George Pettit from Sault Ste. Marie. “At the time, our recording engineer commented that it would probably be our biggest song, and we were like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Covers have a funny way of doing that. You do one half-heartedly and it ends up being bigger than you thought.”
Try as they might, the band just can’t seem to quietly put out a small record. In November they released the Dog’s Blood EP (Dine Alone), a four-song set – one Old Crows instrumental and three new tracks – meant to showcase a less produced and more experimental side of the St. Catharines-born screamcore unit.
Instead of booking weeks at a big-money studio like Metalworks, where they’ve recorded numerous times with Julius Butty, the band opted for a small Kensington Market space with Fucked Up’s producer, Jon Drew. The EP’s earned them comparisons to local hardcore heroes Fucked Up, with whom they’ve become close over the years, but has left many fans scratching their heads and complaining loudly on fan message boards.
“We have a pretty good idea of what our fans will and won’t accept,” says Pettit. “I think we all knew going into Dog’s Blood that there were going to be people who liked it and people who didn’t. But that’s how it’s been with every one of our records.
“I don’t think the next one is going to be a full-length version of the Dog’s Blood EP. It’ll be something completely different, like all our records.”
When it’ll come out is impossible to say. The band turns 10 next year, but no activity is planned. Main songwriter Dallas Green has his sights set on a new City and Colour album, and guitarist Wade MacNeil will likely revisit his Black Lungs side project.
Their upcoming Toronto shows, which close out a year in which Alexisonfire toured relentlessly across three continents plus Japan, will likely be the last for some time.
“Everything is up in the air. We hit the road pretty hard this year, and we’re going to go home and get back to reality for a bit.”
music@nowtoronto.com
Watch Alexisonfire play an unnannounced in-store concert on this same tour here!
