The Acorn Head To The Wild For No Ghosts

March 16th, 2010

the-acorn

To work on their upcoming album No Ghosts, The Acorn took their name to heart and moved to the woods. Last year, they rented a cottage in Northern Quebec and cut themselves off from phones and Internet. While in self induced seclusion, they wrote new songs as a group and reward themselves after two years of touring. “There is a reason why those places are in the country. It’s a way to get away from distractions. It’s important to set time aside to separate yourself from the day to day,” lead singer Rolf Klausener said.

The Acorn have cleverly caught on to the creative cottage trend along with Obijou and The Wooden Sky. One of the biggest indie artists of the past two years, Bon Iver, was born out of lead singer Justin Vernon’s father’s secluded cottage. It’s not that bands weren’t taking up the call of the woodsman before now but more and more songs are coming out after being conceived in the woods.

The album No Ghosts is a follow-up to Glory Hope Mountain which told the story of Klausener’s Honduran-immigrant mother, Gloria Esperanza Montoya which is loosely translated into the album’s name. He interviewed his mother in eight hours over eight Sundays so he could add her story to a long family tree developed by his great uncle. “I didn’t know a lot about it because it’s not dinner table talk,” Klausener said. When the band heard about his project, they came up with the idea that the album should be based around her life.

This time around, No Ghosts is expected to have a poppier and more positive vibe than Glory Hope Mountain. They showcased a lot of their new songs on Friday during Canadian Music Week to a very receptive audience, with two drum kits and a more electric sound. Their CMW showcase was their first big gig in the past five months and observant fans may have noticed a membership shuffle. They revealed their new bass player and announced that Howie Tsui is leaving the band to pursue his visual art career. With their new songs, The Acorn proved that they are both a band that plays pleasant, mellow music and can hit you with a tornado of rock, hopefully one that doesn’t total your cabin in the woods.

Tags: Obijou, The Acorn, The Wooden Sky