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By: Jeff Terich
Constantines have all the makings of a truly great rock 'n' roll band. Since emerging with their self-titled debut album in 2001, the Toronto band has drawn comparisons to Bruce Springsteen, their earnest, hard rocking approach and frontman Bry Webb's soulful bellow sounding something like a more modern, post-hardcore influenced take on The Boss' blue collar anthems.
Seven years after that debut album, Constantines sound bigger, more confident and more classic than ever. With the release of their fourth album, Kensington Heights (released April 29 on Arts & Crafts), Webb, guitarist Steve Lambke, keyboardist Will Kidman, bassist Dallas Wehrle and drummer Doug McGregor unleash their most ambitious and sprawling set of songs to date.
While Kensington Heights isn't necessarily the band's loudest, hardest or most intense album, it contains an upfront urgency and accessibility. Songs like "Hard Feelings," "Credit River" and "Trans Canada" show the band at their most incendiary, standing up to the most explosive songs from previous albums. "We wanted to write a bunch of fast punk rock tunes," Lambke says. "We didn't exactly follow through with that, but it got us going. It almost happened."
In contrast, 2005's Tournament of Hearts was a bit noisier, but its bluesy, plodding dirges lent it an air of abstraction and distance, which in turn was a sharp move away from the fierce, Fugazi-like Shine a Light. In the band's canon, Kensington Heights has a unique position, presenting Constantines at their most accessible but also hinting at the full spectrum of their sound.
"We had sort of turned from [Tournament of Hearts]," Lambke says. "For the fun of it, we learned a few of the old songs, and it was really fun playing those sorts of songs. It's all sort of informed by what we do in the meantime. It [Kensington Heights] ended up being really another step in the progression of the band. I don't think it fully circled back to the beginning. It kind of contains elements of everything we've done, but with new stuff as well.
 Constantines by 5500 |
To coincide with the release of Kensington Heights, Constantines issued a seven-inch single featuring a cover of the Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers' classic "Islands In The Stream." The cover finds Webb singing the duet with indie pop diva and sometime Broken Social Scene member Leslie Feist. An odd choice though it may be, the group had actually come up with the idea some time ago.
"We had sorta been talking about it for a long time," Lambke says. "We knew Feist through some mutual friends. It was on a mix CD that someone sent us. In Europe, we played it before and after shows. We just thought it would be fun, so we asked Feist to be Dolly to [Bryan's] Kenny."
Webb is the band's primary vocalist but Lambke occasionally steps behind the microphone to deliver his own lyrics with his throaty rasp. On Shine A Light he delivered the abrasive "Scoundrel Babes," while on Tournament he contributed both the quiet "Windy Road" and the hard groove of "Thieves." Now on Kensington Heights, "Shower of Stones" reveals a Sonic Youth-like contrast to some of the more straightforward rockers on the album. According to Lambke, the group dynamic allows for more experimentation with roles within the band.
"I write the ones that I sing," Lambke explains. "The ones that I sing are the ones that I've written that are a little more complete. But, if we're coming out of a jam, and I say 'I wanna try something with this,' that opportunity's there for anyone in the band. Anything goes."
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