From their name, the Gallop may suggest something fleet and fast. Names can be tricky though — the Ottawa indie-rock band took two years to write and record their debut full-length.
To follow up their 2010 self-titled EP, the band recruited more than 15 guest musicians to make the album. With the new, untitled record ready for release, the band are proud of the work did, said vocalist and guitarist David Gervais.
“We put a lot more time, effort, heart, and soul into this one,” he said, chuckling.
The band formed around Gervais and guitarist Michael Holmes. Friends since childhood, the two learned how to play guitar in their early teens. They formed Gallop after high school, Gervais said, mainly as “a little recording project.”
From there, Gervais’ older brother, Paul Ross, stepped in on drums. While Ross was primarily a guitarist, Gervais said, he adds a different set of influences to the band’s work.
“Paul’s a good musician, and his background comes from a more ‘simple is better’ kind of thing,” guitarist PJ Catsiyannis said.
“[It’s] back-to-basics, but still has an overall influence from every member.”
Gallop’s lineup kept growing, and guest players took a big role on the album, too. The band would often wait, sometimes for weeks, for collaborators to record their parts, Gervais said.
“A lot of it was just kind of having players improvise, and seeing what they would initially put on it,” he said.
“And then we just worked with them, bouncing off ideas. We recorded a lot more so we could take away what we needed and just leave the sweet stuff behind.”
Gabrielle Giguere, who performs folk music under the name Her Harbour, sang backing vocals on the album. Gallop took a friendly approach to recording, she said.
“It was just really exciting, just kind of hanging out, recording, and having a good time doing it,” she said. “There wasn’t as much pressure, financially.”
The band self-produced the album in Ross’ home, pooling bits of recording equipment that each member had. This approach gave them a lot of freedom, but, as Catsiyannis said, it had its drawbacks, too.
“The pros are that you can record any time you want. I guess the cons would be that the music is constantly in your head, so you’re always thinking about changing something or taking something out,” Catsiyannis said.
The long wait did affect how the album turned out. It was going to feature more prog-influenced parts, but Gervais said the band cut them so the album would be short enough to release on vinyl.
“We did intend to have interludes between songs and make [the album] kind of spacey,” Gervais said.
“But then we sporadically, last minute, wrote one or two extra songs, and then it just got too long in that sense.”
Despite the changes and time delays, the album still has a very organic feel, Gervais said.
“In my mind, it is what I always wanted it to be,” he said.
