Ottawa, get ready for a howl.
The Ketch Harbour Wolves are set to make land at Zaphod’s Beeblebrox Dec 19. With them, they bring a fierce brand of atmospheric rock-pop, including a few new tunes the acclaimed indie band wants to unveil.
Wolves lead guitarist Liam Brown said the Ottawa-Toronto comprised group — with a nod to Ketch Harbour, N.S. — is “not trying to make naval rock or anything.”
The band’s avenging sea concert posters and dark waters lyrics seem to come through naturally in its diverse set list. This reflects the time a few of the band members spend playing on the East Coast.
“We try and strike a balance between different levels of intensity,” Brown said during a break from recording their first LP. “There are a lot of influences with the band that go to folk and other stuff, and it’s kind of like controlled chaos in that nature.”
“There’s an indie vibe to it and there’s some darkness to it. We get compared to the National and Interpol a lot. We also try and make the music accessible like Coldplay and not try to leave anything out. We try to please everybody, so it’s a bit of a smorgasbord.” Jonathan Tyrrell, vocalist and guitarist for the Wolves, said the group will make sure it plays some new tracks during their near-Christmas show at Zaphod’s. He said he hopes the city will embrace these songs just as much as they have embraced their earlier work. The Wolves are now in their third year of existence with two EP’s under their belt, including their latest EP Dead Calm Horizon. Winner of the award for 2008 Album of the Year from Ottawa promoter i(heart)music , this EP is available for free download from the band’s website.
“The crowd will still be seeing a significant amount of Dead Calm Horizon (at Zaphod’s),” Tyrrell said. “Essentially, coming from the award from i(heart)music, we have to give Dead Calm Horizon significant play. But we will be promoting our new stuff as well. We’re moving in a new direction.”
While not saying whether or not these new songs will revolve around lost ships sailing on an angry sea, Brown did say the band’s upcoming first full-length will build upon its earlier work while hopefully leading them into new waters.
“We’re feeling out the rigors of it now and it’s set to go out tentatively in May,” he said, while pointing out the band is looking for more professional help label wise in putting this one out.
“It would be a bit more beneficial to have some support on this one.”