CREDIT: GEOFF STAIRS
Toronto's HIGHS will be stopping by London on November 8 at Call The Office. See you there?

I write about random things a lot. I write a lot about random things. Now that the Foo Fighters’ documentary Sonic Highways has made its debut on television, we’re finally getting a glimpse into the new record of the same name, due for release next week on November 11.

In recent weeks, the band has released songs from the album for sale and stream in concurrence with episodes exploring the landscape of Chicago, Washington and Nashville. While perhaps not the best strategy for an album release, the singles provide an interesting form of closure, audio epilogues to the story that underline the importance of substance and storytelling in popular music.

Meanwhile in Toronto, five– piece indie-rock act HIGHS are also considering the craft of songwriting of late, workshopping new music and planning for an eventual full-length release. The band – guitarists Doug Haynes and Joel Harrower, keyboardist Karrie Douglas, bassist Paul Vroom and drummer Melvin Murray – has just re-released its self-titled debut EP with a new bonus track called “Mango” in time to join tour heavyweights Northcote and Twin Forks on a trip westward across Canada.

HIGHS’ tour kicks off this week in Guelph and will visit Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto before rolling into London this weekend – HIGHS and co. will perform a licensed/ all-ages show at Call The Office on November 8.

“With regard to our live set and the music that we’ll hopefully be putting out over the next several months, [the new song] aligns more with the EP,” Haynes said, remaining vague when describing the sound of new material in progress. “There are some similarities between the EP and the full-length we’re working on, but ‘Mango’ is more on the pop end of the spectrum, heavy on the melody … we felt that it would make the most sense artistically to re-release the EP with that sixth song.”

The band has grown in front of its audience, evolving from humble beginnings as a bedroom demo project for Haynes into a proper five-piece that he holds in high regard. While he admits that it took time to develop the kind of comfort and trust he shares with the band, he feels feedback and acumen make the music incomparably better.

“I would say it’s a huge plus – they say that two heads are better than one, but we’ve got five,” Haynes said. “When you’re writing a song, you can get in the zone and have a one-sided perspective on it, but when you open that up to other people, you can reach the full potential of what it could be. It’s a cool experience to have your friends and fellow musicians help to mold a song and get it to a point you didn’t know it could get to.”

“I would much rather have people working on it with me than to just be doing it myself, I think it’s important. Especially in a band setting – if you have people that you’re working with, you want them to have artistic say in it as well. I think that’s for the best.”

To say that HIGHS is keeping busy would be an understatement. Although the band invests considerable time and energy in songwriting, the quintet is touring more and more into the fall. In fact, this current tour comes right on the heels of a mini-marathon of performances at CMJ 2014 in New York City – the group performed seven gigs in as many places over five nights from October 21 to 25.

The inclusion of “Mango” on the band’s re-released EP suggests that its summery flavour may not necessarily reflect the future direction of the band – though the single “Summer Dress” or the infectious sing-along harmonies of “Harvest” are top-rate earworms – but Haynes is confident that the music is an exciting step forward for the group, embracing news aspects of songwriting together.

“The most fun we have is when we’re playing new songs, because it’s fresh,” he said. “It’s exciting to re-release the EP but we’re also really excited about the next chapter.”

For more on HIGHS and their self-titled EP, visit highsmusic. com or follow along on Twitter @highsmusic. Their gig with Northcote and Twin Forks at Call The Office this Saturday, November 8 promises to be a night to remember – show starts at 9 p.m., tickets are $20 in advance from ticketfly.com.

And for more of the latest in music news, album streams and concert previews, follow this column on Twitter @fsu_bobbyisms. Support your local music scene. I’m out of words.