Heathers makes an impression at Music Week

The weekly article I write is intended to publicize the concerts of artists who have recently performed in London, or will be performing in the near future. This one, however, has nothing to do with that.

It's about a band called Heathers, twin singer-songwriters Ellie and Louise McNamara, who I saw perform in Toronto during Canadian Music Week. They were part of an Irish music showcase, which flew half a dozen unknown bands overseas, and set them up in a venue to play for Canadian audiences. It was there at The Hideout that my friends and I saw Heathers for the first time and were blown away. Right after they left the stage, I asked the girls for an interview.


But to preface this a little bit, before Heathers performed, a young band called Halves were onstage. Talented, no doubt, but a stark contrast to the latter musicians. As Halves packed up their cello, keyboards, drums, guitars and glockenspiel, the girls took the stage with only two microphones and a single acoustic guitar.

Acoustic acts notoriously have trouble playing in bars, and especially playing after such a cacophony of sound, but nearly every head was pointed towards the stage when the sisters started singing - a mix of folk, pop, and perhaps a little traditional Celtic music too.

They play so well together that it's hard to imagine the two 19-year-olds never had the intention of even starting a band.

“One day, Louise came into my room,” Ellie started the story before her sister took over, “and I said ‘Ellie, try to put harmonies to this just to see for a laugh to just be interesting, and it sounded pretty cool. So we put it on Myspace and loads of our friends, everyone started reacting pretty well. So... it just got more serious as we went.”

Since then, they've toured the US, all over Ireland, and have an album out called Here, Not There co-released on Hideaway Records in Ireland and Plan-It-X in the States. It's a collection of 11 songs that are poignantly written — the lyrics especially - in quite a unique way.

Many of them don't rhyme in the traditional sense, or sometimes they don't at all. And they're littered with deeper meanings and imagery (see: ‘words of glass', ‘green eyed monsters in parallel worlds', etc).

“Most of our songs are pretty metaphorical,” Ellie said. “They're really personal experiences and situations for us, but we write them in a way that can apply to anyone, so you can listen to it and it could mean something completely different than what it means to us... It's looking at it in a broader sense.”

For all their personal songs, however, there's something playful about the band, too. They laughed and made jokes throughout the interview, and even the band name refers to the 1989 dark comedy of the same name.

So it's no surprise that the cover art for Here, Not There fits the girls' aesthetic perfectly. It's a haphazard array of cardboard cut-out buildings, clouds and monsters placed over top of a printed out sheet of lyrics sewn together with string.

Both the recording and artwork for the album were also collaborative projects, and the visual side was put together by friends Jan Campbell and Dylan Haskins.

“It's all handmade. It's all cardboard cut-outs and [the back panel] is all sewn in and it's the same within here,” Ellie explained. “They put so much effort into it and that concept translates into our music because what we do, we do it ourselves, and craft it together.”

That spirit of collaboration in the arts can be seen worldwide, through such events like Canadian Music Week, where Irish groups played for packed bars in Toronto. It makes perfect sense, as Canada and Ireland share many of the same artistic qualities.

Certainly, some of the finest artists have come from both countries (with a few megastars from each), but we also tend to find ourselves overshadowed by powerhouse music producing nations, like the States and England. In a country of only five million or so, Heathers have been finding ways to overcome that.

“At the moment we've found so far, there's a huge group of people who really want to help independent bands who don't have that huge support,” said Ellie. Still, she acknowledges that “there is a huge barrier between Americanized bands and Irish artists.”

But the girls thoroughly enjoyed the time spent in Toronto, and despite several complications (including every piece of luggage lost on behalf of Air Canada), they have left with happy memories.

Touring here is currently a little easier than the States, anyway, where Heathers aren't of legal drinking age. Ellie, in describing the age restricted, conveyed her thoughts perfectly, with: “That's mental!”

For now it's back to studies for Louise and Ellie, who are currently either enrolled, or enrolling in post-secondary education, but until they return to play Canada again, do yourself a favour and check out their music at www.myspace.com/heatherswhatsyourdamage