CREDIT: KILLBEAT MUSIC
The Matinée will be at Call The Office on March 25.

I write about random things a lot. I write a lot about random things. Did you know that Zildjian is the oldest family-run business in America today? The cymbal manufacturers are one of the 300 oldest companies in the United States, and produced their first cymbals as far back as 1623 in Armenia.

I don't have a clever way to segue from that opening, so let's just crash forward.

The Matinée is a five-piece group from British Columbia that marry folk, rock and country infectiously, as demonstrated by their debut album We Swore We'd See The Sunrise, released on Light Organ Records on February 26.

Recorded at Armoury Studios in B.C., the album was produced by Steve Berlin and represents a step forward in production for the band — frontman Matt Layzell, guitarists Matt Rose and Geoff Petrie, bassist Mike Young and drummer Pete Lemon. Many a multi—instrumentalist among them, the band shines on their album — We Swore We'd See The Sunrise benefits from the sum of these five friends playing to their strengths.

While much of their time is spent touring the westernmost provinces, The Matinée makes the sojourn into Ontario frequently. They return this week as a part of a cross-country tour that sees them playing a showcase at Canadian Music Week in Toronto before they appear at Call The Office on March 25.

“We're a road band, definitely,” said Layzell, speaking to Interrobang from the van en route to Victoria with the band. “We've had to adjust to life on the road doing this, but we love playing; as much as travelling and being in a band is about getting to see towns and meeting people, it's still about playing shows. If we can be playing every night, we will — that's when we're happy.”

The five friends all grew up together in Coquitlam, playing in various high school bands to hone their skills before joining together a few years ago. Their current tour sees them travel from Victoria to Montreal by way of 17 gigs that pepper each province, night after night.

“We've really been working on our live show, we're really at home on stage,” Layzell explained, describing the band's approach in the studio. “We really wanted to capture that energy with this recording, and that's something that Steve Berlin was successful in achieving.”

“I like to think we have a very inclusive show, where the audience gets to participate and have some fun with us,” he continued. “The recording is one thing, but we don't want people just to go to the show to hear the record, we want to give them a live experience, so we've been working hard on putting a set together to do that.”

The efforts have paid off; We Swore We'd See The Sunrise is packed with the kind of personality that only dynamic recording can reveal, the sort of album that is so well recorded and produced that it allows the performers' personality to shine through. The result is bittersweet — an album that is full of character is often also full of flaws.

“I had to step away from it, and just let it be what it was going to be,” Layzell concurred, describing the peace and perspective he found in taking some time to clear his mind during recording. “As the musicians on tape, we hear every flaw in everything we've done, and part of that is what give it a charm, but there's always stuff that nags at you that you wish you could've gone back and fixed, even if nobody hears it but we do.”

“Then we had an album listening party a few weeks ago for everybody that was involved in the record in the local industry, just to build some hype. It was really the first time I'd listened to the album from front to back in months, and it was a proud moment. I think we did a good job and it sounds really good, and to see everyone's response in hearing it for the first time was exciting.”

We Swore We'd See The Sunrise is an outstanding achievement in a debut album, available now in physical or digital copies for sale or on your favourite streaming service.

For more on The Matinée, visit them online at thematineemusic.com or follow along on Twitter @thematineemusic. They appear in London at Call The Office with Electric Six on March 25, doors open at 9 p.m. and tickets are $13 in advance or $15 at the show.

And for more of the latest music news, views and recommendations, consider following this column on Twitter @fsu_bobbyisms. Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Fanshawe Student Union executive elections last week, and welcome new student representatives! Thanks for wanting to make the school a better place. I'm out of words.