| The Wars of 1812: Skyrockets in Flight |
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| Written by Andrea Myers | |
| Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at 01:08 PM | |
 The Wars of 1812 - Photo by Alexa Jones Listen to Radio Unsigned from Status Quo Ante BellumThe Wars don't take much coaxing, though. The foursome are so natural around one another that the spontaneity of the photo shoot doesn't seem that far of a stretch from their daily lives. The group—Bobby Maher on drums, Mei-Ling Anderson on bass, Peter Rosewall on keys and Pisano on lead vocals and guitar—relocated to the Twin Cities last August to live and play together, after realizing that an album that they recorded together on a whim was too promising to let slip through the cracks. Since that time, their close living quarters and time spent working on new material has only strengthened the camaraderie of the group. It seems like a tired cliché (Imagine that! A band that lives and practices together has familial qualities), but the brothers-and-sister nature of the group is palpable. “We bonded musically,” explains Pisano, in reference to their one-off recording session. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.” On their debut album, Status Quo Ante Bellum, the bond between the Wars members comes across loud and clear. Rosewall’s tinkering organ parts slide easily between Pisano’s guitar riffs, and the 37-minute album floats by like a daydream of syncopated rhythms, sentimental lyrics and unadulterated indie-pop joy. It would be easy to write the disc off as derivative at first listen—some songs are extremely reminiscent of Spoon and Wilco (“Homestay,” “Driftin’”), while others channel Paul Simon (“Forget You Madly”)—but the whole thing is so damn catchy that it doesn’t even matter. The Wars are able to combine these influences into one over-reaching soundscape, owning up to their influences while simultaneously crafting their own irresistible sound. Pisano, the chief songwriter of the group, admits that he can’t help but imitate his musical mentors, and explains that this process of channeling artists has helped to define songwriting identity. “There’s a really intense thing that happens to me when I find someone who I respect,” he says. “It’s almost painful. It hurts how good it is. Once I am satiated with it, then I will try to write something that is better than that person can write. And if I can write just one of those songs, then it lets up, and I can like the person again. I’ve ruined a lot of honest artists that way—become obsessed with them, and wanted to be better than them, eventually just getting one or two good tracks that are influenced by that person, and then I’m done.” He says that he is currently working through that process with Justin Vernon, with whom the Wars of 1812 and Vernon’s band Bon Iver share a manager. “He's my fucking hero,” Pisano laughs. The Wars are scheduled to open for Vernon at one of his sold-out shows at the Turf Club later this month, an opportunity that will likely help the band gain a following locally. For now, though, the Wars are concentrating on revisiting the songs on Status Quo and preparing for Friday’s CD release show at the Varsity Theater. “We weren't intending to release Status Quo at all,” says Pisano. “That was something we were selling out of paper bags at shows, to make some money.” In fact, the album was regarded as such an afterthought by the band that they had already started working on new material when they rejoined to play live shows. “The very first gig we played together as the four of us was a year after we recorded the album,” Maher says. “We recorded the album, then Mei went to France, so it wasn’t until August of the next year [2007] that we actually played a show as the four of us. We were already playing new songs at our first show.” “We have too many songs for our own good right now,” adds Anderson. After the interview and a pit stop at Wendy’s, the band takes me over to a recording studio at McNally Smith where seniors Lukas Gohl and Ben Rhinesmith have been working on new tracks with the band. We all cram into the mixing room and listen to a few songs, and the band tosses disclaimers and taunts at each other over the mix. The cuts are still pretty rough, but it’s clear that the Wars already have more than a few promising songs under their collective belt for the next record. One thing’s for sure: for a young band with so much momentum and dedication, the Wars of 1812 have a bright future ahead of them. Here’s wishing them a safe flight as they launch into the stratosphere. Wars of 1812 website Wars of 1812 MySpace page UP NEXT: The Wars of 1812 play a CD release show for Status Quo Ante Bellum this Friday, April 4 at the Varsity Theater. With Chris Koza and Jeremy Messersmith. 9 p.m. $8. 18+.  |
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| Last Updated: Thursday, April 3, 2008 at 05:35 PM |
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