The Acorn have announced a new album called – Vieux Loup – which will be coming out in May on Paper Bag Records. They have also announced the first single from the new album which is called ‘Influence’.
It’s five years since the last effort (‘No Ghost’) from Rolf Klausener’s Ottawa-based experimental-rock recording vehicle. Up until that point, The Acorn had a pretty steady output with releases every couple of years following their debut, ‘The Pink Ghosts’ in 2004. So where have they been?
Klausener explains: “I never stopped writing, but in practical terms, I didn’t want a rebound,” he says. “The period around our last record ‘No Ghost’ contained some significant break-ups, both professionally and personally. I wasn’t ready to commit to anything, musically or otherwise. I’d lost perspective of the project’s place in my life, and felt saddled to a horse I didn’t recognize, or even know how to ride. By 2014, all distractions were exhausted, and so was I. So, I walked my ass to a cottage to root through four years worth of unfinished demos and make a lot of congee (Ed – a Chinese broth or porridge made from rice). I came home feeling like I was ready to reclaim my pony, even if she was called The Acorn.”
In fact, between the release of ‘No Ghost’ and the forthcoming album ‘Vieux Loup’, Klausener hasn’t been resting on his laurels and has worked with bandmate Pat Johnson and fellow Ottowan Adam Saikaley on an electro dance album ‘Not Forever Enough’ under the monicker Silken Laumann. You can certainly see those influences (no pun intended) on the new single which sees The Acorn move from experimental rock to a stronger indie dance vibe.
‘Influence’ is a nice, soothing return for The Acorn. There’s some light guitar to start with before the song introduced some loops and beats and Klausener’s ethereal, slightly distant vocals. You can hear this being played in a classy London or New York club full of hip young things looking to chill out in the VIP lounge.
“What started as a character study on privilege, became more of a treatise on effortless confidence: like Don Cheadle strutting down the street high-fiving his worst enemies,” says Klausener. “It was written around this lilting vocal improvisation that had no discernible verse or chorus; I wanted the melody to float from bedroom to bar, happily lost, immune to stink eyes.”
The new album Vieux Loup is out in May on Paper Bag Records and we’ll bring you more details soon.
