"I was thinking about this band for a long time before it actually existed," says Eleanor King, when asked about how Wet Denim formed. "I knew I wanted to play with other women and was trying to come up with my own dream team." King and fellow dream team members Leigh Dotey, Victoria Parker and Jess Lewis have gathered in a north end living room to drop some truth bombs about the genesis of the band and its new full-length record. The four agree that they wanted the band to act as a space where all of them could feel safe to contribute to a creative process. They've accomplished a lot since forming in January 2012 (including performing at the Sobey Art Awards) and this weekend the Khyber Club will host the release of their first album: a long gestating self-titled record full of songs about trips, truth and structural collapse.
Their new record is a breezy 10 song burst of light, airy pop songs. It's just jammed full of hooks, and comes together like a warm blanket during a blizzard, which is fitting. Last winter, the band set up camp to record in Lewis' parents' home in Boutiliers Point, just outside Halifax, along with friend Evan Cardwell, who acted as engineer and all-around recording guru. After surviving a harrowing late-night drive from the city in the snow, the band awoke to find they had been completely snowed in. This isolation shows up in the album's deliberate production choices. Whereas when recording in their other musical projects has always had a more meticulous feeling, the songs the four have written as Wet Denim came together in a way conducive to being recorded live off the floor in the snowed-in winter wonderland.
The band also credits Halifax's relative isolation as a province with helping shape their sound and DIY aesthetic. "People ask 'What do you sound like?' and my answer is Halifax," says King. The other band members agree Halifax's local music community was an influence on the recording process and finished songs, a community where it often feels like everyone is either in a local band, or talking about one. "The music scene in Halifax is so rich," says Dotey, "you end up having to create a scene on your own." Hugh Stewart
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Wet Denim w/Mike O’Neill
Saturday, November 30 at 10pm, $7/$15 with album
The Khyber, 1588 Barrington
