Saint John, New Brunswick is an acquired taste. And even if you do manage to acquire it, you know it’s probably for the wrong reasons. But, believe it or not, it is loveable. The Backstays are an ode to just that; they are a band that has stuck around the port city, for better or worse, with a coincidentally appropriate nautical name. Their debut self-titled EP has already garnered them a win as the Stingray Rising Star at this year’s Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival.
Despite its indie-pop sound, the EP is so full of local references it’s practically a folk album in a bubble gum wrapper. The Backstays combine the blue-collar rock of Bruce Springsteen, the song writing style of Matt Mays, the synths of A Flock of Seagulls and the solos of Neil Young, all in sing-songs about Saint John.
“We wanted to have a strong sense of place attached to the EP and there are some consistent themes that pop up throughout the record. We didn’t shy away from anything political or the kinds of issues here in town,” explains The Backstays’ Pete Johnston.
Those issues range from nights on Saint John’s boardwalk, to the famously devastating Groundhog Day Gale of 1976, to living in a corporately-owned province and the idiosyncrasies of the city.
“When Pete and I first began working on the sound, we really wanted to find a way to sound modern, but in a way that still evokes our more classic influences. We love Springsteen and The Band, but we also love Wild Nothing and Alvvays. It’s been a lot of fun to figure out how to do that,” says Keith Whipple, the band’s bassist.
If you listen to Dreams and then Groundhog Gale 76… they are pretty different. And I love that. 80’s tones are just too good to not play with.”
“We wanted it to be dynamic, sonically too. I think the sound of the EP and it’s ups and downs almost mimic the lyrics and themes. But we didn’t want to completely limit ourselves to one sound or genre either,” says Pete.
The album slides from the poppier single of “Dreams” and “Dwellers” down through to the jam-laden “Far From Uptown” and “Must Be Heavy,” and right into the ballad-like “Groundhog Gale ’76” and finally the folk-song (both spiritually and acoustically) “Company Town.” It’s a long slide, and covers a lot of ground, but, all in all, it makes for a nice progression.
As far as debuts go, The Backstays show plenty of promise.