Four years after their previous release, Nomadic, Another North out of St. John’s, Newfoundland released their new album The Missing Mouth late September. Giving the band a more decisive and refined sound, The Missing Mouth touches on some classically relatable themes and showcases the band’s more defined direction.
Mixed by Scott Hammond of The Blue Room and mastered by J. Lapointe of Archive Mastering, the album feels like it was a long time coming for the band.
“We supported the release of our debut Nomadic with two east-coast tours. Shortly after returning from the second in October of 2015 we had an opportunity to begin recording some of the material that had become part of our regular sets, but we decided to wait. This was in part due to the financial limitations facing the band, but mostly because we wanted to take some time to focus the sound of Another North,” says lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Morgan.
“[…] Our lead guitarist, Joe Tucker, joined the band for the 2015 tour, so his playing was a large component of defining the feel of the new songs. Our financial woes were answered through the generous support of MusicNL, who provided us with a project grant to assist our completion of The Missing Mouth.”
The four-year gap allowed the band to come into a more decisive sound. The tracks of Nomadic bounced between more pop-punk, heavy-rock and even folk sounds, but The Missing Mouth sticks consistently to the genre of alternative rock. The vocals are more refined and the tracks more polished. This progression hints that the band is feeling more at home in their sound and is demonstrative of their growth and practice.
Though it’s not a concept album, The Missing Mouth sticks to a few common themes that are present throughout, namely broken relationships. This idea is represented directly in the album’s title; it’s the difficulty in seeing eye to eye with or understanding the viewpoint of the other person in a broken bond.
“The Missing Mouth represents a number of things for me: a breakdown in communication, disconnection or change in relationships (romantic or platonic), or a loss of ‘voice’,” continues Morgan.
“It’s not so much an ‘inability’ to communicate, but rather the difficulty truly relating to and hearing what the other person has to say, especially in stained relationships. I’ve had some friendships that have unfortunately gone this way; and they would have been the direct inspiration for the idea.”
“The song ‘Both Sides’ is a conclusive track on the record; it’s an acknowledgment that there are two sides to every situation, & regardless of the intentions of both parties, sometimes things can’t work out.”
But “Both Sides” isn’t the only track to carry that theme. Other songs that reinforce that same sentiment include “Motor Mouth,” “Stay the Same,” “Powdered Sugar” and, of course, the title track, all of which happen to fall on the album’s softer side.
The rest of the songs carry a high energy and are reminiscent of music from the 2000s with riffs sounding like something from The Killers and even New Brunswick favourites Grand Theft Bus. But the sound remains overall modern and clear, and themes relating more closely to the romantic side of relationships shine through.
The band also tied their album art directly into the album’s common thread. Depicting a woman in movement and smearing paint across her “missing mouth,” the artwork gives visual representation to the idea of not having a voice in a matter or having your words mean nothing to those who need to hear them.
“I’ve always loved the abstract/surreal nature of multi-medium artwork, especially acrylic painting on printed photographs, so the plan for the album cover started with an interest in this approach.”
The Missing Mouth feels like a step in the right direction for Another North and merits the long wait. If you like what you hear, you can catch the CD release party on November 23rd at The Rock House in St. John’s. The band will also be touring in 2019; however, the dates have yet to be announced.