The Backstays are quickly earning a reputation as the bards of Saint John. Their self-titled EP, released in 2018, didn’t hold back when detailing some of the history and challenges of living in the port city. Their latest single, “No Hot Cargo,” has the band heading back to the same well to brew up some hot tea for Saint John’s department of modern affairs.
“The song was inspired by the small-but-mighty protests in Saint John, against Canada’s arms trade and the sale of Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs) to Saudi Arabia while it inflicted war upon Yemen,” says Pete Johnston, The Backstays’ vocalist. “These combat vehicles are made in Ontario, and have been quietly shipped out of the Port of Saint John for the past few years.”
The arms for oil deal is just the most recent chapter in the busy port’s history. The band also cite the hot cargo protest of 1979, when Saint John dock workers led a labour strike – refusing to load a $120 million shipment destined for a nuclear reactor in Argentina, where a military coup overthrew the country’s government.
More than the questionable dealings themselves, “No Hot Cargo” is also a lament for the decline of labour unions that are prepared to stand up against such practices.
“The line ‘If we’re ever gonna wake the dead’ is a nod to activists everywhere trying to resurrect worker solidarity and organize broad worker coalitions,” says Johnston. “‘No Hot Cargo’ mourns the decline of labour unions in recent decades; the roll-back of democratic bargaining rights and the rise of neoliberal capitalism in Canada. I think a lot more people are realizing we have some very serious fundamental problems, and one of the foremost is how do we take power away from these unaccountable billionaires?”
“No Hot Cargo” was recorded and co-produced as part of The Backstay’s upcoming album by Romesh Thavanathan (Hey Rosetta!). The album was, fortunately, completed in a mad rush well before the myriad concerns of 2020 were ever considered.
“Romesh came down from St. John’s to Saint John for a couple weeks in summer 2019,” says Johnston. “We worked pretty much around the clock— it was organized chaos. Romesh brought the organization of course, but he also came with an open mind and willingness to chase down ideas and reign things back when needed. It can be hard to know when a song is finished. It’s all just guesswork at the gut level.”
The debut full-length album, Tributaries, is set to be released sometime in mid-2021.