Lithium Magazine

By Elena Maystruk
Photos by Vanessa Markov

www.facebook.com/wearecorners?sk=app_204974879526524

Lee's Palace was chock full of bands the night Corners made its five-song showcase and no one's music was a bigger shock to the senses than the rock fest given by this up and coming band. While a couple of the boys were off doing their own thing before the show, I sat down with two of Corners' chilled out members, Matthew O'Halloran (vocals) and Mark Anderson (lead guitar). I was curious to know how they felt about the recent media attention the band has been getting, and was really glad to see how laid back they were as artists and as people. So, sitting atop a rickety stool at Lee's Palace that was too high for my 5” 2 self, I posed my questions.

Elena: I know you guys are featured on the Edge as band of the month. Considering that it’s a mainstream music station, I think that's pretty impressive. What do you think you brought to the places you've played and what are you bringing to Lee's Palace tonight that's different from other Toronto Indie bands?

Matthew: Good question! That's a difficult one... I don't know... how strange our drummer is? Ha-ha. What sets us apart? Maybe we use some more electronic elements, but I don't really think that stands out too much. As far as indie rock goes, I think we sound different from a lot of indie bands happening right now.

Mark: I guess I would say songwriting, the collaboration we all bring together; something kind of new happens, I think.

Elena: I hear you guys often being compared to other artists - that's usually how people describe your sound (by comparison). Do the comparisons to distinct musical personalities ever make you feel creatively boxed in, like your own voices are being lost in well-known musical names and your sound is drowned out?

Mark: No, not at all. We borrow from a lot of bands and I don't think there's one in particular that we plagiarize, so I'm pretty comfortable with anything that people want to give us tribute for.

Matthew: Our list of influences is so broad that it’s nice to be compared to all the stuff that we have been compared to.

Elena: You see it as a good sign that people mention well-known artists when they think of you.

Matthew: Definitely.

Elena: What went into this album?

Matthew: This album is kind of weird because this band and this album has been forming for the last two or three years. We started basically by writing in a basement and only a small amount of ideas made it past that stage into this one. The five songs we are releasing have been in the making for quite some time.

Mark: I think Matthew starts off with an idea and the rest of us add structure. He brings a good idea to the table always.

Elena: Well, when I listen to your songs I personally love the lyrics most. So what words in those songs are the most important to you?

Matt: Stories, almost everything is based off of personal experience, thought, or views. I definitely went through an interesting period when we were writing these songs so I had a lot to draw from. I just wrote about stuff that happened to me, stuff I was thinking, stuff I wanted to say.

Elena: Alan Cross praised your song “Bitter” on his blog. How do you feel about that song getting so much attention?

Matt: I feel great about any of our songs being popular. If any of our songs get praise from somebody like that, we're more than happy.

Matt: I feel like one of the songs on the EP that maybe doesn't come across as well on the recording but is one of my favourites to play live is “Night's When I'm Bored”. It definitely takes on a different character (live).

Mark: I think that it’s kind of cool that out of our songs, a lot of people we meet have a favourite one. They are all talked about and they seem to suit people's different tastes and moods differently. I've got an affection for all of them myself so I'm rooting for them all to do well.

Judging by crowd reaction to the band’s performance, it would seem lots of people are rooting for them to do well. Corners' EP had its showcase at Lee's Palace this past Friday night, with fans gathered round the flashing stage. As the last act of the night, they turned the crazy, tank-topped hair-dancers and the goofy buddies of other band members into dimly lit figures, as they swayed and nodded to the sincere raw sound that Corners brought to the show.

The band made news a lot before this five-song debut. The Edge radio station posted them on their site's homepage as band of the month for January, and Mississauga-native, drummer Calvin Castellino, was featured with his bandmates in the Mississauga News. This probably fuelled well-meant chirps from more experienced bands before the newcomers went on stage. But if other artists got people to move on the dance floor, then Corners made them freeze and look.

Their debut album is good for such a young band. “Bitter” is a great song that stands out, as paraphrased from radio personality Alan Cross. Listening to the songs playing on laptop, I gravitate more towards certain tracks, such as “The Frog and Toe”, which is my second favourite to “Bitter”. I love it because the lyrics are simple, making them effortless and sincere. Initially, “Nights When I'm Bored” didn’t move me quite as much as other tracks, but clearly hearing it played live provided me with a different and enthusiastic point of view. Reaction from the crowd paired with my own surprising emotional response revealed one crucial fact: this band was meant to play on stage. Anything that sounded tame in the recorded version of their music came alive in a rush of bone trembling bass lines, and Corners gathered the crowd like no one else that night.

Mark Anderson demonstrated a strong, quiet mastery as lead guitarist, and Matthew O'Halloran displayed a Ryan-James-Dio-esque vocal that was like a punch to the face, yet strangely coming from a guy who looks more like a friendly, hipster Chris Martin from Coldplay. In short, these boys were a force to be reckoned with on stage.

The band's dedication to prove their worth really stood out. They shared the stage with The Colts, Wentworth and London Swagger; bands with more experience and real stage presence. And next to them, Corners sounded every bit as good; a seasoned band, not at all like a freshman in his first year. The random, constantly adjusted technical issues with mics and volume would undermine the keyboard or vocals at times - key features of Corners' signature sound. Yet despite this, the true creativity of the music didn't suffer.

Wentworth may have rocked the house with their heavier tunes, and got the crowd excited about buying the band shots of Jack Daniels in exchange for a T-shirt, but they had nothing on the last act of the night. Corners got up there with no mention of merch or silly jokes, and just played.