DIGITAL READERS CLICK HERE
Hearn ’ s songs include the aforementioned “ By Law ”; the calm and breezy “ Big Back Yard ”; “ The National Park ,” a contemplative memoir of a trip to Africa and an ode to nature ; and the closing “ Internal Dynamo ,” which is hard to qualify as anything other than a wild prog-rock trip . In fact , that particular tune goes so far as to give Robertson a go on drums , and drummer Tyler Stewart taking up the mic for a monstrous vocal performance , echoing a tradition the band has picked up for closing their live shows .
“ I ’ m laughing because it ’ s so Zeppelin ,” Stewart says of Robertson ’ s drum performance . “ And Ed , for a guitar player / singer , is one of the hardest-hitting drummers I ’ ve ever seen . He loves playing , but he always says , ‘ Man , I can only do one song because I blow my arms off .’ I was so excited having him play drums on that track . When we did the initial take , I was jumping around dancing in the room screaming and yelling because it was so exciting . I love that he got to do that on the record , and at the same time I got to sing on that song ; I got to bust out my heavy metal !” Robertson describes the vibe as “ Rage Against the Zeppelin Machine .” He ’ s not off the mark either ; it ’ s a massive closing tune and when it comes in , it comes in heavy . It ’ s awesome .
Naturally , Stewart ’ s reaction to Robertson ’ s drumming would come back around as Stewart recorded his vocals . “ That was great too , because again , it was right in the middle of Ed ’ s living room . I just left it all out on the floor , you know , and it was great ‘ cause the guys are laughing and bopping . Like , they ’ re just having a great time watching me do it as my head was getting redder and redder , and I ’ m trying to record and keep a straight face while they ’ re pointing and laughing .”
These little moments really speak to the camaraderie between the band members , and the almost by-committee method by which their records are made . I asked about who tends to do what in the recording process , and Robertson gave a great answer . “ In some ways , I ’ ll take the most ham-fisted guitar part . If it ’ s a strumming , riffy part , I ’ ll play it . If there ’ s more nimble finesse required , Kev ’ s probably gonna do it . He ’ s a virtuoso on guitar and on keyboards , and I feel zero threat from that . Then with Jim ’ s songs , sometimes he has a very particular feel to his guitar playing . So , in the past , he ’ s asked me to play bass on a song so he can play the rhythm guitar part … And sometimes it ’ s better for him to just do it , then I ’ ll learn the bass and play it live , or sometimes in the studio I ’ ve played the bass parts . When you ’ re trying to serve the song , I don ’ t care who plays the guitar solo , or who plays the leads , and we ’ ve got a bunch of different singers !”
To dig into some more of the music , I found Hearn ’ s “ Big Back Yard ” to be one of the most entrancing tracks on the album , and found it especially relatable as someone who grew up on a 42-acre farm . “ That is a big back yard !” Hearn remarks warmly . The track is a lush , warm , summery-feeling song that is almost a big , bright , beautiful painting as it is a song . “ All I ever wanted was a big back yard / Where me and my brothers could play our guitars / Gaze in wonder at the moon and stars / And sing all night in the big back yard ” Hearn sings .
Then there ’ s “ By Law .” I chuckled out loud numerous times throughout this song , which is just so funny and so charming , and Hearn ’ s casually exasperated , yet nonchalant vocal delivery hits a real sweet spot . And that doesn ’ t mention the phenomenally operatic outro . Hearn tells a story about how during rehearsals for Gord Downie ’ s Secret Path project , one morning he was awoken by a violent crash next door . Upon inspecting the source of the sound , he discovered a contractor in the neighbouring garage throwing pieces of metal into the bed of a pickup truck . Upon imploring that it was seven in the morning , Hearn was greeted by a wry grin and the claim that due to a bylaw , seven in the morning is precisely when work could begin .
“ So , I went back in and closed the door ,” he continues . “ And then I could hear the guy ’ s boss come in . I didn ’ t put this in the song , but he said to his boss , ‘ I think the guy who lives here was kind of upset .’ And I heard his boss say , ‘ It wasn ’ t Gord , was it ?! God forbid we woke Gord up !’ So , it was just kind of funny .” He then says he went right upstairs to his piano and started writing about the whole experience , which he describes as being both funny and frustrating . “ I didn ’ t know it would become a song . I just kind of did it for fun to sort of go with the moment .” It wasn ’ t until a separate incident in which a young police officer pulled Hearn over for failing to complete a full stop that the rest of the song began to take shape ; Hearn had once again fallen victim to a bylaw , and it just so happened that this occurred across from a 7-Eleven , making a perfect rhyme for the first chorus line “ It ’ s time to wake up Kevin .”
Hearn ’ s third tune in the album ’ s runtime is “ The National Park ,” a spacy , thoughtful , and evocative ballad that once again draws on Hearn ’ s lived experiences in quite visceral way . This tune in particular is just a gorgeous intersection of lyricism , live-off-the-floor synergy , polished production , and clever arranging .
And those elements really do pervade through the entirety of Detour de Force in such a tasteful and interesting way , and it really does speak to the journey that not only the quartet has been on in making the record , but the journey of the album ’ s evolution itself . It ’ s real , but it ’ s big . It ’ s thoughtful , but it ’ s fun . It ’ s a triumphant effort , and it also highlights the best of what BNL is as a fully collaborative and exceptionally-talented group of musicians . Ultimately , it ’ s the perfect record to tie the knot on this pandemic as we flip into a brighter future .
Andrew Leyenhorst is a Niagara-based freelance producer , mixer , recording engineer , and a Consulting Editor at Canadian Musician .
CANADIAN MUSICIAN 37