We were frustrated because everything was just all fucked up,” is how vocalist Rasmus Walter Hansen quite accurately describes the experience.
One reason for the battle of the band is the group’s worst gig to date, the evening before at the hip Notting Hill Arts Club.
Staged to give the band true credibility and attract the right manager, the concert was ruined by horrible technical troubles, including a 45-minute-long attempt to bring a dead guitar amp back to life. And the entire spectacle was witnessed by the right people from the industry.
A combination of being put into an onstage pillory and being cooped up in month-long exile in the quiet countryside result in the--normally diplomatic—band’s first major row. Five years of pent-up frustration and suppressed emotions—large and small—erupt in enraged voices.
Clearing the air—and filling it with rock
Nobody has any fun in the midst of the turbulence, but luckily the voices find the right tone and before too long they realize the value of childhood friendships and being best friends. The quartet cleans the slate and clears the air. The breath of fresh air is used to look ahead and use negative energy constructively.
“You could say that you can hear the clash in the record,” says guitarist Niels-Kristian Bærentzen. He’s referring to the initial, jarring effect of the hard-handed approach taken in The Outside: Grand Avenue plays rock with more edge.
The bursts of energy from the angry verbal exchanges is morphed into music and lyrics in which ballads are basically non-existent, and where darker rock emerges as it did in the ‘80s with bands such as New Order, Joy Division, The Cult and Simple Minds. Just listen to “Closer,” “Give Myself Away” or the head-first (and real sexy) “London” and you’ll hear it.
“We pared down the sound of wood,” says Rasmus, in wry reference to the group’s two previous albums, which were both written with the help of acoustic guitar.
This is another step in the development of the band, a feature that meshes perfectly with the fact that it’s not just the frontman who pens the songs.
“It sort of happened suddenly and naturally, that the others would contribute input and not just sit and wait for Rasmus to come up with something. Sure, the ordeal was dramatic and frustrating at times, but we managed to change things for the better,” notes Niels-Kristian with a smile. He underlines another important point about The Outside: The band has become (even) better at being a band.
The Outside was produced by Richard Rainey (U2, Mew, and others) and will be released on April 30, 2007.