In Wire
DAVID WANLESS - Vocal
DEE CERNILE - Guitar
ANDY FRANK - Guitar
SHAWN T.T. MAHAR - Bass
MIKE FERGUSON - Drums
Welcome to the next level.
Before you crack open a copy of In Wire, the new album from SVEN GALI, do yourself a favour. Take those nasty preconceptions, wrap them up in a plastic bag, and toss them over the bridge of your vivid imagination.
In Wire is such an explosive, radical departure for the Toronto-based band that you'll scarcely believe your ears. But trust them.
After spending the last couple of years slugging it out all over Canada, the U.S. and Europe, resulting in a gold-status debut album with Sven Gali, the boys traveled to Seattle -- home of CANDLEBOX producer KELLY GRAY -- for what turned out to be a life-changing revelation.
"We achieved an album way beyond our expectations," asserts Sven Gali's lead guitarist DEE CERNILE.
Guitarist ANDY FRANK, describes In Wire more succinctly.
"This album is us!"
Recorded over a four-month period at a triumvirate of studios -- Seattle's London Bridge and Robert Lang Studios, and Mississauga's Metal Works -- it's pointless to compare anything on In Wire with such previous hits as "Under The Influence" or the acid-hazed "Tie-Dyed Skies."
Co-engineered by JON PLUM (Candlebox), In Wire is a whole new link in Sven Gali's chain of evolution; a volcanic hotbed of seething rage, passion and under-the-surface tension borne by years of frustration on the survival circuit. In Wire is the cathartic response to years of sleeping in abandoned factories and other sacrifices the members of Sven Gali endured while clawing and scraping their way to the top. In Wire is the alleviating scratch of the seven-year itch since the band's inception in the Southern Ontario municipal triangle of Hamilton, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.
From the primal intensity of the album's dramatic first single, "What You Give", to the soft-spoken anger of "Who Said", In Wire's eleven songs resonate with the turbulent ferocity of internal implosion. There's the defiant aggression of "Keeps Me Down" -- featuring the disciplined rhythm section of bassist SHAWN T.T. MAHAR and drummer MIKE FERGUSON -- and the creepingly agitating "Worms." "Red Moon" is hauntingly introspective, while "Tired Of Listening" features Sven Gali in a whole new realm.
"For me, `Tired Of Listening' was the turning point, " declares vocalist DAVID WANLESS. "We collectively wrote the lyrics, everyone fed off each other. We had recorded `Helen' and `Worms', and felt it was time to get to a new depth, let it all hang out. With that recording, we became a band."
There's the rocking depth of "Shallow"; the psychotic intrigue of "Helen"; and the perplexing angst of "Rocking Chair" also to ponder. No doubt about it: In Wire is chasm deep with nuances and interpretations that aren't easily discerned by just a few listens.
All band members agree that it was Kelly Gray's modus operandi that helped Sven Gali shake off the shackles that often harness self-expression.
"With our last album, we felt we were a bit under the microscope," says Dee. "We discovered with Kelly that album recording isn't a surgical procedure. It's more human and creative. We recorded a song at a time instead of an instrument at a time. He was able to take us from being constricted and stiff, to making us feel relaxed about creating. As it turned out, most of the album was written in the studio."
"The setting was very casual," agrees drummer Mike Ferguson, the newest Sven Gali teammate who formerly played in Seattle's DOG DAZE with producer Gray.
"It was very much `capture the moment'."
It was this spontaneous, experimental atmosphere that allowed Sven Gali to find its own voice, and band members find that more rewarding than the prospect of gold and platinum records.
"A gold record is great, but then that achievement becomes the reason to surpass it," says Andy.
"It's a symbol, that all the work and the touring was worth it. It's just one way of seeing something come back to you -- the medal after the war," adds Dee.
"I'd rather just make records like this forever," asserts Andy.
Another aspect that affected the outcome of In Wire was the spirit of Seattle's musical community.
"In Seattle, everybody hangs with everybody," says Andy Frank. "There's a real community, a different attitude that respects all styles of music."
Indeed, several newfound friends made their presence felt on In Wire. Special guests included CHRIS THORN of BLIND MELON, strumming a mandolin on "Tired Of Listening" and "Who Said"; Candlebox's KEVIN MARTIN and SCOTT MERCADO adding their touches on "Worms" ; and SCOTTY HEARD of SWEATY NIPPLE also visiting on "Tired Of Listening."
A new chapter in the band's continuing evolution, In Wire stands as the prototype for all of Sven Gali's future musical expeditions.
"We're not interested in repeating ourselves," says Dee. "We do not want to be redundant -- just challenging, and a little more daring. We're proud of In Wire because of its integrity. It's honest, real, and made by people who care about each other."
Simply the next step beyond, David Wanless sums up In Wire the best: "You've got to listen to In Wire to discover for yourself what this album means to you."
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February 1995
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