Plants and Animals: Cleaning House in La La Land

It’s been nearly a year and a half since Plants and Animals graced a hometown stage, even though the band’s singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer, Warren C. Spicer still lives in his apartment on Montreal’s avenue du Parc, in which the threesome painstakingly recorded their 2008 debut opus Parc Avenue.

In that time, Nicolas Basque (guitar, bass and keys), Matthew “The Woodman” Woodley (drums) and Spicer played over 150 shows touring Parc Avenue and writing, recording and producing their sophomore album, the decidedly more sober and sophisticated La La Land.

“When we did Parc Avenue we weren’t professional musicians and we didn’t have the time to concentrate on making a record. Sessions were months apart, years apart even. This new record reflects a lot more of the sound we’ve been working on by touring. Parc Avenue jumps from one universe to another. La La Land feels like you’re in one area,” Spicer explains.

Never too far from home
For La La Land, the Parc Avenue bedroom recording studio was dismantled with the idea that they could recreate their debut recording experience in a professional studio. Unfortunately, their efforts to recreate their apartment studio were met with technical difficulties, so the boys made do with working in their new digs and even headed off to a studio in Paris, France for some extra recording time.

”It was kind of an opportunity that came up. It also happens to be a mansion, where we can go and stay”, says Spicer.

“With a wine cellar”, chirps Basque.

Spicer elaborates, “We definitely held on to some safeties, comforts that we developed working the way we did in Montreal for the first record. We went to France and that was good, but I think we needed to hold on to a little bit of home when we were taking our first steps towards making this new record so we didn’t feel like we had jumped into something crazy, or out of our control. When you get comfortable in a studio you get comfortable being creative. It’s scary to think about going to another place where we can’t behave the way we’re used to.”

La La Land was finished late last year and is scheduled to be released this month. Needless to say, Plants and Animals are itching to show off their new creation to their fans. “One of the problems with the record business is that it takes a long time between when you finish something and when you can go present it. It’s frustrating to put all this creative energy into something and get excited about it. Inevitably, when you’re given enough time, you start to doubt it. I respect the reasons for the wait, but it doesn’t make it any easier to sit back for four or five months and clean my apartment."

Plants and Animals
22 avril
La Tulipe |4530, Papineau
with The Barr Brothers
plantsandanimals.ca