ARTIST:Northlane
TITLE:Mesmer
CATNO:UNFD080
RELEASE:March24,2017
FORMAT:CD,LP,digital
Isthemanpartmachineoristhemachinepartman?
Mesmer,Northlane’sbeautifulnewalbum,representsbothsidesoftheequation.The
band’smostorganicyetprecisealbumyet,itcoversfamiliartopicsbutrendersthemina
newway,atoncepayingheedtotheband’sheaviestrootsandlookingforwardtoan
unwrittenfuture.ItisthefullestandmostaccurateexpressionyetofwhoMarcusBridge
(vocals),JonathonDeiley(guitar),JoshSmith(guitar),AlexMilovic(bass)andNic
Pettersen(drums)reallyare.
“ThealbumstartedtakingshapearoundalyricfromSavage–‘Throughtheeyesofthe
sun’–whichtalksaboutwhathumansocietylookslikefromanexternal,objective
viewpoint,”saysMarcus.“Andfromthere,thewritingbecamemoreandmorepersonal
butstillretainedthatsamesenseofcontextandinterestinthebiggerpicture.”
“JonsaidwhilewewerewritinginGermanythatweshouldn’tbeafraidofsayingwhat’s
importanttous,andwhetherit’sastoryaboutsomeonewho’spassedawayor
somethingbroaderregardingthestateoftheworldthensobeit,”hecontinues.“Itreally
isalloneandthesame.”
TheabidingthemeofMesmer(producedbyDavidBendeth)ismagnetismbetweenall
livingcreatures,somethingwhichhasitsrootsinthepsychedelicexperienceandwhich
hasbeenpercolatingwithinNorthlane’sconsciousnesssincetheband’sinception.“Was
itintentionalforMesmertobethematicallyconnectedtoNode?Definitelynot,”smiles
Josh.“ButwehaveanalbumcalledSingularity.Theseideashavealwaysbeenthere.”
ThatMesmerisstalkedbydeath–closingtrackParagondealsexplicitlywiththelossofa
closefriend,whileVeridianandFadearealsointimatelyconcernedwithbereavement–
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makesitsrhapsodiesonlifeallthemorejoyful.Colourwaveisalovelettertotheactof
creationitself,whileCitizenturnstheband’smostpoliticalstatementyetintoapleafor
unityandIntuitionlinkspersonalstrugglewithawiderresponsibilitytothosearoundus.
Mesmerishumantoitscore,andthathumanityrunsfromthebonemarrowofitslyrics
totheverywayitwascreated.
Writingbeganinafamiliarfashionas2015drewtoaclose:Jongrindingoutriffsathis
laptopalonewhileJoshwrotenewlyricstodevelopthethemesofNode,theband’sthird
album,boththeirfirstwithMarcusandNorthlane’sfirst#1ontheARIAchart.But
withoutanyconsciousdiscussionastowhy,theband’swritingprocessslowlyevolved.
Onpreviousalbums,lyricsandmusicwouldbecomposedindependentlyandthen
broughttogetherinthestudio;nowwordsandsoundsbouncedspontaneouslybetween
Jon,MarcusandJosh.Thiscontinuedthroughout2016,andastintbetweenlegsofa
EuropeantourwritingatthebucolicGhostCityRecordingsinBavaria,Germanybore
furtherfruit.
“Usuallytheinstrumentalsdon’tchangeafterthey’rewritten,butthistimetherewasa
lotmoregiveandtakewiththelyrics,”saysJon.“We’realwaysaskedwhywedocertain
things,butit’ssimplythatwe’reconstantlytryingtomakethingsthebesttheycanbe.At
thebeginning,Northlanesongswerebornonacomputerusingtablaturesoftware,soto
gofromthattousingideasthatcameoutofjammingatsoundcheckwithNiciswild.
We’veneverdonethatbefore,andthat’swhythesesongsfeelalotmorehuman.”
SpendingaweekintheGermancountrysidecementedthefeelofMesmer,bothlyrically
andmusically.Lookingback,thebandattributethisnewfoundfluiditytothewritingto
beingcloserasfivefriendsthaneverbeforebutatthetimeitwassimplyanaturalbyproductofspendingsomuchtimetogether.Andthen,inSeptember,Northlanedid
somethingelsenew:flewtoNewJerseytoletathirdpartygetundertheskinoftheir
songsinawaythey’veneverdonebefore.
ThatsomeonewasDavidBendeth,aproducerwithatrackrecord(BringMeTheHorizon,
Paramore,ADayToRemember)thatappealedbecausehecouldgetrightintotheguts
ofthemusicandmakeNorthlanethemostcompellingversionofthemselvespossible.
HeandJonoversawMesmer’sgestationfromafewideasthatshotbackandforthover
emailintoaman-machineorgano-digitalbeast.
WhatemergedfromthestudioisNorthlane’sdefiningstatement.Andpresentedtotheir
fansinsuchanunorthodoxandexcitingmanner,Mesmerwillechoworldwidethrough
2017andlongbeyond.
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MarcusBridgevocals
JonathonDeileyguitar JoshSmithguitar
AlexMilovicbass
NicPettersendrums
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