Interview Lowell Sostomi of Great Bloomers

We won’t call Toronto’s Great Bloomers a Canadiana act. Apparently they don’t like that. But the label—often tossed around in the music press to describe bands like Bloomers, Wooden Sky, The Sadies, Rural Alberta Advantage, and other groups whose take on indie rock is decidedly rootsy—is interesting, suggesting a kind of typically Canadian modesty that might work to hold bands back. With their newest full-length, which they just put the finishing touches on (literally today), Bloomers seem ready to unshackle themselves from the label. (And apologies if, in considering it, we backhandedly reinforced that. We didn’t mean to do that.)

Since the release of their debut LP, 2009’s Speak of Trouble, the Great Bloomers’ lineup has changed over (almost) in its entirety. The sole original member is singer/songwriter Lowell Sostomi. But the gradual changeover has yielded impressive results. Great Bloomers—who are: Adrian Cook, Anthony McKnight, Tim Moxam, Kyle Watt, and Sostomi—have evolved from playing a sunny, sing-along-ready kind of bright indie pop to something heavier, more befitting barroom foot-stomps than hand-claps (as anyone who attended their floor-quaking NXNE showcase earlier this year can attest).

We spoke with Sostomi in advance of the band’s show on Wednesday at the Dakota about the new record, the new band, and shaking off labels.

The A.V. Club: When did you head into the studio to start working on the new record?

Lowell Sostomi: We went into the studio in November, did 15 days, and then we’ve done a few days here and there just finishing things up. I believe by this Tuesday we should be done.

AVC: This Tuesday meaning tomorrow?

LS: This Tuesday, meaning the day after today.

AVC: Are you happy with it, all tolled?

LS: I couldn’t be happier. Chris Stringer is an amazing producer, and the Lincoln County Studio is just kind of a second home to us by now. It was an amazing experience.

AVC: How’d you settle on Chris Stringer to produce the record? He’s worked with some other great local bands, like Wooden Sky, Timber Timbre, and Ohbijou.

LS: Stringer’s forte is making guitars sound amazing. And it’s very much a guitar-heavy, rockier kind of record. That’s one of the reasons we chose Stringer. Also, his involvement with Timber Timbre showed how he could make a very moody, cohesive record. And he’s fucking hilarious.

AVC: So what is the mood of the new record, compared to Speak of Trouble?

LS: It’s darker-sounding. A lot darker. Speak of Trouble is very sunny and clean-sounding. This is heavier. It’s got a very different vibe.

AVC: And a lot more guitar-heavy, presumably.

LS: A lot more attention was paid to guitar tones. But yeah, there’s sort of heavier guitar… I’m just going to trail off on that one.

AVC: The lineup has changed, almost entirely, since the first record, with this kind of gradual turnover of every member, except for you. How has this affected the songwriting and arranging on the new album?

LS: Well, it’s affected things greatly. It sounds like a new band. And it is. It was nice to sort of integrate everyone over time. It kept the original spirit of the band alive. As everyone came in they kind of got the vibe of what was going on, and it worked well. Whereas if I would have brought everyone in all at once, it would have felt like an entirely new band. This feels like it’s based on something; it has roots in where we’re coming from. It’s just an entirely new take on what we’ve done.

AVC: Can you say a bit about this “vibe” and how it’s changed? How have Bloomers evolved, musically, apart from bringing in new members?

LS: I think, songwriting-wise, I’m a lot happier with what I’ve been doing. The songs have matured quite a bit. Based on that, the whole sound has evolved. Sonically, it’s louder, it’s dirtier, and it’s faster, for the most part. Essentially, the influence has changed and the sound has changed.

AVC: What are taking your cues from now, in terms of influences, as opposed to when you first formed the band?

LS: I think I was sort of listening to a lot more, I guess—with the first record you had a lot more country influence and indie rock influence. I was listening to a lot more Meat Puppets and Sonic Youth. Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot more songwriter-y music, like Paul Simon and [Leonard] Cohen, and all that sort of stuff. From a musical standpoint, we just sort tried to take less influences, and try to create our own sound. All the same influences are there, in a way. I think it’s just that we sound less like them now.

AVC: You play a lot with other Canadian acts like Rural Alberta Advantage, Wooden Sky, and Yukon Blonde. It almost seems like you guys are part of your own mini-genre that’s kind of hard to put a finger on—not quite country, but certainly roots. What attracts you to playing with these bands?

LS: I wonder that a lot myself. We all kind of feel the same way, and talk about it a lot. I think we believe so very much in what we’re doing, and we all play and write and absorb music in the same ways that, I think, our favourite bands did. We’re all very dedicated and hard-working. In terms of how it actually sounds, I’d say we all listen to the same music. We’re all kind growing together as bands, too, so it makes sense. There’s a kind of similar spirit.

AVC: Bloomers and these other groups tend to get described as “Canadiana” a lot in the press. What do you think of that?

LS: It’s kind of a nasty pigeonhole. I love Canada, but you know, as a band with bigger aspirations than just touring around Ontario, it’s not always the most helpful label.

AVC: What do you think it even means, though?

LS: You know, I feel that it’s really hard to pinpoint. I feel like when people hear jangly songs that are bright sounding, and I guess, “cottage-y,” they think Canada.

AVC: Yeah it’s such an odd label. It doesn’t even seem to refer to anything.

LS: Yeah and I feel like a lot of the “Canadiana” bands are based on American music, in a lot of ways. I guess to me something distinctly Canadian would have a Celtic vibe, or something based on that. But a lot of the stuff labeled “Canadiana” is almost “Americana” in a lot of ways, like groups that sound like The Band, and that.