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The Cants.
 Putting their day jobs on hold to pursue the rock 'n' roll dream, The Cants, are in serious touring mode to promote their debut album 'Melbourne Vampires'. Well, perhaps 'serious' isn't quite the right word, as my conversation with lead vocalist and guitarist Cam, was typically laid-back: Australian, if you will.
Likewise, 'Melbourne Vampires' is a truly Australian rock album. Gritty yet fun, it's the sound of a band going for it, yet not preening in the process. So then, on the dawn of the new Star Wars release, Cam and I put aside the pretensions of our respective rock star and journalist dreams, and had a simple chat about music and the many digressions it inspires.
The conversation naturally turned to The Cants' new album. Despite being a simple, straight edge rock album, it's simply saturated in a mood of fun. Should it be assumed that the album reflects the personalities of the band members? "Yeah, I think it does. We weren't really aware of it until everyone started telling us... everyone always has a good time when they come to our gigs, and sure, it's fun. You always walk out with a smile on your face.
"We started this band to have a good time. We've done other things that were a lot more serious, like emo and dark and deep stuff, but we just thought 'bugger that, let's have some fun.' It doesn't mean the songs or song writing are any less serious, it's just having a different atmosphere to what you're doing."
Genres and labels assist in explaining the sound of bands, but often they negate such good intentions by 'boxing in' bands and dismissing their complexities. But labels are so temptingly user-friendly for journalists. How about the undeniably cheeky Australian sentiment from 'Melbourne Vampires": it speaks of The Cants' personalities to a T. So Cam, please, can't we generalise that the music reflects the personalities of the musicians behind it?
"I don't think you can generalise. A lot of the time the music you play is probably an extension of what you're feeling inside. I know that for myself, if I'm in a bad mood, I write brooding songs. By the same token, there are bands that do heavy and dark music who maybe aren't as attached emotionally to their music. It's probably all an act for them, like Marilyn Manson; to me it's all just stage antics, and they're probably not really like that."
Hmm, maybe. On the other hand, I really like to imagine that those death metal bands are always smashing stuff up in their daily lives, and maybe they'll go back stage and bite the heads off... well, whatever they can find.
"Ha! Well they had that black metal mafia in Norway or wherever it was that used to go burning down churches. Bands like Darkthrone and Burzum; they're living the dream I guess, aren't they? Well, their dream," he laughs. "It's a tough call though. I think that people who are really honest are pouring out their soul through their music, and it's a reflection in their performance."
Honesty in music is something that I admire, indeed it is probably the reason for my love of Ben Lee's work, and it's another reason why I give thumbs up to The Cants.
"It's interesting that you brought up Ben Lee, I think his last album is a corker. It is honest and that's always been something that I like in music. Likewise Smog's album 'Red Apple Falls' from a few years ago stands out. It is really minimalist, but just the way he [Bill Callahan] phrases and delivers the lyrics... you're just on the edge of your chair with it."
Minimalism, eh?
"Yeah, we started with the idea of keeping it simple. That doesn't mean you have to be a hollow sounding band; it puts more pressure on each person playing their instruments. You're right up there, there's no hiding. Every part of the sound is a feature. Three vocals means three instruments too."
It's true: the three vocal layers do create a larger-than-life sound to The Cants.
"It's defined our sound, and gives us those big choruses. Because there's only three of us, it gives us another angle that we can use to create songs and explore possibilities."
Steven Williams
 | The Cants play at the Crown & Anchor on Sat 11 June. |
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