The Toronto-based, vocal harmony-infused folk trio The Good Lovelies has released five major works, won a Juno Award, received another nomination since 2006, and there is no end in sight.
The gloom-killing trio of Caroline Brooks, Sue Passmore and Kerri Ough will play Communitea Café on Monday (July 29) and, after their Live At Revolution release in 2012, the three amigos are set to release another full album in the near future.
Brooks, who is one-third of the twang-triad, has pondered other careers, but has relished every opportunity she has had to play original music in front of an audience.
“I think that like any profession, there are days that are more difficult. For example, now that I have a nine-month-old baby, Annie, who comes on tour with me now, sometimes there are days when I think maternity leave would have been amazing,” Brooks said.
“At the end of the day, though, one thing that we feel really strongly about is that as soon as we step on stage, everything of that ‘what if’ nature melts away, as there is something amazing about being on stage and singing the songs that you’ve written.”
Known as a fairly upbeat, happy music-making combo, the Lovelies delved a little deeper into their sombre sides with tracks like “Best I Know” and “Tuesday” on their recent release.
Brooks sees the dynamic within the three songwriters as something that is constantly in flux.
“I think there is always a natural progression in our own songwriting,” she said.
“For every song that gets on the record, we’ve written a bunch of other ones as well. The aesthetic of the band is this real happy, upbeat music, but there are moments of quiet introspection, too. On the last album, we had songs that were a bit darker, but I think there is a breadth of what we write and we want to have a snapshot of all of it.”
As well as a change of mood, Brooks has seen the lyrical themes of the songwriters change over time, as priorities and responsibilities have changed for herself and her bandmates.
“The first album has a lot of songs about being on the road, and wanting to be on the road, and wanting to quit your day job and then the next album has a lot of songs about missing home, and the longing that creeps into the music,” Brooks said.
Never wanting to release a carbon copy record, the Lovelies are always looking to keep things fresh, as they are approaching the seven-year mark as a band.
“There’s always this constant desire to put stuff out into the world and to stay relevant, but we are taking our time with this next album, and we aren’t going to rush it,” Brooks said.
“We have undergone a lot of changes as a band – I had a baby and Kerri moved to St. Johns, Nfld. and all of those things will be reflected in the music and we are really cultivating that and taking our time to write the songs we really want to write.”
Dealing with the added stresses of touring with a nine-month-old baby, Brooks has learned to take it all in stride and she is always happy for the help of her nanny-esque bandmates.
Along with the addition of their young tour-traveller, the band has also seen musical growth, as songwriting habits that were once distinct to specific members have rubbed off on each other’s songs.
“We are really mindful of wanting to make an album that is an album and not just a collection of songs by different people,” Brooks said.
“I think you can hear that in bands where there are different writers, so we want to make it seamless and cohesive. But we can really hear borrowed melodies or chord patterns blending into each other’s songs, and we do a lot of co-writing and changing melodies.”
Listening to a plethora of different music while they tour, Brooks joked lovingly about one band member who had a longstanding affinity for the rap group Public Enemy.
“That was definitely Sue,” Brooks said. “She once helped with a bake sale and made a Public Enemy logo cake. She was a pre-teen, but she was definitely into that band. What a weirdo.”
The Good Lovelies play show Communitea Café at 8 p.m. Don Brownrigg opens. Tickets $26 in advance and $30 at the door, and can be purchased at communitea.com.
