The first thing Melissa McClelland did when she answered the phone on the road in Wisconsin was apologize for her crying 9-month-old son in the background.
“Normally, he’s very well behaved, but today he’s not having it,” said McClelland.
McClelland and her husband, Luke Doucet, are the Canadian rock duo Whitehorse. They have been touring North America in support of their new album, “Leave No Bridge Unburned,” for the past couple of months with their son, Jimmy, along for the ride.
McClelland said Jimmy has been enjoying his first tour.
“He’s been flirting with waitresses all across North America. He’s having a really good time,” said McClelland. “And that’s a relief for us because we never wanted to feel like we were dragging him around everywhere.”
Whitehorse has been having a good time on this tour, too. Crowds on the American side of the border have been growing, as word about their music and live shows is spreading through national media outlets such as National Public Radio.
“We’re noticing a big difference in the crowds, and it’s a nice thing to witness because we’ve been stubborn about touring in the States,” said McClelland. “Last night (April 29) was a perfect example. We played Madison, Wis., for the first time, and normally when we play a show in a city for the first time, we expect an empty room. But on this night, the place was packed.”
“Leave No Bridge Unburned” showcases Whitehorse’s eclectic songwriting techniques. A song like “Baby What’s Wrong” or “The One I Hurt” creates a dark, dangerous landscape, while “Oh Dolores” is an infectious, up-tempo rocker. They even show off a sultry sound in “Sweet Disaster,” as well as a folk epic in the album-closing “The Walls Have Drunken Ears,” which careens between an old-time country rocker, a psychedelic, Pink Floyd-esque dirge and a fuzzed-out blues guitar break.
“Leave No Bridge Unburned” marked a first for McClelland and Doucet, as they turned to Gus Van Go and Werner F to produce the record.
“It was the first time we worked with an outside producer,” said McClelland. “Luke produced our first two albums and it worked out fine, but we knew if we wanted to progress … we needed to find an outside person to work with.”
The process wasn’t always smooth. McClelland said they presented Van Go with a demo containing approximately 20 songs, and he rejected all of them.
“Here we were thinking we were already ahead of the curve, and his response was to cancel our first recording session,” said McClelland. “It took us by surprise … but that’s when we knew we were working with the right person because he was challenging us. And some of the songs on that demo did make it onto the album.”
McClelland said she and Doucet were also surprised at how precise Van Go was when it came to creating the rhythm tracks.
“He’d tell the drummer to hit the snare harder, then he’d tell him to hit it softer and then he’d tell him to hit the snare harder. It was kind of like whiplash,” said McClelland. “But after the first day, we had these drum and bass parts that were so huge that they almost sounded like they were a complete record.”
Live, the challenge McClelland and Doucet face is trying to recreate those huge musical backdrops as two people on a stage. When they first started touring as a duo at the beginning of the decade, McClelland said all they had was a kick drum and a wooden block she stomped on. Over the years, they added household objects like pots and pans to bang on and looping stations to keep the percussion going, but they’ve paired back on this tour to a full drum kit Doucet uses to create drum loops.
McClelland said the temptation was there to hire a drummer to play with them on this tour, but they changed their minds at the last minute and kept their high wire act going where they play all of the instruments.
“We want to be on our toes when we’re playing live,” said McClelland. “We’ve always liked that element of being on the edge. And if it all goes wrong, we can laugh about it because we’re sharing this fun, creative experience with the audience.”
Whitehorse will be playing The Low Beat, 335 Central Ave. in Albany, on Wednesday, May 20, at 6 p.m. For tickets or more information, call 432-6572 or visit www.thelowbeat.com.
