"We're too far out/We're in too deep/And we've got miles to go before we can sleep...And if it takes us all night long/We're going back where we belong." - "Where We Belong"
Thriving Ivory's sophomore Wind-up album, Through Yourself & Back Again, reflects the lessons they've learned following the release of their successful self-titled debut. "Do you dream/That the world will know your name?" they asked prophetically in the band's pop radio hit, "Angels On The Moon," a song inspired by the heroics surrounding 9/11.
And, if the whole world isn't yet familiar with the music of this San Francisco Bay Area band (founded by songwriter/keyboardist Scott Jason and vocalist Clayton Stroope), certainly their audience has grown exponentially thanks to VH1's You Oughta Know, tons of radio airplay and three years of non-stop touring.
Thriving Ivory's latest takes those experiences and moves the band to the next level. The album was co-produced by the band and Gregg Wattenberg at Quad Studios in New York's Times Square. Additionally, there are three songs produced and mixed by Mark Endert (Train's "Hey, Soul Sister," Maroon 5, The Fray). "There's more of a cohesive quality to the album," says Stroope, the band's charismatic front man, who takes his cues from larger-than-life rock stars like Robert Plant, David Lee Roth and Steven Tyler. "Most of the songs were composed in a recording studio we set up in the back of our tour bus over a lengthy period of time."
"Working in NYC with Gregg Wattenberg was a great experience. We had a lot of fun working together on the songs; especially one of my album favorites, 'Some Kind of Home.' That song has a ton of energy from the drums and will translate really well live," comments drummer Paul Niedermier.
The first, Endert-produced single, "Where We Belong," sports a typically-epic, cinematic flourish, while the majestic "Some Kind Of Home" features Jason on keyboards and guitarist Drew Cribley's The Edge-like delay pedal sounds. "What was cool about working with Mark was how we were able to reference a lot of different types of music. He had us focus on maintaining a fresh, youthful quality to the sound, keeping it light and not having it bogged down with heavy distortion, so it has a clean, hard edge. He helped us pay attention to things we ordinarily never would have. We were a little more self-aware this time," says Stroope.
"Cobwebs" is another track with the big, orchestral wall of sound Thriving Ivory has become known for, its ominous refrain reflecting lyricist Scott Jason's elliptical approach, which leaves the interpretation to the listener: "I'm clearing all the cobwebs/There's nothing here but dust." "Music is a spiritual pursuit of the unattainable," says Jason.
Another side to Thriving Ivory is demonstrated on songs like the "Love Alone," which juxtaposes sophisticated lyrics of romantic comfort with stylized piano flourishes and drummer Niedermier's Killers-like up-hits on the high hat. "That was a fun song to record," says Stroope. "Scott played what he had for Drew and I, and we knew right away it was going to be great, with that driving verse and melody."
The simple guitar and piano ballad "Come November" showcasing Stroope's vocals, and the acoustic sound of "Moonlight" show the band moving into more primal, stripped-down directions. "It felt good to break away from the typical verse/chorus format for a few songs on this album and explore some different sides of our sound," says guitarist Cribley.
"We take a grand interpretation of songwriting, telling a story and conveying drama through instrumentation," says Stroope. "And it always ends up sounding really big. And, that's what people expect from us. But, we wanted to also do some more up-tempo rockers this time. We learned a great deal from the success of "Angels On The Moon," both on the radio and from the crowd response when we played it live. We're not pretentious about what we do; we like making rock music that people can sing along to, while still having our creative album tracks."
On their sophomore Wind-Up album, Through Yourself & Back Again, Thriving Ivory are "where they belong," on the journey they started six years ago. "We're tighter than ever as a unit, and we're more than ready to play this new material live," concludes Stroope. "We've taken some time out from the road to center ourselves. We're excited to get back out and take the next step." |
