Another North – The Missing Mouth

Local MusicNL nominated rockers Another North talk the buildup and release of their long awaited sophomore record The Missing Mouth

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Wise men say, only fools rush in. If you were to live life by those tender feelin’ Elvis lyrics, then local alternative rockers Another North are doing the whole rockstar thing right. 

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It’s been four long years since the band made an immediate impression with their 2014 album Nomadic, which launched the trio of Aaron Morgan, Brad Wells, Joe Tucker and frequent collaborator Justin Hickey into local must-watch lists. 

But then, the band had been honing their craft and jammin’ for something along the lines of six years prior to studio album number one. They’re nothing if not diligent, combing over their work with an almost delicate sensibility, something that has carried over to live performance. 

“It doesn’t take a lot for it to fall apart. The foundation needs to be almost unshakable for it to last,” frontman Aaron Morgan said. Morgan was joined by Wells to discuss the bands’ sophomore record, The Missing Mouth.

“We haven’t released a lot of music, when you think about the life of the band, historically. Before we even put out our first record, we were together close to six years.”

Truth be told, the band had the opportunity to hit the studio with a new batch of tunes in the fall of 2015, but the timing just didn’t feel right.

“We didn’t want to rush things,” Wells admitted.

“We really wanted to take our time and put a lot of time in pre-production before we went in to record and make sure that we were super happy. We took the time to let the band grow into something before we actually put out a product.”

Indeed, the four year gap between Nomadic and The Missing Mouth has fans hungry for new material. Their live performances are equally as sparse, making an Another North show have a big event feel. No more was that so for when the band, a loving 90s throwback themselves, opened up for Canadian rock icons Our Lady Peace this past July on George Street. 

“It was pretty surreal. To get a chance to play a show with a band that I idolized since pretty much day one,” Wells said of the opportunity, adding that their deliberate, at times, retro sound is a tip of the hat to 90s era rock.

“The 90s is where it’s at for me. I’m totally addicted to 90s music – still am, still love it. That ultimately kind of reflects on our music. “

Refined and Mature

Mixed by Scott Hammond of the Blue Room, mastered by J. LaPointe of Archive Mastering and engineered by Rob Rose at Car Crash Studios, The Missing Mouth is, in many ways, the evolved meta-version of Another North. The band is, more than ever, aware of their sound and scope, a more refined and mature unit then the one who released Nomadic in 2014. 

“Trying to achieve our goal, which is trying to release an album that was better than our first effort, was our target, which it would be in any instance when you’re creating art. But it’s kind of hard to define what better is I think. For some people they might see better as more matured. I think the songwriting on this album is more focused. It’s still an eclectic record, but we’re definitely defining what Another North is with The Missing Mouth.”

As for the album title itself, fit with eye-popping artwork by James Farrell, there’s a story to be told there as well. 

The Missing Mouth was an idea we were throwing around for a little while,” Morgan said.

“It kind of stitched together a lot of the songs. The Missing Mouth, in concept, is about the deterioration or breakdown of communication between people. It could be a romantic relationship, or friendship or any type of mutually respectful relationship.”

And while we hope it doesn’t take the guys another four years to crank out a solid rock record, good things come to those who wait. Another North has turned out another year-end rocker sure to leapfrog on many ‘best of’ lists, and one that embraces change, patience and progress more than most.

“What did we want to represent as a band? What sound did we want to carry through everything we did? I think that’s still evolving and I think that always will,” Morgan said.

Another North will release The Missing Mouth on November 23rd at The Rockhouse in St. John’s. For tour dates, bios and to purchase music on digital platforms, visit anothernorthmusic.com.

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