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The Canadian Champion, Friday, October 5, 2007 - 01 ARTS Republic gets real on sophomore album Reflections of town' growth on Population By Stephanie Hounsell CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF F or members of home-bred band The Most Serene Republic, honesty isn't just the best policy, it's the only policy - par- ticularly when it comes to their music. Nowhere is this more apparent than in their sophomore studio album Population, released across North America Tuesday With its unique indie rock sound and poetic lyrics, Population isn't an album of rainbows and butterflies, but of "seeking out the truth," said vocalist and Milton resident AdrianJewett, 22. Inspired by what the group refers to as "the sprawling suburbs of... Milton," Population isn't about sugar-coated love songs. That's where the honesty comes in. "(The goal was) to be as honest to our- selves as we could and cram as much virtue of each of us onto the album," said Jewett, who writes many of the band's songs with keyboardist Ryan Lenssen, who moved away from Milton about a month ago. Added guitarist and local resident Nick Greaves, 22: "Population is about things hap- pening in the world." He added much of the album is about reflecting on the negative aspects of life. "It had to do with coming back and forth to Milton and seeing the town grow at an incredible rate its fnot ready for," he told the Champion. Both Greaves and Jewett spoke about a cer- tain sadness when it comes to Miltons growth; having grown up here, it's no longer the town they remember. "Milton was grand at one point in my life," said Jewett, a graduate of Bishop Reding. "Now it's become a mass family mess." Local musical talent is more than represented on the new album, with guest vocalists Stephen Kabakos (a.k.a. Elvis Presley) and Men Il Boys HANGIN' both making appearances. REPUBLIC: Milton even makes its way eft Most Sere onto the album cover and Woven, Sir lyric booklet, which contains Emma Ditchb photos of the town's newer Tony Nesbit areas, taken by Greaves. Lenssen and After a whirlwind two nodoubt e years of touring across release of Papu Europe and North America VICTOR with such bands as Broken SPECIAL TO n n ur t- Ac .ci uli ýR T T' Social Scene and The Strokes, band mem- bers took the past year to write and record the new album, a follow-up to Underwater Cinematographer and QbAb>-t their tour-only EP, Phages. e , But their time in one spot is once again nearing an end as they prepare for a fall cross-Canada headlining tour, spon- sored by Exclaim! mag- azine and Toyota Yaris. The group has undergone some major changes over the past year. lts bassist and drummer both quit, resulting in the joining of two replacements plus an addi- tional guitarist. WITH THE The group now consists Clockwise from of Jewett, Greaves and Republic's Sean Lenssen, as well as vocal- on Lukasewich, ist/guitarist Emma n, Nck Greaves, Ditchburn and newcomers -Larking, Ryan Sean Woolven (guitar), drian Jewett are Simon Lukasewich (bass) ted about the and drummer Tony aton. Nesbitt-Larking. AVARtS / The two former mem- HE CHAMPION bers simply wanted to pur- sue a different life, Greaves explained. "It's a hard life - living out of a suitcase for two years," he admitted. The fact the band now consists of seven members means there's an even fuller sound than before, Greaves said. A little more than two years after signing with label Arts and Crafts, Greaves said he still can't believe how far the band has gotten in such a short period of time. It was, he said, simply a case of being in the right place at the right time. "We got a break, and we're very grateful for that," he said, adding, "Looking back, everything happened so fast; we didn't real- ize what was happening." Members of The Most Serene Republic are proud of the fact they're involved in every step of the albums creation, particu- larly with Lenssen producing it; bands often hire someone else to do all the post produc- tion work. "It really is our own as much as possible," Jewett said. Though Greaves said he'll probably move to Toronto sooner than later, Milton will continue to be part of him - and the band. "We'll always be that Milton band. I'm proud of my roots," he said. The Most Serene Republic will play Toronto's Mod Club Thursday, Oct. 25. Stephanie Hounsell can be reached at sthiessen@miltoncanadianchampion.com. It's time your home insurance gave you something back. Introducing YOUR CHOICE HOME only from Alistate. With features that protect and reward you like never before. Like the CLAIM-FREE BONUS* get money applied toward your next renewal for every 12 months you don't make a claim. IT'S TIME OMKACHNE s. i i 'ate CAL AN ALLSTATdE~d AGEN -t 1-0 -LLTT 1dF~,., d W .ALtAT.C p'y'e in pno by