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> Monday, August 30th, 2010 > Lifestyles > Bobbyisms: Huron – old school rock and roll Bobbyisms: Huron – old school rock and roll Bobby Foley Interrobang Click here to read more Interrobang articles written by Bobby Foley Published: Monday, August 30th, 2010  I write about random things a lot. I write a lot about random things. The first thing that strikes the ear when Huron’s self-titled debut album begins is the glaring sound of traditional southern rock bursting forth from The Biggest Dig — like classic rock history suppressed into a guitar riff. Though it sounds like an exaggeration, the similarity is as refreshing as it is undeniable; immediately apparent within that first song, a trained ear will notice careful homage to rock fundamentals, including Black Sabbath, Kiss and Lynyrd Skynyrd, all the way back to Steppenwolf. Seriously. Enjoy that while it lasts, though, because Huron doesn’t stay in the same place for very long at all, as proven by the next song – a Steely Dan-feeling number called King And Country. So begins the record — a veritable history lesson in rock music, with decades of riff mastery represented over 39 minutes. “That’s what we were going for,” guitarist/vocalist Aaron Goldstein told me in St. Catharines; I was fortunate enough to get an interview with him and bassist Adam Melnick at the 2010 SCENE Festival. “Adam and I have known each other since high school, and he and I, we went to some serious old-time concerts as kids, when like, Yes came through town, or [Lynyrd] Skynyrd, Deep Purple ... we’re definitely old rockers at heart. “Cam and Pete also have that sort of affinity for the old stuff too, but they both grew up in Hamilton and I think they were into the local scene way earlier than we were in Toronto. So they kind of garnered more of an appreciation for what people who were more our age were doing, and that’s a really healthy balance, I think.” Goldstein, who formed the band with Melnick (bass, keys, vocals), Cam Malcolm (guitar, vocals), and Pete Hall (drums, vocals), says the broad sound of the record can be attributed to the wide range of musical influences brought to the table by the members of the band, whether shared or not. “At the bare bones, we’re all relating to each other very well, and we all keep each other in check,” agreed Melnick. “No one feels like their ideas are completely ignored or anything like that, we wouldn’t be playing the songs live if we weren’t happy (with) how they went in rehearsal. So everybody’s content with the quality when it comes together, finally.” Huron knew exactly what they were putting together with this album, and they weren’t surprised to hear their songs described as a musical love child between Sheryl Crow and Sam Roberts (Bloodfire) or having Bright Eyes verses crashing into Bad Company choruses (Chicken Wing). In fact, as each song plays in turn, the album becomes more and more interesting; by the song The Big Dig — the seventh track, a song Pink Floyd would be jealous of — you are almost sure to have stopped whatever else you were doing to listen. “We’re very informed by old stuff, but we’re still a new band — you definitely don’t want to be a pastiche band,” noted Goldstein. “It was kind of like, ‘All right, how do we exist on the same level of quality?’ I think that’s what I thought.” Top 5 songs: The Big Dig, Corktown, The Biggest Dig, Chicken Wing, King And Country. Twenty per cent that I would cut (2 songs): Bloodfire, Could Not Understand. For the time being, you can listen to the record on their website (huronmusic.ca) or on their profile on the CBC Radio 3 website. Watch for them to visit London. I’m out of words.
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