Sisters’ sound is all grown up

After years of thrashing it out, twin sisters Mercedes and Phoenix ArnHorn felt they had reached a creative ceiling and wanted to make some changes to the sound of their band Courage My Love.

The 22-year-old sisters slowed their roll, stepping away from gigs like the Vans Warped Tour and the punk alt-rock scene to focus instead on writing new, more grown-up pop songs. The result is their first full-length album, Synesthesia.

“We felt we had gone as far as we could go in that world,” Mercedes Arn-Horn said from the home she shares with Phoenix in Kitchener, Ont. “I think it is brave to step out of your comfort zone and try something new.”

They wrote together and had songwriting dates with other writers. They found their sonic boundaries had shifted.

“We changed our sound around a lot. We’re experimenting with different tones and different instruments,” Arn-Horn said. “This album is definitely a lot different from anything we released before. It is a fresh start, if you will.”

CML, which includes bass player Bradford Lockwood, celebrates that fresh start by taking the new show on the road. “It’s been really cool. It was a project we have been working on for a really long time. The writing process alone was probably two years. So it just feels really good to have it out there,” said Arn-Horn, who handles the lead vocals and guitar while Phoenix is drums, synths and vocals.

CML’s single Stereo has found its way to radio. It’s a solid calling card for the sisters’ new-found sensibility — a sensibility that is broader, more accessible and probably more sustainable.

“I think it is a lot more mature sound. It’s a sound that opens a lot of doors and opportunities,” ArnHorn said. “It sort of sets the stage for the future and we can go anywhere from here. We could really go pop and do a lot of radio songs or we could go very alternative and do a lot of ambient, weird stuff. I think it is just a little more serious in the sense that we kind of opened up musically.”

“When we go on tour I have my sister, my best friend right there (so) it feels a little more like we are going in as a team.” dgee@postmedia.com