Band shifts gears to pop from rock
SISTER ACT: Courage My Love focuses on grown-up songs in new release Synesthesia that shows their new sensibility
After years of literally thrashing it out, twin sisters Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn 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 and focused 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 in a recent telephone interview from the home she shares with her sister 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. Once the musical dust had cleared, the sisters’ sonic boundaries had shifted.
“We changed our sound around a lot. We’re experimenting with different tones and different instruments,” said Arn-Horn. “This album is definitely a lot different from anything we released before. It is a fresh start, if you will.”
CML, which also includes bass player Bradford Lockwood, celebrates that fresh start by taking the new show on the road. They begin a cross-Canada tour on April 9 in Vancouver with an all-ages show at the Biltmore Cabaret.
“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/vocals. “We got to learn a lot about music and a lot about ourselves. I think we all evolved as musicians and individuals as we were making it. It’s really rewarding to finally have it out and have other people hearing it as well.”
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, in the long run, probably more sustainable.
“I think it is a lot more mature sound. It’s a sound that opens a lot of doors and opportunities,” said ArnHorn. “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.”
The Arn-Horns have been writing songs since they can remember and it is no surprise they have developed sibling shorthand.
“I take no shame in admitting that every idea we have we work out together and we don’t even remember who started it half the time and that’s why I think writing together works so well,” said Arn-Horn.
But that creative comfort was challenged a bit as the sisters took some writing trips and worked with other songwriters.
“This experience, the studio, writing I think has taught us how to be more confident. It was a little more open-minded. It was pretty fun this time around,” said Arn-Horn said about the writing trips. “Old songs were about ‘I don’t know who I am.’ Now in our 20s we’ve learned a lot along the way and I think we are more confident.”
While the sisters are happy they stepped out of their world, ArnHorn admits it sometimes is tough for others to step in.
“I think it’s a little unfair for people in that situation because Phoenix and I are so close and they might feel we gang up on them a little bit when we are together in the studio. We are always a team. We’re a package deal,” said Arn-Horn.
The two is better than one theory certainly works creatively for these young women, and as they debut a new sound and hit the road it is that strength in numbers that will truly hold them in good stead.
“I think we have an unfair advantage,” said Arn-Horn. “When we go on tour I have my sister, my best friend right there. I don’t feel as homesick, and then when we are in a new environment or different situation that’s high stress we always have each other there, so it feels a little more like we are going in as a team.”