The Bicycles Get A Little Help From Their Friends

The peppy musicianship and squeaky-clean melodies of The Bicycles conjure up images of picnics, lollipops and group hugs.

So I'll admit that it's a little weird that I'm interviewing them in a seedy fluorescent-lit adult video store in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood.

Luckily, The Bicycles' Matt Beckett and Drew Smith are so affable that I'm practically at home in a sea of barely legal teens, pink dildos and the erect appendages of some remarkably convincing trannies.

My eyes fall upon a particularly interesting item on the toy shelf; an inflatable sheep with a rear entry hole. My reaction is horror mixed with amusement.

"It's all vinyl anyway," says Smith with a shrug. "What difference does it make?"

While a great many interesting things seem to be available in vinyl, the shiny new debut album from The Bicycles' isn't one of them. But it is available on compact disc for use in the comfort and privacy of your own home — and a store clerk probably won't even judge you for purchasing it.

While The Bicycles have been playing together for five years, this CD is the culmination of all of their recording efforts to date. "The Good, The Bad And The Cuddly is our only album," explains Beckett.

"It's not new to us. I guess it's new to everyone else, or to most people. But to us, it's not new at all. We've been working on it for four years."

The band are grateful to the behind-the-scenes expertise of Dan Bryk and By Divine Right's Jose Contreras, who respectively helped to record and mix the album.

"He did a lot," Smith says of Contreras. "He really took charge."

"He totally helped us shape a lot of the songs," agrees Beckett. "It wasn't easy because it was recorded over three or four years.

"Most of it we recorded ourselves, so it was of poor quality. Also, we'd never done things like that before, so we'd kind of go over the top with our overdubs and things like that. And he'd say, 'Guys, we have like 15 'Ooohs' in the same part.'"

The Good, The Bad And The Cuddly is the sweet fruit of their collective labours, and a two-part launch party they're calling "The Last Schmaltz" will take place at Toronto's Tranzac Club on Saturday in celebration. The Bicycles will be joined on stage that night by a variety of friends and admirers, including members of Sloan, The Deadly Snakes, The Adorables, The Golden Dogs, By Divine Right, Constantines, Plumtree, The Meligrove Band and many others. There's also an afternoon all-ages show for Bicycles fans who aren't yet old enough to drink (or rent porn) legally.