Awkward Stage Burned Out On Death

Vancouver indie pop outfit The Awkward Stage released their sophomore outing, Slimming Mirrors, Flattering Lights in mid-June. It was a milestone for a band who looked like they were destined to be a one-off project.

The Awkward Stage began life as a venue for frontman Shane Nelken to make and release his own music. The band consisted of a rotating cast of session players, and 2006's Heaven Is For Easy Girls Mint Records debut was made in a basement.

Nelken's project is looking more like a band these days. With a solid lineup made up of Tygh Runyan (guitar), Tony Koelwyn (drums) and Chris Mitchell (trumpet, keyboards), and backing from Mint Records, The Awkward Stage decided to get more ambitious with Slimming Mirrors, Flattering Lights.

"It was quite a difficult record to make," Nelken says over the phone from Vancouver. "There was a lot we wanted to do and not a lot of time to do it. It was tricky to schedule it, and I'm shocked we were able to pull it off."

As a result, the new record is a bit more fleshed-out than its predecessor. Punctuated with string and horn arrangements, Slimming Mirrors is a bit more meaty than the hooky Heaven Is For Easy Girls. That wasn't an accident, Nelken explains.

"I wanted this one to be a little more personal. It's also a bit more of a grower. There's a bit more to digest."

In this, the age of iPods and easily digested singles, a "grower" can be a difficult sell. Slimming Mirrors is very much an album in the traditional sense — a collection of songs that are meant to be heard as a whole unit.

"I think of albums as cohesive units not meant to be separated, like a book or a film," Nelken says. "I didn't necessarily set out to make a concept record, but I think there's a lot in there about how things are not always as they seem. Like a photograph, for example, doesn't really tell the whole story."

One elusive subject Nelken doesn't tackle is death, which is surprising since he's a cremationist. Well, former cremationist.

"It's funny," he says. "I just recently gave my notice. You might say I got burned out."