54-40 Vocal About War

09/08/08 5:08pm

by Scott Bryson (CHARTattack)

No one should accuse 54-40 frontman Neil Osborne of treading lightly on sensitive issues.

"I wrote a letter," he says, in reference to Canada's presence in Afghanistan, "and sent it out to the MPs and the press — this is a couple of years ago — saying Canadians just shouldn't be involved in this.

"It's not what we signed up for… you have your politicians saying all these noble things about it, and it's just wrong. I'm a pacifist at heart, and the whole thing just stinks to me."

Osborne and bandmates Dave Genn (guitars, vocals, keyboards), Matt Johnson (drums) and Brad Merritt (bass) have plenty to say about current affairs, but they've made a point of keeping their beliefs at a safe distance from their music. The Vancouver band's latest full-length (number 12 if anyone's still counting), Northern Soul, doesn't avoid political issues, but it doesn't make them the focus either. The title track lead single is a stark reminder of the human cost of conflict, but Osborne is quick to point out that Northern Soul isn't a protest album.

"[War is] just the setting. It provides a backdrop for more of the introspective stuff, the psychological stuff, that goes on in the album. That's where it takes place… there's this new mentality of fear and aggression in our everyday world that didn't exist to the degree it did a few years ago.

"Without getting too political or opinionated… I thought, 'Let's get a song out there that just says there's nothing worth the sacrifice of someone's child.'"

Osborne's daughter Coral was fittingly recruited to add vocals to the song.

"I'd always heard that song as a duet, so I had her sub in," explains Osborne. "It sounded really good, so we kept her."

You can see 54-40 here:

Sept. 12 Kelowna, BC @ Waterfront Park Island Stage
Sept. 20 Medicine Hat, AB @ Medicine Hat College Soccer Pitch
Oct. 9 Kamloops, BC @ Sagebrush Theatre
Oct. 17-18 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom