We caught up with the North Atlantic for a quick follow-up interview to their recent CD review.

How do you feel about the final product of Wires in the Walls? Are there any particular highlights you really enjoy or aspects you wish you could change?

We originally recorded and released Wires back in 2003, right before we decided to go into hibernation so that Jason H. could attend art school in Chicago.  Several years and one bachelors of fine arts later, We Put Out
Records got in touch with us about revisiting the record and releasing it nationally—something that had never really happened.  We'd only toured on the record once, for six weeks, before our hiatus.  Having the opportunity to go back and make some additions, clean up the mixes, and expand some of the instrumentation really helped some of the songs immensely, especially "Bottom of this Town," "Atmosphere vs. the Dogs of Dawn" and "Swallows Air."  That said, we're proud of the album as a whole—in fact, we're probably most proud of the fact that there are unifying elements that run throughout.  As for things we wish we could change, I think we'll go for “the revealed tastes of 99.9% of the record-buying public.” That would be quite helpful. Seriously, with three years of hindsight from which to draw and several days of quality studio time with Jason Clark and Ben Moore, we think we pretty much hit that particular nail on the head.



How would you describe the album and what type of music fans do you think it appeals to?    

We think it's a collection of really fun and engaging songs that benefit from lyrical depth and maturity.  By head count at shows, it seems to appeal to a pretty diverse crowd of indie rockers, punks, bearded dudes, young moms, and weekend warriors; if we could isolate the common thread I think I think it would be a mixture of respect for heady, dense material and a slightly misanthropic fun streak.

What was the recording process like?     

A forced march.  A holiday in Cambodia.  A Rumpelstiltskin-like experience where we went to sleep in the studio and woke up in the same place, three years later and a little bit shaggier.

How has the response been so far?

The critics seem to have liked the record, which is always good.  Most of our closest friends and fans are a little bemused that a record they've enjoyed since before W. was elected a second time is just now receiving national attention.  Still, nothing beats the feeling of making new fans and introducing our songs to new people.  Touring hasn't become a champagne room experience over night, but we've been having a great time on tour with bands like Wax on Radio, Murder by Death, Planes Mistaken for Stars, Mustangs and Madras, and These Arms are Snakes.  Getting in front of new audiences with old friends is especially gratifying.

What's it been like moving from Michigan to San Diego? Has SD been a receptive audience? Are the scenes similar?

We moved to San Diego in 2000.  Most of the bands on this site haven't even been together since 2000.  Maybe that's to their credit. Either way, we're a San Diego band. The biggest initial difference was trying to make our way in a scene with a lot more careerist ambition.  When we were getting things together years ago, there was no “professional” music scene in our town—unless you wanted to play cheesedick metal, rip off Three Doors Down or be a house band for frat parties.  You know what they say, the more things change...
 
What's next for the band?     

We've got another month on tour with Planes Mistaken for Stars in the Midwest, East Coast, and South.  After that, writing...more than anything, we have a real desire to generate a lot of new music.  We're hungry to write and record a new album.  Actually, we're pretty hungry in general—maybe dinner?

Anything else you'd like to add?

Ryan Renteria of Nightshop Films is based in San Diego and has done wonderful video stuff for us, as well as Irradio, Goodbye Blue Monday, and Ryan Ferguson. If your band wants to talk to an awesome young filmmaker and all around good guy, you should track him down.

More info on The North Atlantic:
www.thenorthatlantic.com
www.myspace.com/thenorthatlantic

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