There's biology involved here: Lions, Termites, Hunting Dogs... Texas Salamanders, Blind Flatworms, Eyeless Shrimp, Cave Beetles, Crayfish and Bristletails...Constantines are inoffensive animals whose only form of defence lies in the strength of their forearms and long claws, particularly in the middle fingers, which are most useful for repelling attacks by predators. They are powerful diggers and have been known to uncover fresh graves to feed on corpses. Constantines take empty spaces and fill them with accidents: Tongues mixed and mingled, horrible execration, shrill shrieks, hoarse groans, fierce yells and hideous blather and clapping of hands thereto, without cessation, made tumult through the timeless night. Nocturnal, nomadic beasts surviving on insects and rubbish, and the unbending hope that there will be no alarm clock tomorrow.
And then, there's biography: The first pressing of The Constantines' self-titled debut (released on Canadian indie Three Gut Records in 2001) was fittingly packaged so that upon opening the red cardstock booklet, you'd find a single strike anywhere match. In an effort to not ruin the beauty and poignancy of a thing with a guided tour of its finer points and implications, suffice it to say that if your relationship with rock and roll is not fundamentally a quest for fire (elemental, transformative, consuming), you've utterly missed the point. Founded in Guelph, Ontario in 1999, The Constantines now live in Toronto and that first record of theirs landed them a Juno Awards nomination for best Alternative Album. In addition, the album very nearly broke records in the Canadian college radio charts and was a regular fixture in the year end lists of Canada's best read Music press. While the record was barely available outside Canada, those that went to the trouble of tracking it down were suitably impressed.
This from the US's Magnet Magazine "The antidote to every boring and insincere rock record I've heard this year...(The Constantines) work the great miracle of rock n' roll: Kill it, then bring It back to life.This is important." 'Shine A Light' is the band's second full length and first for Sub Pop. The new record is ambitious, combining a steady diet of nineties DC rock (like a Joe Strummer fronted Fugazi it's been suggested) with dub-inflected bass, blue eyed soul and a fundamental punk, anytime/anywhere aesthetic (perhaps best described by drummer Doug MacGregor as "Like an unwelcome mix of Memphis Clash and breakneck dub"). The opening lines from the title track hint at the difficulty in nailing down the elusive 'It' that is at play on this record, "Don't talk to me about simple things/There's no such thing/All a man can build is his vision/And I love my man for trying."Between these two albums, the band released an EP on (The Modern Sinner Nervous Man) on Seattle's Suicide Squeeze records and added a keyboard player in Will Kidman. They also played some of the bigger North American festivals SxSW, NxNE, Halifax Pop Explosion, Montreal pop Explosion and most recently at New York's annual CMJ where NME caught them live declaring them 'Rocking...splendidly skewed fuzz-pop'. And really that's the only way to experience The Constantines ; as they teach audiences to fully experience the present, that right now-this minute-is all that matters. There may be no alarm clock tomorrow morning because there may be no tomorrow. But, to be clear, there's no didacticism here. The Constantines are going there with you, celebrating that, if we get it right, we're none of us going gently into the night. They're a band with growl and heft , hearts on their sleeves, playing music as if all our lives hung in the balance. Because, after all, they do.
The Constantines are Bryan Webb - vocals, guitar; Steve Lambke - vocals, guitar; Dallas Wehrle - bass guitar; Will Kidman - keyboards; Doug MacGregor - drums
