It’s been said a good writer writes what he knows best. If that’s the case, Canadian alt-country rockers The Wheat Pool undoubtedly know their country like the back of their hand.

The Edmonton-based four-piece, who first formed in 2004, owes its name to the now obsolete farmer grain trading co-operatives formed in the early 1920s in Western Canada.

“The name came from the desire to do a strong throwback to roots, and Canadiana, and western Canadianism,” guitarist Glen Erickson said via phone from his Edmonton home last week, just days before embarking on a tour that will bring The Wheat Pool to The Lo Pub on Monday, Sept. 14.

“The big grain elevators seemed to be such a symbol of a lot of western Canadian culture and history.”

Bursting onto the burgeoning roots-rock scene in 2007, The Wheat Pool’s debut album Township channeled the country’s vast and expansive geography with dark, angst-ridden driving tunes referencing Louis Riel, Neil Young, cross-country romances and specific places from the Pacific Ocean to Lake Ontario.

“There’s just a real fondness for places and locations. So much of our memories and so many of the historical stories we can weave into our own stories, that it just seemed easier to tell them on a map, dotting the way,” Erickson said. “I think there’s just something crazy about our country that it’s so big. To get anywhere, you spend a lot of time on the road in this country. I think all of us have come to a place where we realize we have a lot of affection for it.”

The band’s new CD, Hauntario, comes out next month.

In keeping true with the band’s affinity for Canadian landscape, the disc kicks into gear where Township idled to a stop. When the first songs for the album started spilling out, Erickson said the band started feeling as though the lyrics and melodies possessed a haunting characteristic. That, coupled with the tension of being Alberta boys who have grown fond of Ontario, led to the name of the album.

 

“ As a western Canadian band, Ontario is a real tough one. Success seems to lie in Toronto, and the industry lies in Toronto. We thought there was a lot of tension there.

Glen Erickson, The Wheat Pool

“As a western Canadian band, Ontario is a real tough one. Success seems to lie in Toronto, and the industry lies in Toronto. We thought there was a lot of tension there,” Erickson explained.
Recorded in a mere five days and released on Erickson’s own Shameless Records label, Hauntario eases up on the previous album’s heavily-layered country rock to allow more dynamic space for bursts and whispers, taking in stride shorter, and at times more upbeat, song structures.

“The new songs are much more localized to who we are now and what we’re going through. There was a definite intention in tapping into a little more emotion and a little more gut feeling.”

Under the penmanship of brothers Robb and Mike Angus, who share songwriting duties, the album reveals a strong story-telling craft revealing their greatest influence.

“Neil Young probably has the biggest footprint on the band of anybody by far,” Erickson said. “We’ve often been referred to as a songwriter’s band. I think that’s accurate.”

Published in Volume 64, Number 2 of The Uniter (September 10, 2009)