People with PhDs in plant pathology aren’t typically the inspiration for pop songs, but they are for Quinzy.

The closing track on the local pop-rock quartet’s new EP is titled Ode to Norman Borlaug. It takes its name from the Nobel Peace Prize-winning American agronomist who is credited with saving over one billion lives as a result of his work increasing food supply around the world.

“He believed we can solve world hunger and he worked in the trenches for decades trying to do that – but no one knows who he is,” Quinzy singer-guitarist Sandy Taronno says of the scientist, who passed away in September at the age of 95.

“He’s as worthy of the title ‘hero’ as anyone, but most people aren’t aware of him. And he liked it that way.”

Ode is about not getting recognition. Taronno says he’s fascinated with Borlaug’s story because of the man’s selflessness – something that’s at odds with what Taronno observes in many of the people who work in the music business – as well as the fact that there’s no denying that what Borlaug accomplished is good.

“I like the idea of something being objectively good [where] it doesn’t matter what people think,” he says.

Quinzy – rounded out by Taronno’s brother James (keyboards) and their cousins, brothers David and Jason Pankratz (who play the drums and bass, respectively) – releases their new EP, Self-Defense, this Saturday, Nov. 7 at The Academy.

It’s the band’s third EP in a year-and-a-half, and chances are that if you liked One Boy’s Guide to the Moon and These Nautical Miles, you’ll love the new one. That’s because it’s the band’s tightest and catchiest collection of songs yet.

Sandy says he values music with “thoughtful melodies and careful lyrics,” and that’s evident on the six-song disc.

One of the standout tracks, for example – a song called Admit – is an upbeat number with a melody you’ll be humming for days, coupled with lyrics inspired by agnosticism.

“Admit that we don’t know what we’re doing ... Admit to each other we don’t know what we stand for / Admit that there are no easy answers,” Sandy sings.

While the majority of the songs that appeared on the first two EPs came from the same 2007 Toronto recording sessions with producer Michael Phillip Wojewoda (Barenaked Ladies, Rheostatics), Self-Defense was recorded in Vancouver earlier this year with producer Vince R. Ditrich – the former Spirit of the West drummer who manages the band.

“We don’t give a shit if people think we’re selling out because we sound too polished. That’s the kind of music we like,” David says. “Self-Defense is the best thing we’ve ever done.”

The band is following the CD release show with a number of exciting endeavours: a major label showcase in Toronto; the premiere of Quinzy Breaks Singapore, a three-episode TV series (available on MTS TV’s Winnipeg on Demand later this month) that chronicles Quinzy’s experience living in the city-state this past summer; the release of a new Christmas song in December called This is Not a Circle; their fifth annual Quinzmas shows Dec. 11 and 12 at the West End Cultural Centre; and a possible tour sometime in early 2010.

“We’re firm believers in just staying busy,” Sandy says. “We believe in our music more than ever because of this new EP.”

Read more about Quinzy by logging on to Aaron Epp’s blog at www.uniter.ca/blogs.