Just before COVID-19 hit three years ago, the four founding members of the rock band The Matinee took some time out for some rest and relaxation.
The trip down to the Oregon Coast got the creative juices flowing for the Centennial Secondary graduates.
"There was no pressure," guitarist Matt Rose remembered.
"We saw some live shows. We hit the beach. And we started writing some songs."
But the composition process and practices were put on temporary hold as the pandemic unfolded in 2020.
A recording session early the next year at the Armoury Studios in Vancouver — with the now Nashville-based producer Steve Dawson — resulted in 10 tunes in a week for a new "live off the floor" album.
"We thought it was going to be the one," said the Coquitlam resident told the Tri-City News today (Aug. 28).
"But then we got a bunch of new ideas."
The Matinee rehired Dawson while he was in town last year for another recording session.
Now, the band is sitting material for two releases, the first of which will come out next month.
Titled Change of Scene, the studio album is the fourth for the 15-year group that’s made up of Rose, Matt Layzell, Geoff Petrie and Peter Lemon, as well as keyboardist Georges Couling and bassists Marcus Abramzik and Joseph Lubinsky.
Rose said The Matinee has dropped four singles and videos from the nine-track album in anticipation, including the title song "Change of Scene" (The others are "Road to Hell," "Shake It" and "Bad Addiction").
It’s also debuted them live at concerts and festivals around B.C. this summer and, on Sept. 23, The Matinee will host a release party at The Painted Ship, a new sister restaurant to The Heatley; admission is on a first-come, first-served basis.
This fall, Rose — who is also one-part of the duo Still Creek Crows — and Layzell plan a few acoustic gigs in Alberta, noting he "wouldn't be surprised to end the year back in the studio" for an EP or second album.
"We've got a lot of music to share," he said.
Officially out Sept. 22, the album Change of Scene is currently available for pre-order on Spotify.
