They have been to Jasper before, but this time Vancouver鈥檚 Dustin Bentall and the Smokes will roll into town with different tunes.
This change in musical direction is apparent on their newly released album, You Are an Island. 鈥淚 go wherever inspiration takes me,鈥� said Bentall. 鈥淢aybe it鈥檚 not the wisest because you should kind of stick with what works and do a similar thing, but I always find myself going off in different directions.鈥�
The direction Bentall and his band took in You Are an Island involved ditching their roots vibes and aiming for a 鈥減op/rock collection of songs.鈥� Helping achieve this directive was producer Ryan Dahle, who also worked on Dustin Bentall and the Smokes鈥� previous EP, Orion. It was released in fall 2012.
Orion was the first album that the band recorded together. Bentall had previously worked with different artists under the name The Dustin Bentall Outfit. Christened with a new band and band name, it was the opportune time to experiment in the studio.
鈥淚 chose to work with [Dahle] because I went into the studio with him and recorded some demos and just the sound of them was exactly what I was looking for.鈥�
The songs on Orion and You Are an Island were meant to be on a singular album, 鈥渂ut it took such a long time to make the whole record between our touring schedule and financial situation, so we had to release some of the songs in the fall.鈥�
Splitting up the songs was difficult, Bentall adds, 鈥渨e made the EP the transition record.鈥�
As a result, You Are an Island is 鈥渁 very cohesive work of art. I think when you really break it down and get into it every song is really unique.鈥�
The addition of fiddler Kendel Carson helped round out the band鈥檚 rock sound in the album鈥檚 opening songs 鈥淓very Chord that Rings鈥� and 鈥淪hine鈥�. The pace slows down mid-album with more composed, pastoral harmonies like 鈥淒reaming of a Nightmare鈥� and the title track, then ends on a light-hearted and cheery note with 鈥淧retty Good Life.鈥�
鈥淚 love the tempo of it all,鈥� said Bentall.
After a busy year of touring, Bentall plans to move to a desert area in California for the fall and winter months and drum up creative ideas for future albums. The current plan is to pursue another solo release that he wants to record himself.
鈥淥ne thing that I鈥檓 extremely inspired by is that part of the world that I live in during a given time 鈥� This year I鈥檓 looking for some desert inspiration.鈥�
For more information on Dustin Bentall and the Smokes, visit www.dustinbentall.com.
Sarah Makowsky
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