What's Up! Magazine

Rooftops

Hidden away and hard at work in Bayside Studio, Rooftops has been writing and recording A Forest of Polarity since January of this year. And now finally, after slaving away for hours in the studio, they feel comfort in knowing that the album is every bit as good as it should be.

The band has already established itself as a musical powerhouse in Bellingham. Their live shows have left lasting impressions on locals with a barrage of complex math rock melodies, accomplished by three amazing guitarists and a drummer that keeps everything together. They caught the eye of Clickpop’s Paul Turpin who decided to take them under his wing in early 2008 and produce their first record.

A Forest of Polarity is an entirely different experience than attending a Rooftops show. They decided to go “in a more melodic direction,” drawing from a broader range of influences. “We blended a little bit of everything we listen to,” says guitarist Jonathan McIntyre. “I think the goal of a musician is not to sound too much like one thing.” That’s why they brought in some of the local talent to add their creative touches to the record. Sarah Jerns (Pan Pan, The Love Lights) played trumpet and flugelhorn on a couple tracks, as did Kat Bula (Thimble Vs. Needle) on violin/viola and Dylan Rieck (The Crying Shame) on cello. There is also added percussion, bass, and keyboards; even a music box. “My favorite parts of the record are the parts none of us played,” guitarist Drew Fitchette admit. “It’s much more fun to hear things that I haven’t heard a million times. It freshened everything up.”

Thematically, the album arches over an assemblage of elaborate guitar melodies and flows down into a wide range of aural expressions; math and post rock, sparse vocals and layers upon layers of instrumentation. Paul Turpin calls it “a math rock symphony.” Over the course of the record it slowly becomes a more complete picture, and by the end it has morphed into something different than what came before. “The first song on the album and the last song are two very different animals,” Fitchette states.

A Forest of Polarity is an expression of what the band is truly capable of, something that can’t be fully demonstrated by a live show. “We got to balance our sound which is hard to do live without really expensive equipment,” explains McIntyre.

The band tried to pick apart their songwriting and create something more well-rounded. “I feel like we’ve still encompassed the technicality and complexity that keeps things interesting to play, but focused more on the emotive and melodic aspects of our writing,” drummer Wendelin Wohlgemuth says.

Each band member brought their own talents to the table, blossoming into what became an album that even the most critical of ears can appreciate. It’s Rooftops’ attention to detail and creative unity that makes it stand out. They fed off and inspired one another., “We build off each other, and we all seem to have amazingly similar ears for what is melodically and rhythmically appealing,” Wohlgemuth says.

From a technical standpoint, Turpin appreciated their patience. “You want to make sure (the songs) each reach their potential. I think the guys got that right.” Although the album’s slow formation was mostly due to the members being “ridiculously critical and picky” says guitarist Mark Detrick, and that they “took way too long mixing and re-doing things,” it certainly paid off.

Rooftops wants What’s Up! readers to know that they kept all of you in mind when recording this album. “We aren’t really shooting for a certain demographic,” says McIntyre, to which Detrick elaborates, “People who are into tech, mathy stuff will like it as well as people who like classical music, or even people who like pop music.” All the band wants is to make something people can sit back and enjoy; “to make it accessible but also really interesting,” as McIntyre puts it.

The members of Rooftops don’t take themselves too seriously. A few times during this interview Drew Fitchette interjected, completely deadpan, “locally-grown, organic sustainability” to questions like, “who are you playing with next” or “who played on the album.” They also say their track-listing is a puzzle. The puzzle is that every track is spelled out with the same letters as a certain phrase, which I still haven’t figured out. I’ll give you a dollar if you do.

A Forest of Polarity is available on iTunes as well as at Everyday Music and Avalon on Nov. 17. The CD release shows are on Friday, Nov. 20th at the Rogue Hero and Sunday, Nov. 22 at Everyday Music.