Tuesday, January 23, 2001
By IAN NATHANSON -- Ottawa Sun
For The Moffatts, it's the musical equivalent of adolescence.
Most fans know 16-year-old triplets Clint, Dave and Bob, along
with 17-year-old Scott, as Canadian boy-band-like cuties. Fuelled
by the double-platinum success of their 1998 debut, Chapter 1: In
The Beginning, The Moffatts' effervescent pop melodies of Girl of
My Dreams, Miss You Like Crazy and Misery helped worldwide sales
reach the 2 million mark.
Given the monstrous rise of American teen phenoms the Backstreet
Boys, Britney Spears, 'N Sync and Christina Aguilera -- plus
countless wannabes -- it's fitting that young Canadians would
look to embrace The Moffatts.
Then comes puberty, so to speak. Pop stars naturally grow up and
want to explore new avenues, says Clint. The easy money grab of
the insta-pop star treadmill doesn't satisfy their hunger, so
they look to establish artistic integrity.
Will their fans follow them?
"The way music is working today, you're either in or you're
out," singer-bassist Clint Moffatt says as the sibs headline
a Civic Centre Theatre show Saturday night with Saskatchewan funk-rockers
Wide Mouth Mason in tow.
"There are a few bands like Radiohead out there who make a
statement with their music. But they're not having the success
that Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys are having. Few seem
to be making music for longevity; they're all going in to make
quick cash."
Saleswise, The Moffatts' sophomore CD, Submodalities, has gone
platinum in Canada. Bang Bang Boom already topped the charts
before Christmas and their latest single, Just Another Phase,
sits in the Top 10.
Clint knows full well the risks of shifting to, as their website
dubs them, "rock music sensations," from pop purveyors.
Released last October, Submodalities is, in the truest sense, a
transition record. One foot is rooted in their familiar pop-savviness,
the other lodged in the U.K. stylings of Radiohead and Oasis.
Recorded over the summer in Hawaii, The Moffatts have their
writing hand on just about every song, including some with
producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Aerosmith, Bryan Adams), whom The
Moffatt credits for his eloquent touch in honing -- and
supporting -- the boys' new sound direction.
"Bob Rock was a huge step for us," Clint says. "People
were very shocked that he was into working with us because of The
Moffatts' name. People thought we were automatically going
towards the Backstreet Boys and do whatever was happening at the
moment.
"I guess it was sort of a shock to people to see that we
went totally in the opposite direction. We've lost and we gained
fans, we realize that a lot of younger fans who listen to our
records are saying this is not their cup of tea and will buy the
next Britney record."
Though Moffatt has eschewed comparisons to American brothers
Hanson, he says their discovery of soul, incorporated onto their
sophomore record, This Time Around, also shows a daring attempt
to be taken seriously as a group who write their own material and
are instrumentally proficient.
"It's sad. They came out with a new record and I think it's
really good. They're making a change. Bands like that are trying
to grow with their fans. It's a sophomore record; you don't need
to go out and sell 10 million albums.
"All bands that want longevity, to stay in this business for
15 years or more, need to realize you have to grow with your fans.
Because the industry is always changing, and if you don't, sooner
or later your music's gonna wear out on people."
Clint says Rock offered this piece of advice to the brothers
regarding the transition: "If people don't like this record,
you can't do anything about it. You can't force anybody to buy a
record, but you make the best album you can."
(Original text: http://www.canoe.ca/AllPop-Moffatts/010123_moffatts-sun.html )