To create its latest compilation of songs, a Foothills band stepped out of its comfort zone.
The Travelling Mabels added a combination of rock and roll and funk to its folk/country sound in its latest album Postcard, which will debut at concerts in the East Longview Hall Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 30 at 2 p.m.
“Vocally we are expanding our horizons a little bit,” said Eva Levesque, known as Mama Mabel. “On this new CD there is a song at the end that’s rock and kind of cool. We are way more relaxed and more comfortable with each other.”
The folk/country band, which was voted Association of Country Music in Alberta’s 2011 Group of the Year, is a multi-generational band with musical influences ranging from Dolly Parton to Sheryl Crow.
Members include Mama Mabel, daughter Suzanne Levesque, known as Baby Mabel, and Calgary couple Lana Floen, known as Purdy Mabel, who performed previously with country band Kickstart. Floen’s husband Keith, known as Unstable Mabel, is the band leader and keyboard player and was nominated for the Canadian Country Music Association’s 2012 Keyboard Player of the Year.
The four band members came together to create the full 12-track album with a mixture of new songs and sounds, resulting in good reviews, said Levesque.
“It’s very folky, this one,” she said. “There’s a lot of storytelling in it and it’s very melodic. There’s a lot less guitar and more acoustic instruments in it.”
Among the stories The Travelling Mabels sing about in their new album is a girl’s love for her horse and what it’s like to be middle-aged, said Levesque.
“It’s just heartfelt stuff,” she said. “I don’t know how to describe it without getting teary eyed. It’s a pretty good mix of stuff.”
Levesque’s favourite song on the album is one she wrote with Keith about her husband, which they titled Superman.
“It’s a fun, bouncy tune with great keyboard work, he said. “It’s really funky and different. It’s about how I feel about him. He’s my Superman, my hero.”
Levesque said this isn’t the first time she’s written about her husband. She recalls one song she wrote about his love of being a cowboy called Riding Fences.
The Foothills band has kept busy travelling and touring the west and Levesque said after three years they agreed it was time to record a new album.
“We got too busy traveling and touring and we just couldn’t get into the studio,” she said. “We decided we had to get on this.”
They will soon be on the road again with a showcase in Stettler in November and a tour in British Columbia in February.
Levesque’s daughter Suzanne is eager to showcase the album, which includes a French-inspired song with plenty of piano sounds.
“We went a little outside of our comfort zone this time, which is something we haven’t really done too much,” she said. “We just decided to do what we felt the direction the songs were supposed to go instead of trying to be all acoustic. There is still acoustic guitar, but there is more strings in there which is really neat and different.”
Suzanne’s husband Craig Bignell provided percussions for the album and will perform with the band at the East Longview Hall this weekend, as well as guitar player Paul Chapman of Toronto, who is also featured on the album.
“We have really progressed,” said Suzanne. “With this album we tried different instruments. Lana played percussions and Keith played the accordion. There’s different sounds and it’s more interesting. We all just want to play good music.”
Suzanne said she’s been enjoying the writing process after spending years on the road performing with her family’s band during her younger years.
“I was never really involved in that part of this and creating music,” she said. “You have people to bounce ideas off of. My mom and Lana and Keith are experienced so it’s nice to be around and get ideas from them.”
Tickets to see The Travelling Mabels perform cost $25 at thetravellingmabels.ca or $30 at the door.
