SPILL FEATURE: IT’S JUST ONE REALLY BIG EP – A CONVERSATION WITH BIG WRECK’S IAN THORNLEY

IT’S JUST ONE REALLY BIG EP

A CONVERSATION WITH BIG WRECK’S IAN THORNLEY

Big Wreck started the decade with a string of EPs released at an impressive clip. The first was the 7 Series, a trio of EPs released between 2021 and 2023, which was then followed by Pages, released the same year that the 7 Series was concluded. What seemed like the start of yet another era of music from Big Wreck was followed by silence. That is, until now. On October 24^th, the band is set to release The Rest Of The Story, their first full-length album since 2019, marking a return to form from the veteran rock outfit.

“I felt like I had really found gold,” Thornley tells me regarding his decision to switch to EPs in 2020. He continues, “We did the 7’s and it was a messy time in the world, and I felt it wasn’t the idea’s fault, it was the world’s fault… I honestly don’t know if it would have worked. I feel like we were never able to give it a real shot.” While he intended to release more, with 2023’s Pages serving as the first offering of what was to come, the band’s team, specifically Dave Morris, had steered the course towards a full-length album. Enter The Rest Of The Story, a collection of songs intended to become a series of EPs, but destined for an album.

Speaking on the songwriting, The Rest Of The Story began the same way any other Big Wreck record does: with Thornley’s meticulous and compositional songwriting. “For the most part, like 90%, the music is demoed to the point where the guys have a very clear road map as to where things are going” he says. Thornley continues, “There’s a lot of stuff for me to sift through initially. Sometimes songs fall in your lap – as you’re humming through it and you can hear the whole thing, and you have to be grateful for those, sometimes they become your favourites, but other times you need to chip away at it. I demoed these things right up to the point where they are a not as good sounding version as what is on the album.”

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Despite Thornley taking point on the songwriting, he credits bassist Dave McMillan and drummer Sekou Lumumba for their proficiency in the studio. “Initially, we booked the two weeks to lay down drums and bass and just get them right,” Thornley says. “Sekou was done 17 or 18 songs in two or three days, and that was done with two or three drum sounds with different drum and mic set ups for each song… And Dave motored through in a day and a half – he’s very studious, Dave.” By the time Thornley wrapped up his guitars and vocals, the album, in addition to Pages, was completed in the two-week period allotted for pre-production, an impressive feat for anyone, but especially when you consider the musicianship and ambitious songwriting on The Rest Of The Story. Additionally, Thornley credits producer Nick Raskulinecz for transforming the demos of “Around” and “Laws Of Man” to what is present on the album. He explains, “We took a few hard right turns on a few songs between the demo and the final version. I remember ‘Around’ initially had a real loosey goosey, Stonesy vibe. I thought that was the best way to deliver what I think is a very beautiful and simple song. I remember this really dry drum sound and open-tuned guitars. It was Nick who thought it needed to be a pop song.” As for the latter, Thornley remembers, “’Laws of man’, that’s another one that was done on the day because Nick didn’t like the sort of yacht rock demo I had made, which I still adore… I recently went back to that demo and there’s something magical about that.” Raskulinecz had suggested the acoustic instrumentation and stripped-down approach that makes the track a standout on the record.

With a laugh, Thornley tells me “It’s just one really big EP”, continuing, “Every song is treated with the same focus and gravatas… It’s eclectic, it goes in a lot of different directions, but it still sounds like the same band to me.” While The Rest Of The Story is the newest album from the band, it is important to remember that it was written and recorded years ago. Remaining in a seemingly constant state of creating, Thornley exclaims, “I’m sitting on a mountain of music right now. It’s something that never stops. There are more fruitful periods and, I don’t want to say dry spells, but there’s times when ideas aren’t coming thick and fast. Sometimes the faucet’s really on and sometimes it’s just a drip, but I try to capture every drop when it’s just dripping, and I try to catch as much as I can when its flowing.” Between this and the upcoming release of The Rest Of The Story on October 24^th – with an album release show taking place the night before at Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre – it truly is an exciting time for Big Wreck.

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