Mood Board is our column where artists share a few of the things that inspired their new record. This week, Michael Cormier-O’Leary of the East Coast ensemble Hour tells us how surprise parties, Margaret Millar, and more influenced the making of their new record Ghost Bridge — out now on Dear Life.
— Annie Fell, Editor-in-chief, Talkhouse Music
1. Surprise birthday parties
On my 32nd birthday, I went out for a nice dinner with my wife and planned on having a quiet evening afterwards. As we approached the house, I talked a big talk about throwing on an episode of Jeopardy. Instead, I opened the door to our living room and was met with a cacophonous "SURPRISE" shrieked by 20 or so of my dear friends. My wife hadn't let on for a second that she had orchestrated this, and my shock was palpable. The proof is on film, I literally jump backwards. After I caught my breath, the party was a blast. I sang "Believe" by Cher for karaoke, a song that's only slightly out of my range but felt so damn good to sing. The next morning, dizzy from the alcohol and outward pouring of love, I sat down at the piano and began playing what would become “So Long Without A Word.” The voice memo was labeled “Surprise, Surprise,” and that was the name it had for quite a while. The piece has these drastic harmonic shifts that only make sense within the context of the melody. That approach informed my writing for the rest of the record and is likely a result of having had my expectations so viscerally subverted.
2. Archives by Cédric Dind-Lavoie
I've had this album in heavy rotation for many years now. I was first hipped to it reading an interview with Myriam Gendron, whose music I adore and taste I trust. Dind-Lavoie uses archival folk recordings from Quebec as the foundation for new compositions. I was struck by the creativity of his reharmonization of the original melodies. He coaxes a lot of emotion out of the source material without verging into gimmicky territory. The album maintains a honest and compelling mood throughout, and that measured exploration of a mood is something I had in mind while making Ghost Bridge.
3. Experiment in Terror (1962)
This film is a must-watch for David Lynch fans, as Lynch himself was clearly a fan and borrowed quite a bit from it for Twin Peaks. Lee Remick's character lives in the Twin Peaks neighborhood of San Francisco and Glenn Ford lays the groundwork for Kyle McLaughlin's Dale Cooper performance. There are plenty of other easter eggs as well, but the film has its own merit. I've linked here to the mannequin scene, which features one of my favorite music cues, “Nancy” by Henry Mancini. The piano is so unpredictably askew and haunting, and the way Mancini employs brass sounds like he is using synthesizers. It's very forward thinking music that achieves a powerful skin-crawling effect. There is also an incredible sequence shot at Candlestick Park during a Giants/Dodgers game, a cinematic achievement that makes you wonder how the hell they pulled it off.
4. Wives and Lovers (1954) by Margaret Millar
My friend Owen turned me onto the books of Margaret Millar, a mid-century mystery author whose books I've struggled to find physical copies of. My library has some of her books as ebooks, so I've read a few that way. Beast in View is a great entry point, a chilling and soberly written psychological thriller. My favorite so far has been Wives and Lovers, which is a slow burn examination of the domestic lives of two different couples and their extramarital relations. Her prose is exacting, which she uses to plumb the depths of her characters and their contradictions. I haven't devoured books at such a clip as I do when I'm reading a Margaret Millar book. I'm drawn to the darkness she explores and the rigor with which she constructs her narratives.
5. Dinner after the movie
I don't go to the movies as much as I used to now that I have a young kid. When my wife and I do manage to get out, I like when we see the movie first and get dinner after. There is nothing like stepping out of a dark theater back into the dimming light of day. It's such a magical feeling to become reacquainted with reality while your head spins with new ideas and emotions. If you've already eaten before the movie, your conversation may only last the trip home. But when dinner is still to come, you've got at least another two hours to discuss a film's impression on you. A lot of my favorite art needs that time to be parsed out, a period of rubbing your eyes while focus returns. Dinner is a perfect time to do this, especially if it's with someone you love and whose ideas you care to hear. I think Ghost Bridge is an album everyone should listen to first and then have dinner afterwards to discuss. Not like I'm saying it's some real heady shit, but more that I think its not an album that reveals itself immediately. I continue to be surprised by it and I wrote the freakin' thing. So, ya, whenever possible, get dinner after the movie. Your experience will be all the richer.
