It has been just over four years since Saskatoon’s indie trio Close Talker quit their record deal and began their hiatus from the project that they started twelve years prior. There was no specific timeline for their return, but one thing Will Quiring, Matt Kopperud and Chris Morien knew for sure is that they needed to put the project on hold to allow for their personal growth and exploration.

This shift in priority is mentioned in the very first lyric of their new record “The Sprawl,” as Will gently swoons: “Do you remember when you said that all my love is for the band … while I was dreaming in our bed for a day out in the sand.”

In 2020, their drummer Chris moved out to Victoria, lead guitarist Matt started building homes, and lead singer Will pursued his passion of scoring films. During this time apart, the three of them began applying hindsight to what they cherished about the project.

They discovered that their mutual love of music is truly timeless, and like moths to a flame, they began the process of bringing Close Talker over the heat of the burner once again. Opening their palms to the freedom of release gave them that reignition, as they embodied the words of New Age author Deepak Chopra, when he wrote: “Embrace every day as a new world. Let the timeless be in charge of time.”

Time and the effects of time is a motif threaded throughout the tapestry of Close Talker’s full body of work. Track 8 off the new record is an intriguing tie-in to their 2014 debut LP, as the title is a continuation of The Silence I and II. In Will’s reflective words: “The Silence III is the one who sits back and looks at both of those songs (I and II) with the same feelings they had, but a different mindset. A little older and hopefully a little wiser.” The third silence takes on a new life, clearly composed by three wise(r) souls.

The adept movement on the drums, the subtle Bon Iver-styled vocal effects, and the disarming piano tones leave way for Will’s charismatic lyricism: “I dreamt you were flying overhead, humming It is well.” Their ethereal delivery exhibits the group’s new-found maturity, clearly resulting from the bitter-sweet effects of time and the resulting growth of these three pioneer musicians.

While there are many similarities between “The Sprawl” and the group’s previous LP’s “How Do We Stay Here” (2019), “Lens” (2017), and “Flux” (2014), one distinct deviation can be found in their process. I got to catch up with Matt over FaceTime to chat about how this record came together. He managed to escape to his workshop, dodging the noise of his busy family life, and shed some light on the creation of “The Sprawl.” “This record took forever; we had patience, we let things develop and age. We used to be pressure-cooked; this one, we let her marinate.”

Truly, patience makes for a tastier meal, and the marination process can’t be rushed. Personally, as I listen to the new record, there are certain bites that contain a very dynamic flavour, evidencing all the sauce they poured out in Will’s home studio. One song in particular—the closing track “Chevy Floor”—is a perfect example. Presumably a song conceived by Matt on the piano, pushed along by Chris’ suave drum additions, and carried through by Will’s tasteful acoustic riffing, I find a solace in the serenity of this atmosphere, and I am entirely disarmed by the charismatic first verse:

“I am manning the wheel,

 without a vice, between Calgary and my room.

And in your eyes I’m the Man of Steel.

But the boys and I, we just quit out record deal.

I soldier up, and I head out to the clear.

But all I want is watch the Raptors and have a beer.

And in your eyes, I have felt like this for years.

Yeah, I’ve wrote enough notes, should probably rest my ears

…maybe next year.”

And just when you thought the track couldn’t possibly bring any more blissfulness, the lyrical vista releases into a calm clearing, dazzled with whirring delayed guitar notes and carefully chosen drum samples, woven together by a vintage Close Talker soft synth patch.

Unsurprisingly, Matt mentioned that “Chevy Floor” is his favourite track off the record; “Modest is hottest … it’s very laid back; that’s it’s charm. Those type of songs have legs—they’re the ones we come back for. It’s for the deeper listener … it’s more of an exhale.”

When listening to Matt describe what he loves about “Chevy Floor,” I gathered that he was articulating a big-picture outlook on the whole album. These three gents have such a rare chemistry together; you can easily sense the intrinsic connection they share when they write music. Naturally, I had to ask Matt his thoughts on Will’s latest body of poetry sung on the album, and how it connects emotionally to Matt and Chris.

“The subject matter is his internal tug-of-war with the love and pursuit of music. The ambition is the dangling carrot and the Achilles heel. It’s a weird thing to realize we were all wrestling with that the entire time.” What a fascinating revelation to hear that one of Canada’s most celebrated indie trios was concealing a double-edged dynamic as they grappled with some elements of touring, record deals, and chasing their dreams.

It seems that their brief hiatus was ultimately for the purpose of realignment and retrieving the core caches of their passion. “We love music, full stop. If people appreciate it, we are thankful. But would we write just for the three of us? Absolutely. With Will being our spokesperson, the echo’s for Chris and I are very vivid as well.”

I’ve been listening to Close Talker since they toured their first two albums “Timbers” and “Flux” in 2014. We have seen every Calgary tour date since then. I’ve introduced all of my brothers and my closest friends to their music and witnessed their endless evolution over the years. It’s fascinating how things come full circle. Track 1 off their first album “Creature,” holds an eerie resemblance to the second last track off their brand new album “And Am.”

So naturally I asked Matt about the new track “And Am.” I wanted to know if it’s an older gem they had uncovered, and how they landed on such a title. These proved to be the right questions to ask. “We wrote it as an interlude for our European tour (many years ago). It’s a jam we wrote that got out of hand.” Clearly, my ears did not deceive me; I knew I could sense those classic Close Talker tones. When asked about the title choice, Matt excitedly explained: “We often say to each other in the band, ‘I appreciate you AND AM proud of you.’ Eventually we cut the fat, kept the AND AM, and kept the sentiment.”

Close Talker consistently writes about the bitter-sweet effects that time has on a human life. In the four years since their last album, time has made these three gentlemen wiser, more patient and present with each other and the process of reaching for the stars. They put a charismatic, vintage touch on the new record “The Sprawl,” as they assembled a charming mix of inhales and exhales into a stimulating tapestry.

The three of them expressed so delicately the wrestling match between loving music and finding balance in life, which takes on different meaning for each of them, whether it was nurturing their family, starting a new one, travelling to the coast or building non-musical bridges to non-sonic spaces.

From the words found in the fourth single off the album, “Tall Boy:” “I’ll wait for you in the sunlight that only you could know. I’ll wait for you in the harrowing, the harbouring, the magnitude of it all.” It seems that ray of sunlight dancing between the tall pillars built during their hiatus was the gravitational force that drew Will, Matt and Chris back home. And it was that same brilliant light that refracted through the prisms of their hearts, radiating their stories of growth in this body of new music.

Damn, if that don’t make you want to listen, I’m not sure what will… Stream Close Talker’s new album “The Sprawl” today wherever you please and check out their upcoming tour dates throughout Canada.

Follow the band on Instagram.