Preoccupations Are Ready to Put You Ill at Ease

Band leader Matt Flegel on the post punk stalwarts’ new record, life on the road, and the return of guitars.

by Khagan Aslanov

Photos by Loicia Samson

Preoccupations deal in contradictions—they always have. The Calgary-born band has spent the past decade and a half making music that is as beatific as it is distressing. It’s the calling card of most timeless post-punk bands — immaculate aesthetics that are mitigated and warped by torment.

That tension is where frontman and bassist Matt Flegel thrives, alongside guitarist Daniel Christiansen, multi-instrumentalist Scott “Monty” Munroe, and drummer Michael Wallace, each adding a distinct edge to the band’s brooding sonic signature.

Not only are Preoccupations back in full form, but they’re penning some of the most heart-rending songs of their career. RANGE sat down for a chat with Flegel (transmitting from his New York apartment), as he and his bandmates gear up for an upcoming tour in support of their excellent new LP, Ill at Ease.

Let’s start at the beginning. Tell me about the process for the new album.

We got together in April of last year in Winnipeg to get some ideas flowing, and worked on it straight through to the end of that year. It was a process, we only kept a fraction of the original sessions, and worked on it in home studios. It’s difficult doing things remotely. There’s a pressure in a group to get things done, and when it’s just me on my own, I end up spending endless hours re-writing things to get better takes. I’m very happy with how it turned out though. We have a bunch of singles out already. It’s nice to see it out there in the world for people to love or hate or not think about very hard (laughs).

You’re about to go on the road properly. Are you up hitting the summer festival circuit at all?

Just sticking to clubs for now. Maybe next year, but I don’t know. Festivals are great for money, but they aren’t ideal for a band like us. You don’t get a sound check, no one is really there for you. And I love playing clubs, we’re hitting all the classics. In the UK, we’re playing Leeds Brudenell Social Club; it’s one of our favourite venues in the world. In New York, we’re doing Bowery Ballroom. There are a lot of old suspects, and a bunch of cool new venues.

Any specific reasons for switching labels to Born Losers this time around?

A lot of them. We had put out the previous record ourselves, and it was a great learning experience, but a lot of work. I was so bogged down with logistics and admin emails, and I just wanted to write songs. I met one of the guys from Born Losers at a wedding randomly, and he was a fan. We looked up the label, it was a small, dedicated team. They were great to work with, they get things done, and are easily the best label we’ve worked with.

 

You’re right. I notice that young bands today do want to be self-sustained and do everything themselves, and it’s admirable, but sometimes in the admin, you notice that music suddenly becomes a tertiary aspect.

Exactly. I do think it works for a lot of people, and I respect the kids doing the hustle. But I’m old and tired and I just have no interest in it, as it turns out.

Speaking of old and tired, how is it being on the road for you nowadays?

We all live in different cities now, so at first it’s exciting to get together and see my best friends, you know. By week three, it starts wearing thin (laughs). It’s the in-between, the driving between towns to work. But it’s still fun, and I’m excited to play again. We have a lot of shows coming up!

But being on the road today with more awareness isn’t quite as racked with strange encounters as much as it used to be?

There was a time, when something was always happening, and we were always in trouble. Someone would break something, passports were lost, vans were stolen, you woke up in random places without an idea of how you got there. I applaud today’s concern with safety. I’m a ’90s kid, and there was a long time where everyone was doing drugs and dying left and right. You don’t hear about that much anymore, people are taking mental health more seriously. It takes the romanticism out of it for me.

You guys were working regular jobs for a good long while before music became a full-time moment. What’s the difference between coming up with ideas while doing some mundane activity, or jamming in the studio?

To be perfectly honest, I feel I was more productive when I was working a 9 to 5. You’re always thinking of ideas, while driving or doing something mundane, and it feels less forced. Whereas here, I wake up, make coffee, wander over to the studio and just work. But even then, the really good ideas come when you’re doing something mindless in the interim. I have thousands of voice memos because the best inspiration always comes out of nowhere.

When you first started, post-punk wasn’t having this hyper-active revival. You and bands like Protomartyr were in some ways the first through the wall. 

Yea, and it’s exciting to see kids get into guitar music again. That said, personally, I feel like there’s a lot of this music out right now, and I’m quite tired of it. There are a lot of post-punk bands out there, and they sound exactly alike.

Most of these bands do seem to just rely on massively overdriven bass.

Very much so. We also got lumped into the movement, I think. We don’t really sound anything like a band like Idles, but we’re both post-punk for all intents and purposes. All my favourite bands from the first era don’t sound like each other either — Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees and Television sound nothing alike.

 

There was a point after Women though, where you did seem to focus on more traditional post-punky modalities.

Yea, very much by design. We became interested in atmosphere, in certain textures, and pursued them, switching between guitars and synths, and drums and drum machines.

It does seem like it’s becoming harder and harder to engage listeners in a sustained way. Do you see a lot of younger people showing up to your shows?

Yes. I mean, our main demographic remains dudes of a certain age (laughs), but over the past couple of albums, we see more and more varied demographics show up. Part of it is that I don’t think we’re the kind of band kids look up to nowadays. We’re pretty boring, and we’re not chasing some big thing, we’re happy to maintain. But we do love seeing some fresh faces in the crowd.

I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about it, but I will bring up Women briefly. I mean, Public Strain was a watershed point for indie guitar bands in Canada.

It does get brought up, and by young people often, as their favourite record. It makes me proud, though I haven’t listened to it in a very long time. There was a time, not long ago, when guitars almost completely were phased out for samplers and laptops. But now, we get support slot submissions, and it’s a six-piece with three guitars, so I’m happy it’s back.

Ill at Ease is out May 9 via Born Losers.