The Coast are taking over hearts and heading overseas

By: Sheena Lyonnais
July 21, 2008
If you threw Bright Eyes, Matt Good, the Arcade Fire, bitter resentment and a little bit of Toronto charm in a blender you would get something that resembled the Coast.  You would be transfixed, forced to fall in love as you listen to the kind of songs that play in movies when hearts break and people begin to grow up.  You will picture yourself running away from something, driving in a car where the windshield wipers don’t quite keep up with the pouring rain and despite all this everything would somehow entirely make sense.

There’s a reason why Toronto’s the Coast are leaving in October to do an extensive tour of the UK which will be followed by another tour of the States and Canada and that is because they have the ability to combine sadness and longing with a solid music backdrop and strong poetry in a fashion that is relatable, authentic and destined for airwaves.

Vocalist Ben Spurr, guitarist Ian Fosbery, drummer Jordan Melchiorre and bassist Luke Melchiorre have their reasons for feeling this way and it can all be summed up in the title of their latest release Expatriate.
 
“An expatriate is a person who is not from this country and we started to feel like because we’re always on the road and we’re not always around, we’d come home and it’s a really weird feeling, like you feel out of place,” Fosbery said.

The band just returned from a tour across the Midwest States and Canada, where despite having to cancel a few shows (and make up one) due to excessive van problems they are beginning to establish a name for themselves.  Our city is a slightly different story because although they are friends with a lot of great local acts, they never really felt at home here.

“We’ve always had a thing in Toronto where we never really fit into the scene and we’re not a part of those Social Scene and those guys.  We kind of happened outside of that stuff, not that we’re not friends with those guys, Social Scene is one of our favourite bands, but we kind of happened outside of that,” Fosbery said.  “The young kids are starting to come out now who are actually a lot younger than we are like Ruffians and Tokyo Police Club, who we also love, but we’re not really a part of either of those crowds.  We are in that we’re friends with them, but our fans have never developed together.  Ben and Luke thought it really hit the nail on the head.  Expatriate, we feel like we’re not from here you know.”

Yet despite these feelings the band seemed incredibly well received at Edgefest last weekend where TMS caught up with them.  They were lucky enough for the rain to stop just long enough for them to take over the hearts of those watching the side stage.

To transfix yourself, checkout  www.myspace.com/thecoastmusic.