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Sunday Music Spotlight - Rock Plaza Central

September 30, 2007 in Music, Spotlight by Sean | No comments

Rock Plaza Central, a Canadian Indie Rock Band
You know what would be a great idea for a concept album? A collection of songs about six-legged robot horses who think they’re real horses. No, seriously. Stop laughing. Come on, give it a chance.

Ok, so on its surface it seems that robot horses won’t make for a strong album. Luckily for Canadian indie rockers Rock Plaza Central and their enigmatic frontman Chris Eaton it’s really difficult to tell that’s what the songs on their latest album Are We Not Horses are about. Eaton’s songwriting is opaque enough to prevent you from discerning what’s truly going on inside his mind, yet accessible enough to draw you in. The quirky instrumentation and anthemic melodies glue the songs into your head. The whole package, while rough around the edges, is endlessly fascinating.

Rock Plaza Central was formed when singer/guitarist/novelist Chris Eaton was booked to play a show at Toronto’s Sneaky Dee’s in 2003. He asked members of the other bands performing that night to join him. Despite not having any rehearsal the musicians were able to cobble together something resembling music. Shortly thereafter they entered the studio to record their first album, The World Was Hell to Us. Eaton seems to think the album, which consists mainly of unrehearsed first takes, is about a battle between angels and humans. The rest of the band isn’t so sure. As banjo player Rob Carson tells it in the band’s bio on YepRoc Records site:

Chris went on, “You remember the war between the angels and the humans from the last record, right?”

As a matter of fact, I didn’t. And furthermore, even to this day, it seems that no one in the band quite understands what the hell Chris is talking about when he mentions the war. And he mentions it a lot. Our first record was a largely improvised affair at the House of Miracles with Andy Magoffin - it was only the third time we had ever played together as a band, with most of the songs arranged totally on the fly and recorded in a single take. When all the dust had settled, Chris reflected on what had made its way onto tape and he seemed to have decided that a few of the songs fit together to tell the story of an apocalyptic war between angels and human beings. But to be honest, I still don’t quite see where he got this.

When band members don’t see how the songs are related to “the theme” it’s safe to say the theme is a little abstract. Which leads us back to the six-legged robot horses. Eaton explains:

Well, now I’m imagining that during the war, the humans rode on these six-legged robotic horses. But now that the war is over, though, the robot horses have to face the consequences of what they’ve done in overthrowing the angels. They figure out that the humans lied to them, tricking them into thinking that they were real horses. And then the robot horses get worried that maybe they fought on the wrong side in the war. But even more than that, they’re completely baffled by the fact that all of a sudden they have no idea what they even are, since they’ve only ever known what it means to be horses. And they’re not horses.

Obviously. I mean, I get it. It’s completely clear. Just in case you don’t, let’s go to the music:

Rock Plaza Central - My Children Be Joyful

I have absolutely no idea what this song has to do with horses, but it’s been glued in my head for almost a week. The chorus seems to almost plead for listener to cheer up. And the arrangement of the trumpet, violins, guitar, and vocals is spot on. Sure, the vocals are a little rough, but I think it lends them a little extra charm.

Rock Plaza Central - Weve Got A Lot To Be Glad For

The album’s closer is either about realizing all the things we have to be grateful for OR about the robot horses coming to terms with their robotisicm. I’m guessing is the former. In any case, it’s a bit of a musical masterpiece.

Bonus Videos

Rock Plaza Central gained a bit of notoriety late last year with their cover of “Sexyback”. Here it is mashed with the original Justin Timberlake video: