Singled Out: Major Spark's Kill The Truth

Boston rockers Major Spark just released their new album "Kill The Truth" and to celebrate they tell us about the album's title track. Here is the story:

Brian Charles: I remember Mark coming up with the original idea for the song "Kill The Truth" in the live room at Rare Signals. He was playing a nylon string guitar and singing improvised lyrics, but they included most of the chorus and a good portion of the second verse. His early version had a straight feel and was a little bit fast, but Mark has his own internal rhythm that, when I hear it, I know he's on a roll. I felt inspired to put some swing into the song. I think I was picking up on a little bit of Mark's Southern drawl that he was using on the demo. I thought it would be fun to pull from an American country-rock feel similar to The Rolling Stones' song "Far Away Eyes" or "Dead Flowers" -- basically someone who wasn't from the South attempting to sound like they were.

Mark seemed to embrace the idea fairly quickly. I remember slowing down the tempo and blocking in some guitar and lap steel parts that would give us an idea of what the song could sound like. If I remember correctly, Mark just kind of ran with it. He went a little far with the Southern accent which helped us create the direction for the song. It all helped the vibe of the music.

Regarding Seven's backing vocals - I'll have her sing through the whole song like she's the lead. I know she has such a great sound and feel, and she gets into character very quickly. I thought there was a possibility of a duet with Mark. We ended up using Seven's vocal in the second verse as the lead which I think gives the song an interesting angle. Overall, I think this might be my favorite song on the record though that could change over time.

Mark Goodman: I like to write using live improvisation instead of pen and paper because there's less focus on using perfect rhymes, and I can stumble into odd phrasings or lyrics. It's a good way to try to avoid using cliches. Getting into a character can help with getting lost in a zone where words just flow. Brian is correct that I sang all the early versions with a heavy Southern accent. I played one for a friend who lives in Virginia and he said, "great tune...but no way, lose the accent."

Brian does an amazing job coaching vocal performance in the studio. Seven and I can sing lots of different ways on each song; aggressive, quiet, screaming, deadpan, etc. Brian helps us find the right approach and to hit the right melodies. He added excellent parts to the song that help it build throughout - including a nice banjo part in the bridge. Most of the tracks on the album rock quite a bit harder, but we both like the feel of this one, so we made it the title track. Kill the Truth. Exactly the opposite of what we really want.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here

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