Matt Gigg & The Intellectuals

For a different slice of the musical pie, Matt Gigg & the Intellectuals will smarten up The Marquee Room with pals Bikeland and Jhor Sept that same night. Gigg plays an intriguing style of folk-influenced indie rock with dashes of Neil Young, Jens Lekman and old Folkways recordings. His pop sensibility makes him and his band one to watch in 2009.

- Dane Swanson - FFWD Weekly

Impressively enough, considering they only formed three short months ago, Matt Gigg and the Intellectuals are quickly making themselves known in Calgary. The quartet is set to play only their fifth show when this fine issue of BeatRoute hits the stands and yet they’ve already opened for Sylvie, Ghostkeeper, the Ex-Boyfriends and Secret Broadcast.

Their secret?

A mix of talent and knowing who’s-who in our burgeoning music community. It doesn’t hurt that their quiet brand of indie-folk is both a sombre reflection of real life events coupled with glockenspiels and noisemakers. Their music is also an upbeat myriad of instrumentation that incited the crowd at a Sylvie show at the Gateway to demand an encore.

“So far, it’s pretty well received,” states acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter Matt Gigg quietly and modestly.

“People seem surprised,” says bassist and trumpetist Malissa Dunphy, who also plays glockenspiel, melodica and noisemaker.

“For the amount of time we’ve been a band, we’ve done pretty good for having two shows now,” finishes drummer Zachary Polak.

The group, which is rounded out by lead guitarist and bassist Graham Rapson, plays a mix of what Gigg calls “folk and Canadiana.”

“It’s pretty poppy now too,” adds Dunphy.

Is this hybrid similar to other Calgary bands that have fused a multi-instrumental approach with charming lyrical content?

“We aren’t as cute,” interjects Dunphy.

“Not so much sugar,” clarifies Gigg.

“We don’t hurt your teeth,” continues Dunphy. “Matt’s lyrics are quite realistic. I don’t want to say cynical because that’s not what it’s about. I love the cute stuff,” she emphasizes, “but because of Matt’s lyrics, which are one of our strongest points, it’s not like that.”

“It’s pretty broad, in general. It has a lot to do with life and religion… but I am kind of getting out of that,” says Gigg of his touted lyrical themes that draw influence from Bob Dylan and other folk singers from that era.

Gigg performed solo under his own moniker before “and the Intellectuals” was added mid-October. Now, the group has several songs from both Gigg’s solo work and collaborations in their repertoire, which is comprised of lyrical and structural creations made by the singer that the rest of the band “adds to as we go along.”

As the interview shifts to the songs in their repertoire, the strong friendship in the band becomes ever more evident.

“I like the really stripped down sound. Not full-blown when everything is going,” explains Gigg over a song-by-song analysis, all of which the group plans to use for a full-length recording to be done in January. “I like really simple basic music. We are a four piece band. I want us to sound like a four piece band.”

This sound is reflected in their track “Paul,” which Gigg explains as owning similar elements that made indie-rock band the Constantines so popular.

“It’s what I call building up to an orgasm in a song,” he explains. “Where they build up tension and you think the songs going to pick up and it never does. But it does leave you wanting more.”

“We don’t have many songs like that…” starts Gigg before Dunphy continues.

“We have a couple that definitely spluge,” she laughs. “We’re teases.”

- Sarah Kitteringham - BeatRoute Magazine

So how does a band who have yet to release an LP, or an EP, or even make a name for themselves, garner the attention of SoundProof? Call it a leap of faith, but based largely on the strength of their five MySpace demo songs and their desire to get involved in not-for-profit events, the four-piece outfit Matt Gigg & The Intellectuals were added to SoundProof's Dec. 23 Gimme Shelter fundraiser, which also features two of Alberta's best indie acts, Ghostkeeper and Secret Broadcast. Unless you caught their first-ever gig in October or two recent ones in Regina and Medicine Hat, you can consider this fundraiser the coming out party for this young Calgary band.

These indie folk-rockers haven't gone into the studio as a full band yet, and only have a couple of small club gigs under their collective belts. But there's something enticing about the five sparse tracks released on their MySpace page. Singer-songwriter Matt Gigg originally recorded the songs as a series of quiet, acoustic guitar-based solo demos rooted in folk and Canadiana. Then, last October, he recruited two old high school friends, along with drummer Zach Polak, to form a backing band, and The Intellectuals were born.

The addition of The Intellectuals has Gigg's old demos sounding quite a bit different as they're constantly being workshopped when everyone plays together. Multi-instrumentalist and self-described 'noise-maker' Malissa Dunphy says that the group expanded upon the very folky and introspective songs, making them a 'little more rock and upbeat, but still lo-fi,' somewhat inspired by the likes of Bright Eyes and Okkervil River. The music is still carried by Gigg's acoustic guitar, but The Intellectuals layer in eclectic flourishes. Graham Rapson switches back and forth from bass to electric guitar while Dunphy adds quirky glockenspiel fills, trumpet antics and other noises throughout – think experimental rockers Animal Collective or Grizzly Bear.

It's true The Intellectuals have a bigger say in everything, and Rapson now writes some guitar and bass lines, but the strength of the band remains with Gigg's talents as a provocative singer, good storyteller and, as Dunphy points out, his 'honesty and realism when he writes'. Case in point: Gigg's cynical and mostly autobiographical '6th Fret Fandango' has more to do with where his head was at when he wrote it, rather than the band's more energetic leanings.

And where is Gigg's head when he writes? Dunphy says he travels around a lot and continues to be influenced by many things. The band may even get political since they always seem to be getting into passionate arguments over politics and hockey. Sounds typically Canadian, eh?

With an upcoming food drive fundraiser on Dec. 19, along with the Gimme Shelter gig on Dec. 23, this young quartet are getting busier and busier. But Dunphy wanted to hold off going into the studio, at least until they're more polished. She thinks they'll be ready to start recording their first album in January for potential release in April. Eight to ten originals will be on the album, including new versions of most of the MySpace demos.

Many artists make the mistake of entering the music industry blindly without establishing a particular sound or vision. Not so with this group. Dunphy believes the band isn't particularly hard to classify and they 'like it that way'. They've made lots of connections and have found support amongst Calgary's many music cliques. Because of those connections, they play gigs with a lot of the same bands. 'It's just how the industry works.' They don't worry about associating with dissimilar bands either. 'Exposing yourself to a crowd that might not come out if they didn't have the other band to draw them in is a smart thing,' Dunphy says. Still, committing to an extensive tour in the future is not on the horizon. Blame the complications of all band members holding down 'real jobs'. But they are applying to the upcoming NXNE festival in Toronto and next autumn's Pop Montreal, so be sure to expect big things from this interesting band.

All proceeds from the Dec. 23 Gimme Shelter fundraiser will go to the Calgary Emergency Women's Shelter.

- David Ball - Sound Proof Magazine

For only having played together for a little over a year, Matt Gigg & the Intellectuals sure know a thing or two about making concise indie folk. Planted, the band’s debut, is a romantic and tethering listen full of charm and a relaxed sort of grace. Gigg himself is a witty and literate lyricist, reminiscent of a young Will Sheff. The 10 tracks on Planted employ a communal-like sound, one that would fit just as well around a campfire as well as your local coffee joint. Not only is it possible to sing along to tracks like “Paul’s Song”, a passionate tale of a nomadic rambler, but the rising crescendo that caps off this standout leaves ample room to get some good, introspective thinking done. While the production on Planted lacks, this is still an impressive debut that is as alarmingly visceral as it is cerebral. - PopMatters