Brooding for Elliott

“Well, this European tour was pretty special,” emails Mark Sasso, lead vocalist in Toronto’s alt-country trio, listing off an extensive number of festivals and shows. At the time of the email, Elliott Brood members Sasso, Casey Laforet and Stephen Pitkin are enjoying a rare day off in Amsterdam before flying to this side of the Atlantic. “The End of the Road Festival was a pretty special one because it was our first festival ever in the UK, and they had us touted as ‘the band to see before they blow up,'” Sasso adds, saying that the festival had bands Modest Mouse, Wilco, Yo La Tango, Wintersleep, The New Pornographers, Plants and Animals and Wolf Parade on the bill. You’d expect nothing less from the men in three-piece suits, who brought us Tin Type (“Oh, Alberta”) and Juno nominees Ambassador and Mountain Meadows. Sasso says the band’s been working on new music between tours, and is hoping to settle down in November and finish the next album. He adds that they’re “always excited about going back to ‘Hali.’ Since day one, every time we’ve played in Halifax the crowds have always been amazing for us.” Don’t let ’em down, folks.

This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2010.