Strange Advance are on their way to a Perfect Day in their new single and lyric video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The latest single from the Canadian veterans’ recent album Strange Advance 4, Perfect Day is a spot-on throwback to the synth-laced, radio-friendly prog-rock of the band’s ’80s heyday. Despite its optimistic title and infectious melody, however, it was inspired by a much darker influence.
“I don’t normally write songs ‘about’ anything in particular, but Perfect Day was different,” says Drew Arnott. “It’s based on the death scene of Edgar G. Robinson’s character in the film Soylent Green. At the time he died, the Earth had been ravaged by mankind and in return for volunteering for an ‘early death’, the powers that be allowed the volunteer to go out in style. A good last meal watching footage of the Earth in its prime, listening to the music of their choice — in his case, Beethoven. It turned out to be Edgar’s last film. He died two weeks after filming of his death scene. Powerful stuff.”
Strange Advance were formed in the late ’70s by Arnott, Darryl Kromm and Paul Iverson. The band were nominated for a 1983 Juno as Most Promising Group of the Year and again in 1985 as Group of the Year, while their first two albums — 1982’s Worlds Away and 1985’s 2WO — went gold in Canada, thanks to singles like She Controls Me, Kiss in the Dark, Love Games, Worlds Away, We Run and The Second That I Saw.
“This time, Strange Advance has the best combination of players ever,” says Arnott of his latest lineup, which features Ian Cameron, Ross Friesen, Rob Bailey, Sean Dillon and Alexander (A-Train) Boynton. “Each one of them is multi-talented and more importantly, super nice. That makes such a difference when having to deal with rehearsals, recording sessions, and of course life on the road. These guys are in this because they love the music and I think it shows in our performances.”
Check out Perfect Day above, sample Strange Advance 4 below, and connect with Strange Advance at their website, Twitter and Instagram.
