Throughout their career, members of the local experimental pop band North Country say one of their most harrowing experiences so far has been their best. Last February, shortly before their homecoming performance at Songbyrd (following their tour across the Southeast), the band’s drummer, Kirk Kubicek, tested positive for COVID. Panic befell the six-person group as Kubicek isolated himself in his cousin’s basement in Baltimore. There was a sense of uncertainty as everyone wondered whether they would be able to perform.
“The show was just six days away,” singer Andrew Grossman tells City Paper. “We didn’t know whether or not we could still play and if we needed to find a sub. It was this very dramatic thing.”
After five days in the basement, taking medicine, working out, and receiving encouragment from his bandmates, Kubicek managed to miraculously produce a negative test the night before the performance. The band was elated.
“It was such a catharsis because the show was just a couple people shy of being sold out,” Grossman says. “That moment happened because we stuck together and didn’t throw in the towel. That and the show were some of our proudest moments so far.”
The band rode the momentum of that show at Songbyrd (one of their best, they believe), and on Sept. 27 they released a new single called “The Invisible Hand.” Now they plan to celebrate with a mini-tour that will hit three cities starting in D.C. on Oct. 26, before stopping in Philadelphia and Richmond. “Visually, musically, energetically, spiritually… we’re trying to make these shows blowout,” Grossman says.
“But not gastrointestinally,” jokes guitarist Jon Harmon.
The North Country is a band that’s been around for a long time—Grossman started it back in 2011 as a vehicle for his songwriting. Today, in its current iteration with all six members, the group is about four years old.
Yet, North Country introduces themselves as a “collective” rather than a “band.” Each member works on projects outside of North Country, and they put immense value on the collaborative process they use to create music. Though the band might consider Grossman the frontman and founder, each member contributes their songwriting abilities. And though some members live outside D.C.—Kubicek is based in Colorado, and keyboardist Laurel Halsey lives in Philadelphia—the group meets over Zoom whenever they begin work on a new album. And when they have shows lined up, they rehearse together in person beforehand.
“We’re really committed to playing music and sharing it all with an audience,” Harmon says. “To do all of that we make sure everyone is pulling their weight.”
The level of collaboration means their music can be experimental. Singer Margot MacDonald found a way to insert operatic vocal lines into “The Invisible Hand,” since she has a background in classical music. North Country likes to do things with their music that people don’t hear in typical pop songs, even as they emphasize that their music fits the genre.
“When you hear ‘experimental’ music, you think of music that completely breaks away from traditional forms,” Halsey says. “We’re not trying to alienate the public. It’s important for our art to be accessible and enjoyable.”
“I like art in general to be beautiful and enjoyable,” she adds. “That’s the important part.”
North Country aims to pack their music with important themes, often confronting issues that affect them personally. This is very clear in “The Invisible Hand,” which Grossman describes as an “anti-capitalist romp.” The single addresses the absurdity of billionaires existing when there are people without enough money to feed themselves.
“Our economic system is a choice and we can choose,” Grossman says. “We don’t have to choose something that’s so absurd and unjust. We can choose something that’s fair, equitable, and provides for people’s basic needs… I care a lot about lyrics, and it matters to me that the lyrics are reflecting something that is true. It’s really hard for me to sing and share lyrics if they’re not a personal or objective truth.”
The upcoming shows to celebrate “The Invisible Hand” isn’t all the band has planned for the rest of the year. After they’re done with the tour, they’re set to record a new album that they’re hoping to release in the spring of 2024. It’ll be made up of songs that they’ve been performing and experimenting with on stage for years. Looking back at the past decade of North Country’s existence, Grossman is excited about where the band is at right now and looks forward to getting more new music out there.
“I feel really proud of what we’ve done artistically, and I feel hungry to continue this band,” he says. “The upcoming record is the record I’ve been trying to make for the past 10 years. We’ve finally done it.”
North Country play at 8 p.m. on Oct. 26 at DC9. dc9.club. $20.
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