Interview: David Mitchell of Gulfer On The Band’s New Album ‘Third Wind’

Photo by Noémie Plante 

Some artists burn out and never quite come back from that point on. For Gulfer, a little time away to a have think on their place in the music scene is just what they needed. Following the release of their self-titled sophomore effort (in the middle of the 2020 pandemic, albeit) and being stopped in their tracks from playing live like most every band, they needed a break from that band life. A chance opportunity to play in front of bigger, sold out audiences opening for Pinegrove once the world started to return back to normal doubled as positive reinforcement to move forward, however, and that they have in making the best album of their career.

With Third Wind, the emotive Québécois indie rockers synthesize their past lives as guitar mathematicians and apt students of post-hardcore with bigger alternative rock ambitions that balance heavier hooks with dreamier pastures into their world. Life and these uncertain times still rack the heads of vocalists and guitarists Vincent Ford and Joseph Therriault alongside bassist David Mitchell and Julien Daoust, but they’re facing them head-on with more confidence, worn wisdom, and just enough polish than ever.

+rcmndedlisten caught up with the band’s talking point in bassist David Mitchell through e-mail to discuss their evolved state and the happy creative accidents that led to them, adulting as songwriters, as well as what to look forward to once they finally hit the stage again.

+rl: As a band often labeled “emo,” Third Wind is carrying on a time-honored tradition from that scene where some of the greatest to do it shake up their structure and songwriting approach without necessarily seeing anyone go, and it’s like breaking new peaks. Jimmy Eat World did it when Bleed American saw Jim Adkins occupying the frontperson position fully, Matt Pryor became the de facto front of the Get Up Kids from Something to Write Home About onward, and now, Gulfer has handed the primary songwriting reigns over to guitarist and vocalist Joe Therriault properly. And yet, you still keep your early mathematical complexities in place, just with more pop impact. What sparked the desire for this change three albums in?

David Mitchell: The record certainly feels like a sudden sonic shift and Joey’s increased role plays a big part but the change has been a long time coming and there are hints of it growing since Dog Bless. I remember about 10 years ago our entire friend group’s taste in music shifted from math-rock/emo revival stuff towards more indie rock stuff — Alex G and Duster being two major ones. Slowcore, shoegaze, bedroom pop and other similar strains on indie rock became huge influences, especially for Joey and Vince who write all the music in Gulfer, and ever since we’ve been reckoning with how to incorporate them into our band. There are fleeting moments of it on Dog Bless, I often think of the verse of “Doglife” as the first example of it. There are a bunch of songs on self-titled where I hear it as well, but I think Joey and Vince were still trying to make these influences work as more traditional Gulfer songs. The major difference to the songwriting approach to this record was abandoning this idea of trying to make everything sound like Gulfer and just writing whatever came naturally without making sure it was mathy or emo enough to fit. 

+rl: We’re still fortunate to continue getting our fix of guitarist Vincent Ford’s coarser vocal edges throughout Third Wind, and it’s as if this switch-up has made his presence all the more of a special event when they happen because this is an album heavy on the melodicism. When you hear his voice crack through in textures that are, for a lack of better words, indebted to shoegaze and noise-pop, or the energy shifts into the hardcore-adjacent gear, there’s a fireworks display in tracks like “Drainer” and “Too Slow”. Was that like a superpower unlocked moment of realization for the band? 

DM: It is hard to speak on anyone’s behalf here, but I love singing in this band and I feel like the three of us all got to use our vocal ranges and strengths to our maximum on this record. I think the diversity of sounds, energies and vibes on this record allowed us to save those harsh and heavy vocal moments for more appropriate moments, rather than throughout the whole record, and I’m glad that they come across as more effective that way. That said, I don’t recall there ever being a concerted effort to reevaluate our approach to sharing vocals, we just got lucky that these ended up being the songs that materialized for the album and that there was a happy accident that they all happened to flow and balance well together.

+rl: Your music is very much growing up with its audience. Lyrically, the songs here blur lines between personal connection and spiritual ones with the outside world, crumbling in front of our eyes on the timeline by the second. The ugly realities of the world become your own oblique points of self-reflection on late-course highlights “No Brainer” and “Vacant Spirit.” It’s kind of like talking about all the worst shit going down beyond our control with a close friend — someone who can relate from your POV. Can it be said that adulting in Gulfer’s world means thinking about more than just your own first world relationship problems, even though there’s a strong intersection still between both?

DM: Another one that is difficult to answer as I don’t write any of the lyrics nor do I often pay attention to lyrics in music in general (laughs.) From what I have observed, Vince has always toed the line between the two, perhaps refining and maturing that duality with each record. It feels like Joey kind of came right out of the gate with great wisdom and impactful lyrics full of depth right from the start. So guess between Joey’s additional contributions this time around and Vince getting deeper and more profound with time, they’ve hit their most adult set of lyrics on this album.

Last checked, Gulfer’s 2024 tour plans haven’t yet been etched out, but what are you looking forward to most when bringing Third Wind and this version of Gulfer in front of a live crowd when you’re able to?

DM: We do have a very sparse live schedule planned for the foreseeable future, but we have been working on what I think is by far our best live set for these shows. Vince put a ton of effort into writing a new intro, interesting transitions and reimaging parts of songs with updated chord progressions, dynamics and breaks that are not on the recordings. We have a ton of samples running throughout the set and are playing a very long set, including the live debut of most of the songs on Third Wind. “Motive” is probably my favorite Gulfer song of all time and I’ve been having so much fun playing it in practice, I can’t wait to finally play it live. 

Gulfer’s Third Wind is available now on Topshelf Records.