Souls Don’t Die: 54-40’s Northern Soul

By Megashaun

With the music industry so fond of constantly pushing the next big band you’ll have forgotten about months after their publicity onslaught, it could be easy for the easily-swayed to forget that good music is not always the kind that’s being crammed down their throats at every commercial break, every soundtrack, and on every magazine cover. Yes, believe it or not, there are bands that are actually in it not for fame, but because making music is all they can and want to do.

54-40 Northern Soul album artwork

54-40 is one of those bands that have been around so long that they’ve faded in and out of the public eye more than once. In fact, you’ve probably heard their music even if you think you haven’t. But while the mainstream press, big record executives, and idol-worshipping hordes have all but ignored the band, they have endured and continued to do what they do best: write, record, and perform music.

Classmates Neil Osborne and Brad Merritt formed the band over two decades ago and named it after the US expansionist slogan “Fifty-Four Forty or Fight,” which is often attributed to James K. Polk’s promise to go to war to expand the United States border Northward at Oregon. While that conflict eventually resulted in the formation of today’s US-Canada border, the fact that the band took their name from a war cry, of sorts, is especially ironic today.

54-40 has always tackled themes of love, despair, desire, and conflict in their music. Listening to them casually or superficially over the years, one might not pick up on these things due to the generally upbeat nature of most of the band’s songs. But with the release of Northern Soul, one would have to willfully try to not recognize the themes presented.

The title track, for instance, was posted online months before an album was even announced. It was also accompanied by an animated video interpretation by Sol Friedman. The song is stark in its instrumentation, relying heavily on sustained piano and vocals to tell the story of a son who was killed in a war while not understanding what he was fighting for. Neil Osborne has commented in an interview with Popshifter that the song is a direct response to Canadian soldiers being sent to Afghanistan.

Much of the album carries a similar, almost eerie vibe. There’s no denying that it has darker, moody undertones despite the buoyant pacing of many of the songs and the vocal delivery being tinged with hope. This is accomplished as much by what’s included in the instrumentation as well as what’s left out.

In the 1990s, 54-40 was known for their signature three-chord rock sound, and it was easy to peg a song as theirs based on these progressions alone. Over the last few albums, that fingerprint has been slowly scaled back. Northern Soul, with its lighter guitars (lead guitar seems non-existent here) places more emphasis instead on the rhythm instruments, Neil’s voice, and backing vocals.

In fact, at times it sounds like it could have come either before or after the band’s 1989 record, Fight For Love. But that’s not to say the album is minimalist—the arrangements are warm, full, and carry the listener forward with seemingly little effort. Perhaps this is my own unapologetic fandom for 54-40 speaking here, but it’s entirely possible for one to lose oneself in Northern Soul. On just the second listen, I couldn’t help but sing or at least hum along. In my daily listening leading up to today, typically on the train to and from work, I find myself carried away from my physical location to a land of thought and reflection. Some people listen to self-help books-on-tape, and I listen to 54-40.

Although the band’s sound has changed from album to album throughout the past two decades, it’s interesting to note that their evolution has been gradual. Northern Soul may sound like it could have come from years ago, but its overarching theme of dealing with one’s own psyche and the effects of that on relationships is just as relevant in 2008 as it would have been in 1988. In this respect, Northern Soul is timeless.

There’s a reason 54-40 has been making music for over 25 years. Yes, they really are that good, and I don’t need a magazine cover to tell me that.

Additional Resources:

To listen to and purchase Northern Soul, please check it out on the True North Records website.

For more information on 54-40, please visit their website.