The first seeds of the band were originally planted on Canada’s salty-aired East Coast in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Young Warren C. Spicer and Matthew ‘the Woodman’ Woodley had begun playing together in high-school bands. The sea winds eventually carried them through the vast plains of Quebec to Montreal (a journey they would come to know intimately as the years wore on). It was in the now hallowed halls of Concordia University’s music department that they would come upon Nicolas Basque, a strange francophone native that shared their musical inclinations (and a trappeur’s finely-tuned taste in cuisine). It wasn’t until then that the three boys became men, signified their union with a name, and that Plants and Animals emerged from the wildlife.
In 2003 they bat out an instrumental menagerie of song-like folk-beasts, and put some of them to tape in the form of a recording that local label Ships at Night would later release. By 2005 the three young men were taming the sprawling wilderness of their sound and sculpting real songs, as Spicer also lead the way to a (hitherto unheard of) vocal domination of their material—as if he had been possessed by the ghost of some recently departed soul singer. During this time Spicer and Woodley would occasionally stop by to care for some of the neighbours—Timber, Socalled, and Katie Moore—and play. All the while, the Halifax-born were jamming and pruning with Basque, harnessing the band and its songs like a wild horse. Some called it post-classic-rock. Some called it folk-prog. Those who knew better didn’t say anything at all.
In about the summer of 2005 they carried a 24-track Studer “bull” up the stairs of Spicer’s apartment and split their time between their new makeshift studio there (aka Le Carillon Tropical), and the Treatment Room. By fall 2006 the foundations of what would later become Parc Avenue were layed, the band was playing shows (and singing), and a relationship with Montreal label Secret City Records was formed. By summer 2007 the once-monster was complete, temporarily tamed, housed, and ready to be unleashed. While the band awaited the release of Parc Avenue, they kept busy touring in the US, Canada, and Iceland, working on their album art and recording with/avec EP that was released in Canada in October 2007.
Since Parc Avenue was released in early 2008 the band has played over 175 shows, circling the Western world more than once, including appearances at the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago, Primavera in Barcelona, Central Park Summer Stage with the National, and even one night in Columbus opening for Gnarls Barkley, after Danger Mouse discovered Parc Avenue and invited them out.
In January 2010 Plants and Animals announced their latest offering, La La Land, due out on April 20th on Secret City. The album was recorded at the band’s home-base studio in Montreal, The Treatment Room, and at Studio La Frette outside Paris, a brokedown old mansion filled with vintage gear and a killer board in the cellar instead of wine. Spicer says, “the Paris stuff is like a nice Bordeaux and the Montreal stuff is more like a baked potato. Sessions in Paris ended by 10pm, sessions in Montreal by 6am.” Rum and cokes supposedly inspired the initial Treatment Room sessions in late 2008. The album’s first track, “Tom Cruz,” eventually came out of these late nights. As the Woodman tells it, “it was December, pre-Christmas, so we fuelled the session with rum and cokes. They made us feel like Tom Cruise. It gave us killer smiles and made our enemies wither.”
New Kind of Love
Plants and Animals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was wandering, I was amiss
And the memories came back to me
They were bent, and they were broken and they were funny
I was younger, so much more innocent
I did not question what anything meant
There's a river, so we go where it goes
We're giving it up again
We're giving it up again
We're giving it up again
We're giving it up again
We're older, much less innocent
We start questioning what everything meant
There's a river, and we ask why
Well the light of the reason and the passing of the sky
You wave and I wave back
You pull my hair and I laugh
There's a word for it but you keep it hidden away
You feel safer and secret and ready to play
We're giving it up again
We're giving it up again
We're giving it up again
We're giving it up again
There's a light, and it's showing me a piece of love
And I'll be holding the hands
And if you go, I'll go, and we'll go together
And there's children covered in dirt
With songs from above
nd they went out looking for a new kind of love
We're giving it up again
We're giving it up again
We're giving it up again
We're giving it up again
Like a child, we get hungry and restless and wicked and wild
new kind of love
wonder how it ends
wonder how it ends
new kind of love
wonder how it ends
wonder how it ends
Like a child, we get hungry and restless and wicked and wild
new kind of love
wonder how it ends
wonder how it ends
Like a child, we get hungry and restless and wicked and wild
new kind of love
new kind of love...
The lyrics to Plants and Animals' song "New Kind of Love" discuss the cycle of life and how our perspectives change as we age. The first verse reflects on a time when the singer was younger and more innocent, not questioning the meaning of things but simply going with the flow. Memories from that time come flooding back, both funny and broken. The chorus repeats the phrase "We're giving it up again" and speaks to the idea that life is a continuous cycle of letting go and starting anew.
The second verse reflects on the present, where the singer is older and less innocent, and now questioning the reasons behind things. The river is used as a metaphor for life, and the passing of the sky represents the fleeting nature of time. The following lines describe a moment of playfulness with someone, where there is an unspoken connection and sense of safety. The chorus repeats once again, emphasizing the idea of letting go and starting anew.
The final verse brings in the idea of love, with a "light" showing the singer a piece of love. The singer and their loved one will go together, and there are children covered in dirt with "songs from above" who are also experiencing this new kind of love. The final repetition of "new kind of love" acts as a reflection of the beginning of life, where we are hungry, restless, and wild, but with the added experience and knowledge gained from living.
Overall, the song speaks to the cyclical nature of life and the constant process of letting go and starting again, all while experiencing a new kind of love.
Line by Line Meaning
On a day a lot like this
The singer is setting the scene for a memory.
I was wandering, I was amiss
The singer was lost.
And the memories came back to me
The singer is reminiscing about the past.
They were bent, and they were broken and they were funny
The memories were distorted and amusing.
I was younger, so much more innocent
The artist was naive and inexperienced when the memories were made.
I did not question what anything meant
The singer did not analyze the significance of events.
There's a river, so we go where it goes
The singer and companions went with the flow of life.
We get covered with dirt and rainbows
The artist and companions experienced both gritty times and beautiful moments.
We're older, much less innocent
The artist and companions are now more jaded.
We start questioning what everything meant
The artist and companions are more introspective about events.
There's a river, and we ask why
The singer and companions are now curious about the reason for things.
Well the light of the reason and the passing of the sky
The artist reflects on how they seek wisdom from introspection and observation of nature.
You wave and I wave back
Someone sends a friendly greeting and it's reciprocated.
You pull my hair and I laugh
Someone playfully tugs on the singer's hair and they find it amusing.
There's a word for it but you keep it hidden away
There's a name for whatever is happening between them, but it's kept secret.
You feel safer and secret and ready to play
Keeping things private fosters a sense of intimacy and fun.
There's a light, and it's showing me a piece of love
The artist is seeing a part of love.
And I'll be holding the hands
The singer wants to be there for support.
And if you go, I'll go, and we'll go together
The singer and someone else will remain united through everything.
And there's children covered in dirt
Children taking part in the world and experiencing everything it has to offer.
With songs from above
Joy and inspiration from beyond.
And they went out looking for a new kind of love
Children will seek new experiences and love.
Like a child, we get hungry and restless and wicked and wild
Adults can be just as inquisitive and impulsive as children.
new kind of love
A different way of experiencing love is sought.
wonder how it ends
Uncertainty about how things will turn out.
Contributed by Kaitlyn K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.