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Victoria’s Yellowbelly gets back to rock

Who: Yellowbelly Where: Boot Pub When: May 27 Victoria’s Yellowbelly return to The Boot Monday with songs from Naked as well as a new album.

Who: Yellowbelly

Where: Boot Pub

When: May 27

Victoria’s Yellowbelly return to The Boot Monday with songs from Naked as well as a new album.

"We’ve definitely got a more polished sound and are ready to rock!" says Brandon Foreman, the man on vocals and sax for Yellowbelly.

Naked

received a nomination in 2002 for Best Pop/Dance Release. With some heavier riffs, then meandering into ballads that sound more ethereal with a strong guitar underpinning, Naked’s songs could be a mix of Esthero meets the former drums and guitar duo the Inbreds.

This year’s lineup, which now features Eric Nystrom on tablas and bass and James Hope on drums, allows "a little more room instrumentally." Foreman says the power-pop trio now has a slightly heavier sound, a natural offshoot when there are less cooks in the kitchen.

It hasn’t always been that way. On their first tour, Yellowbelly opened for Bootsy Collins and started as a six-piece band.

"It’s been a bit of a revolving door, the way of the music world," Foreman says of the evolving band. "I guess it’s usually financially-based, when people get real jobs…"

Foreman’s first band, in the 1980s, was called Falex.

"We had a fairly heavy sound. Our guitarist was from Norway," he laughs.

Foreman spent a few years at schools in Toronto and Montreal, where music and philosophy were the topics of study.

"Although it’s pretty hard to write a pop song when you’re thinking about Hume, or Nietzche!" he laughs.

This summer, a new album is on the way.

"Once again, there’s a complete switch of styles, and I’m going back to my old rock ’n’ roll days a bit, heading more the direction of the Goo Goo Dolls and Matchbox 20."

Get Your Fill, one song off the new album, is about people who annoy you.

"We all know people who constantly bitch and whine about how their career hasn’t turned out, or how life hasn’t turned out the right way and are always making excuses for it," he says.

And at long last, Foreman has written the ballad he always promised his wife and partner.

"It’s a love song called Honest, very Cold Play – I’ve been saying for 10 years that I wanted to write a song for her so now I’ve done it."

When their new, yet-to-be-titled album is released they will hit the U.K.

He hopes people see the album’s shift in style as growth of the band.

"I find it’s restricting a songwriter to stick to a tried and true formula, which is limiting. There should be elements of sameness through an album, but there should be stretches too."