“I like to think that we make danceable electro music that people actually invest in lyrically, as well,” singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara of Dragonette told us.

On the band’s recently released album, Fixin To Thrill, they “turned down some of the sparkle from [the previous one] Galore and infused some more grit.”

It worked. Fixin To Thrill is, in fact, a thrilling array of pop-inspired tunes that are more in touch with the band’s electronic side than their previous work was. In true Dragonette form, though, this means something different on every track. The band never pigeonholes itself into one style, taking inspiration from modern electronic music, 80s-style synth-pop, rock, and even country.

Why the evolution? And how did some of those influences come into the picture? In the interview below, Martina fills us in.

You can also enjoy some new Dragonette tracks below, and catch the following east-coast tour dates this week:
11/4 BOSTON, MA at Great Scott (tickets)
11/5 NEW YORK CITY at Santos Party House (tickets)
11/6 WASHINGTON DC at DC9

In your video for “Pick Up The Phone” you roam the halls of a high school; in “Fixin To Thrill”, you interact with a bunch of young kids. Is there a theme about growing up here?

I guess there is a theme of that–I never really thought of it. Kind of ‘moving on from adolescence.’ It’s fitting, considering it’s the sophomore release. But, they’re both really different thematically for me, and the videos kind of tie them more closely together.

“Fixin To Thrill” is more of … the story that me and my friend who made the video came up with is these kids creating their own icon, kind of Frakenstein-style, and making their own homemade sort of idol. Which is to me, kind of what Dragonette is and I am. We’re kind of this homemade, making-music-in-the-basement sort of thing.

The video for “Pick Up The Phone” both portrays the awkwardness of high school and also features you, offering a great contrast, as you’re wearing this unique, eye-catching dress that just stands out throughout the video. What is it?

It’s actually by this Canadian designer Greta Constantine and they have this whole line of these crazy three-dimensional (well, all clothing is, technically), graphic pieces that kind of push out around you with shoulders, and … — it’s actually made of seat belts, which is kind of fun, and it looks really great, especially on film. So we’re keeping it in the family, they’re Canadian, we’re Canadian.

“Pick Up The Phone” remixes and more of the interview, below.

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Dragonette - Pick Up The Phone (Richard X Remix, Radio Version) [MP3]

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Dragonette - Pick Up The Phone (Mr. Vega Remix) [MP3]

[After a chat about the differences/similarities that have existed between mainstream music in Canada vs. the US, here’s why she can’t attest to the pop music on Canadian radio while she was growing up.]

I’m not the best gauge on it, because I was brought up by hippies on a farm and I basically started actually listening to pop music about 20 years after everybody else … because I was listening to things like old folk singers, and radio did not happen in our house.

Maybe that lack of pop immersion can be a good thing for kids. It turned out well for you!

Yeah, maybe! I do find the way I write songs is more influenced by the country music and the jazz music I listen to than the often current music I stumble upon.

What’s it like for you to tour Canada extensively, having growing up there? For this tour, you’re making stops all over the country before hitting the US.

It’s tiring! There are a lot of hours between the major cities, which aren’t even that major, there’s a lot of driving. It’s really funny because every time we tour it’s always in the shittiest weather months in the year. It’s a grueling bit of landscape that you have to drive through, but I think we’ve seen our fan base grow across the country so I think it’s exciting for us to drive through again and check on how it’s going and play some new songs for them.

Was there any difference in how you approached writing the music for Fixin To Thrill vs. your previous release, Galore?

I think the only real outside difference was the absence of a major label who would be making sure that we’re making music that they feel is mass-marketable enough. And with Galore that was a certain element of recording. It was a small bit of it. But I think that the absence of that kind of pressure made the writing process feel more fluid and, I don’t know — less scary.

I was scared going into that recording, Fixin to Thrill, just because we’re not super prolific people, and in my mind I’m thinking maybe this will take five years to write, because I don’t have any discipline whatsoever, and… haha. But I think we just wrote without any mandate whatsoever and these are the songs that came, and they came much quicker than I expected.
So, besides that, there wasn’t any real thought like “we should do it this way this time.” Maybe we consciously turned down some of the sparkle from Galore and infused some more grit, but that just kind of happened naturally as well.

What reactions to your music do you hope to get, or do you enjoy getting, from people?

I think for everybody it would be different and it should be different. I think the songs are pretty genuine and heartfelt but they’re all mostly just kind of fun and I love when people come to me and say, I love this song, I love the lyrics, I love the message, or this means something to me. I like to think that we make danceable electro music that people actually invest in lyrically, as well.