Proclaimers Plead "Innocent" : Rolling Stone

"I don't suspect we have the legs for a more flamboyant sort of act," says the Proclaimers singer/guitarist Charlie Reid about the band's two-decade run of no-frills pop. "Who knows, maybe we'll discover a part of ourselves that's been hitherto hidden, but I don't think so [laughs]. You've got to be honest in music in what you write and do. And part of that is knowing your limitations."

The bespectacled twins (Reid's brother Craig is the other half) have assembled another thirteen reliably unflamboyant songs for Born Innocent, their fifth record, due February 17th. Despite the weighty album title, the Proclaimers deal not in thematic song cycles, but rather a string of new singles in their trademark style: a rowdy, slightly punk-tinged brand of Scottish folk pop with their Everly-esque sibling harmonies barking at its center. Born Innocent boasts classic power pop ("Should Have Been Loved") bitter, creepy stalker kiss-offs ("Hate My Love"), political commentary ("Blood on Your Hands") and the Brothers Reid's take on the Vogues' Sixties classic "Five O'Clock World" (yodels in tact), which they initially recorded for The Drew Carey Show.

"I'm not saying we'd never write any sort of concept record," Charlie says. "but we love to get the best we can out of a two-and-a-half-minute song -- something that you can identify with immediately, rather than something that is more of a long diary of events over a period of time."

The closest Born Innocent gets to a theme is a pair of its strongest tracks -- "He's Just Like Me" (a fathers-and-sons tale) and "There's No Doubt" -- both of which deal with aging. "It's about how you relate not just to your parents, but to the children you have," says Reid. "A lot of what we've done over the years has been tied into family and family history and the relationship with the past and a feeling of uncertainty about the future."

It's a thought that carries over to the band's career trajectory . . . or lack thereof. Almost two decades on, Charlie and Craig Reid look and sound much like they did during the two bursts of popularity from their hit single "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)," first upon its release in 1988 and five years later when it was included prominently on the soundtrack to Benny and Joon. The brothers are quick to place family first, raising their own broods and, back in 1997, taking a long break to be with their dying father. It's a philosophy that creates long breaks between recordings: Six years separated 1988's Sunshine on Leith and their next album, Hit the Highway, and seven years would pass before they recorded Persevere. But each time the Reids bounce back with a sound that remains untainted by the trend of the times, using perceived limitations, as Charlie describes them, to their advantage.

"I suppose if you're in music there's a temptation to remain forever in adolescence and not tackle the aging process," Reid says. "But you're defined by how you approach the music through the records and live performances. With us people see a couple of brothers who play songs pretty straightforward, no flash, and I think that's how we'll always remain. I don't think we could have done it any other way."

Proclaimers tour dates:

3/10: Kingston, ONT, AJ's Hangar
3/11: Toronto, Club 279
3/12: Cambridge, ONT, Fiddler's Green
3/13: Ottaway, ONT, Capital Music Hall
3/15: Annapolis, MD, Ram's Head Tavern
3/17: Alexandria, VA, Birchmere
3/18: Boston, Paradise Ballroom
3/19: New York, B.B. Kings
3/20: Philadelphia, NXNW
3/22: Pittsburgh, Rex Theater
3/24: Cleveland, Beachland Ballroom
3/25: Louisville, KY, Jillians
3/26: Chicago, The Abbey
3/27: Minneapolis, Fine Line Music Cafe
3/29: Saskatoon, SK, Patricia Hotel
3/30: Calgary, Cowboys
3/31: Edmonton, ALB, Cowboys
4/2-3: Vancouver, Commodore Ballroom
4/4: Seattle, Crocodile Cafe
4/5: Portland, OR, Berbati's Pam
4/7: San Francisco, Slim's
4/8: Los Angeles, House of Blues
4/9: San Diego, The Casbah
4/10: San Juan Capistrano, CA, Coach House