I Ate Tacos with Soren Staff of Them Coulee Boys
a candid conversation about growing up, falling in and out of love, and "No Fun in the Chrysalis"
Matt Hasenmueller, photos by Andrea Paulseth
Over the last decade of making records and touring across the country, folk favorites Them Coulee Boys have been through changes in life, love, and music – the tensions of which are highlighted on their newest album No Fun in the Chrysalis. Since starting the band in 2013, members of the folk rock outfit have started families, bought houses, fallen in and out of love, found creative ways to pay their rent, and aged into full-on adulthood.
Just before No Fun in the Chrysalis dropped on Feb. 28, lead singer and songwriter Soren Staff and I got together at California Tacos to talk about tour life, fantasy novels, and some of the challenges they have faced since their last full release in 2021, Namesake.
“I’m entering a space where I need to figure out the big consistent things that can support me and my partner, and maybe a family someday,” Soren said. “There’s a tension in some of this; there are real stakes on the line.”
As the primary songwriter, I asked Soren if he feels pressure to continue growing and getting better. He admits that there is some sense of responsibility to keep growing, perhaps especially as the rest of the band members also continue to evolve – and life gets more complicated – but he noted, “if you get too bogged down in that, your art just suffers.”
Fans of Them Coulee Boys will be happy to hear the group’s staple hard-hitting lyrics with Soren’s crooning vocals between the masterful accompaniment, but there are some new sonic elements and guests at play for the group’s fifth full length release. The animated horns, courtesy of the talented Nicole Johnson of Eau Claire-based band Uncommon Denominator, on track No. 7 “I Can’t Turn it Off” is a welcome treat for the ears.
Many of the 12-track album’s songs feature a cheeky, and sometimes haunting, pedal steel guitar courtesy of Ben Lester, a musician some fans may recognize from Them Coulee Boys’ set at Blue Ox Music Festival last summer. “As far as I’m concerned, anytime he wants to play with Coulee Boys, he can,” Soren said.
To me, No Fun in the Chrysalis as a whole feels very conceptual, following a three-act structure of exposition, confrontation, and resolution. The opening track, “Change,” brings in the main theme of tension and acceptance that emotionally peaks with “Mountains” at the midpoint. Act II is emotional and artfully messy, switching back and forth between heartfelt ballads and purposefully chaotic numbers like “I Can’t Turn It Off,” climaxing with“Ghosts (in 4 parts)” where the protagonist of the song is seemingly fighting for his life before all hope is ultimately lost in track No. 11 “Harvey And Margie.” Finally, resolution is found with “I’m Not Sad Anymore” – the final track of the album, which was also its first single – where our hero finally accepts the changes in his life and decides to move forward.
When I asked if crafting the record to be conceptual was deliberate, Soren laughed. “It’s funny, because in the past I’ve tried to go more conceptual with records, and plan out what kind of songs I wanted to fill certain parts of the structure,” he said. “But this time, this wasn’t what I did. It was more, we have this batch of songs and how do they fit together?”
Among the recognizable Coulee stylings of banjo pickin’, group harmonies, and good-time-get-downs, listeners will also experience some new elements. Track No. 3, “As Long As You Let Me,” is clearly influenced by ‘90s country music.
“I remember riding in the truck with my grandpa listening to “Cow 97” (a popular country radio station in the Coulee region) and just loving it, and it’s something I’ve come back to as an adult,” Soren recalled. “When I wrote lyrics that felt like they were kind of cheeky and speaking out of the side of the mouth, I felt that’s something I could do.”
The courage to try something new may have come from Them Coulee Boys’ recent work with Brian Joseph (Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, S. Carey) as producer on No Fun in the Chrysalis. Previously working with Joseph on their 2021 record Namesake, I asked what was different about working with Joseph a second time.
“Brian’s equal parts so intense, but also the most relaxed person you’ve ever met,” Soren said. “That’s confusing,” I quickly shot back. “Yeah, it’s an odd space to come into that I had to get more comfortable with,” he said. The first time they recorded with Joseph, Soren said he tried to write songs he thought would fit what Joseph did because he was working with a “super successful” guy. This time was different. “I don’t have to impress him. I believe in what I do, I believe in what Coulee Boys is, and he can adapt.”
Joseph played an integral part of shaping, directing, and cutting No Fun in the Chrysalis, but he’s not a yes-man. “I don’t think I could work with a cheerleader producer again,” said Soren. Decades into their music careers he has the courage to say the things he wants to, and has a sense of ownership with what he makes. “This is mine, it’s always been mine, and it’s always been ours,” he said.
Throughout the 42 minutes of No Fun in the Chrysalis, Them Coulee Boys leave nothing on the table. They present you with an emotional feast that pulls you up, down, and all around, begging you to take another bite. Longtime fans will be left satiated, and new, curious listeners are bound to find their new favorite song – or band. Overall, it’s a “sonic delight” (I promised Soren I'd put that phrase in here.)
You can listen to the whole conversation Soren Staff and I had while chowing down at California Tacos (329 Water St., Eau Claire) below, and if you have the chance to catch the boys at one of their next live shows, take it. (At my first Them Coulee Boys show, the guy in front of me wore a shirt that said “boogie til’ your butt stinks” if that gives you any indication of the overall “vibe”).
Stream No Fun in the Chrysalis wherever you listen to music • Order a CD and vinyl at themcouleeboys.com
