Armed and dangerous

When Patrick Watson claimed the Polaris Music Prize back in September of 2007 for their album Close to Paradise, Canadians from coast to coast started paying attention to this dark horse band from Montreal, which had won the award over favoured contenders such as Feist and the Arcade Fire.

But the members of the dreamy, orchestral rock quartet werent too fazed by their sudden place in the spotlight. After all, only seven months before, more than 30 million people witnessed virtuoso bandleader and namesake Patrick Watson as he played piano in his underwear.

Come again? Okay, to clarify, those people didnt exactly see Watson jamming out in his boxer shorts. But in February, 2007, the bands song The Great Escape (off Close to Paradise) was the soundtrack for a key scene in Greys Anatomy. Watsons quiet piano chords and reedy tenor played in the background while anxious family members in the sudsy surgical drama pored over photos to determine whether loved ones had been killed in a gruesome ferry accident. The song is appropriately sombre ("Hey child, things are looking down," goes the chorus); the circumstances of its creation were anything but.

"I wrote the song in the middle of the night, high on a bottle of Jameson [whiskey] in my apartment," Watson crows in a recent interview. "So when it came on during the episode, I kept picturing 30 million Americans watching me play the piano in my f---in underwear in my apartment! It gives me such a kick, thinking about how theyll never know that!"

As Watson humbly notes now sitting with me and drummer Robbie Kuster on the top floor of the CBC building in Toronto he also had a more profound reaction to that Greys moment.

"I remember thinking about someone picking up our album after hearing that song in the episode and going, Huh?" he says, "and that doesnt bother me. I like the idea of touching people whod never, ever get a chance to hear our music, people in a shitty little town in the middle of nowhere, watching Greys Anatomy. I still find that to be kind of an honour."

The Great Escape is a gauzy, straightforward ballad reminiscent of Coldplay or Travis, but as a rule, Watson and his comrades tend toward more complex compositions songs that betray the diverse backgrounds of the players in the group. While Kuster has some pop credentials, guitarist Simon Angell (who recently moved to Stockholm) was active in Montreals jazz improv scene before joining the fold, while bassist Michka Stein cut his teeth on hardcore and heavy metal. Vocalist/pianist Watson, whos collaborated with visual artists on sound installations, still composes intricate film scores.

The groups latest, Wooden Arms, is nothing if not cinematic. Quieter and more panoramic than Close to Paradise, its a study in lavish, textured percussion and wide open spaces. The poppier, Great Escape-style moments on the last album have been replaced by folk and country elements, as well as evocative string and horn arrangements.

"For us, Close to Paradise was a very pop album," Watson explains. "Were instrumental musicians, were not pop musicians. And I think for us, we needed to bring that back into the picture, too."

Wooden Arms, he says, was a very difficult record to make. The Polaris win helped boost their profile, but the group spent a draining stretch of time on the road. They played everywhere from a huge festival in Iceland to a curated event in which the four musicians attempted to recreate their epic songs while trundling down a Paris street. After they finally got off the road,the members of Patrick Watsonwent immediately into the studio.

As Watson puts it, "We werent in, like, top shape to be in that kind of mode. We were pretty burnt [out]. And we all had really high expectations. We really wanted to make an amazing record. We had to make something good so wed stay together and do this project, you know?"

When asked about his proudest achievements on the new album, Watson picks out the spare, haunting title track; the clattering, piano-and-strings-driven whirlwind Beijing; and the album opener, Fireweed, an understated murmur of fingerpicked guitar.

"Those songs are kind of the three that accomplish what I set out to do on this record," he says. "Wooden Arms is a strange folk song. Like, folk of some kind, but with interesting arrangements. I wanted cartoon elements on the record, like a version of old-timey cartoon music, and thats Beijing. And Fireweed its just a nice, simple, uncomplicated tune."

That period of extensive international travel had a profound effect on the bands collective artistic psyche. Iceland in particular blew their minds. "The energy there is so specific," Kuster sighs. "Bubbling lava and glaciers and rock its hard not to notice that that place is basically from outer space."

The band has now performed for thousands upon thousands of international fans not to mention those unsuspecting 30 million Americans. But Watson insists that hes never more terrified than when hes playing hometown shows.

"All people hear is, Theyre touring the world, doing this and that, they won the Polaris. And we better be good, cause otherwise, we seem like total assholes," he says, laughing. "I know how I feel when I go to see a band thats super-hyped and come away from the show thinking, 'Well, that sucked.'"

"At the same time," Kuster jumps in, "Quebec crowds seem to be very, very faithful. And theyre our first fans, you know?"

"Yeah, thats true. And there hasnt been any backlash that Ive seen yet," Watson muses. "We never really blew up big, like Arcade Fire-size, you know? I feel like were still within a limit I dont know if well ever really cross that limit."

Wooden Arms is in stores now. Patrick Watson play Gatineau, Que. on June 17 and 18 and Sherbrooke, Que. on June 19.

Sarah Liss writes about the arts for CBCNews.ca.