Here, Here and Here…

Fans of the straightforward piano-and-acoustic-guitar touches on Meg & Dia's 2006 debut, Something Real, might be taken aback by the larger-than-life Here, Here And Here… Thanks to Howard Benson's production touches and the Frampton sisters' burgeoning confidence, the album features layered arrangements, radio-friendly vocals and thick guitar riffs. Here is nevertheless pleasingly diverse; country flourishes ("Bored Of Your Love," a folksy, unadorned duet with Plain White T's vocalist Tom Higgenson), brash pop-punk ("What If"), '80s power-pop ("The Last Great Star In Hollywood") and hard rock (the tango-riffic "Black Wedding") prevent genre fatigue from setting in. Most importantly, underneath all the gloss lurk Meg & Dia's most personal lyrics yet. Smart, dense songs deal with expectations–whether involving religion, marriage or relationships–and struggling to do what's best for yourself. These themes are crystallized by the empowered lyrics from "Going Away": "I can't race the others anymore/No, I must learn to race myself." Despite a few clumsy moments (like the hokey honky-tonk tune "Agree To Disagree" and the cloying, sing-songy pop of "Giants"), it's clear that Meg & Dia have important things to say–and aren't afraid to shout them out loud.



ROCKS LIKE:

Tegan And Sara's The Con

Paramore's Riot!

Rilo Kiley's More Adventurous



IN-STORE SESSION WITH GUITARIST MEG FRAMPTON



What was your biggest challenge in making this record?

The whole writing process in general. We just wanted to make a great record. On our first record [Something Real], our A&R guy would say, "Well, what do you want the artwork to be? What order do you want the songs to be in?" I was so new to the whole experience, I just said, "I don't know. I don't care about the album title. Put whatever you want on the cover."

Now that blows my mind, because a record is a piece of art, and it becomes part of the culture if you can make it important enough. We wanted to make a piece of art that would last for us. Every single song was so important-every part, I had to focus on making sure it didn't take away from the song, making sure it added to the song, making sure that the guitars sounded like the conversation in and of itself. Dia was crazy with the lyrics-we would spend weeks on a word, almost to the point where it was way too overanalytical.

We were lucky enough to have the right producers and engineers to work with us, and make sure that it was true to what we wanted to do. It was kind of scary at times-[Laughs.] I'm not going to lie–but I'm really happy with the final product.



What did you learn from Howard Benson?

I learned a lot about our band and how people perceived us. He was never condescending, and he was so supportive. He made me feel like a true artist, and he gave me confidence. He made me feel like I had talent. You start out as this little band from your little town and you're facing criticism from day one–which we deserved, because when you first start out, you don't know what you're doing. I didn't know what I was doing!

It took me a long time to have faith in myself and have confidence, and Howard was the first person that I actually believed in, because I respect him so much and I looked up to him so much. When he would say, "You know, you're actually teaching me things! I've never seen a person write this way, and I chose to write with you guys because I couldn't really classify you, and I thought I had something to learn from you." That just meant so much to me, and that gave me the confidence to go through and show him things and bring up a part and believe that it was good enough to put on the record

Warner Bros.