The Acorn Isolate, Collaborate for New Album, 'No Ghost'

Writing a new record isn't an easy feat for a much-hyped band like the Acorn -- their song 'Crooked Legs' even had Kanye West blogging about them. So it made sense for them to isolate themselves at a cottage in northern Quebec to write most of what is now their new album, 'No Ghost.'

The band reveled in their surroundings, even setting up microphones on a dock to record the sound of frogs. But the blissful scenery couldn't quite stave off the pressure of creating music.

"I think we did feel like we had to come out of there with something -- not necessarily the whole record, but something," singer-guitarist Rolf Klausener tells Spinner. "So there were definitely times where I think we were pushing ourselves to write."

The quintet spent three weeks together writing and recording. They left with plenty of material, but also with the knowledge that writing separately and then coming together later works best for them. "I don't think there were fights, but we had to learn how to communicate what we really wanted in the band," Klausener says.

The writing process has been tumultuous in the past for Acorn -- it began as more of a solo project, with the band simply fleshing out "Rolf's songs." But after years of touring, members developed a sense of pride in their contributions to the writing process.

"I think there's a general understanding in the band now," Klausener says. "We had some growing pains last year... It took me a year to realize that I write best when I'm completely by myself and it's really stressful for me to write with other people."

The Acorn's last album, 'Glory Hope Mountain,' was an intensely emotional project for the band, so the somewhat sunnier themes on 'No Ghost' provide some relief. But because 'Glory Hope Mountain' was also critically acclaimed, Klausener says they were worried 'No Ghost' might be doomed to fall short of expectations.

"You don't want to think about that stuff, but you know you want to be proud of your work," he says. "There were a few moments where I was like, 'Oh god, nothing on this record is going to be as good as anything on GHM.' But then you forget about that and you just wait until those moments of inspiration come."