Alternatively about love

Love ain’t easy. Especially nowadays. New Friends get it and summary it in “Doomed” – a Y2k dance song. It’s an upbeat and satirical reflection on being reckless that urges listeners to acknowledge the issues in their love lives, smile, and worry about them tomorrow.

New Friends represents a new vision for what pop music can be today. When Stefan Boulineau, Ayden Miller and Cole Wilson and Conrad Galecki crossed paths as music students in late 2018, the trio clicked instantly and began working on demos in dorm rooms in London, Ontario. It didn’t take long until their hook-filled debut single, Purple Candy was out in the world. With a charismatic frontman in Boulineau who displays dreamy originality in his voice, metaphorical yet relatable lyrics from Miller, unique production elements from Galecki and rich guitar melodies by Wilson, the possibilities are endless as to the impact New Friends will go on to make in the music world.

The Forever Now “Lover’s City“

In contra to the New Friends, The Forever Now sings beautifully and in a way classically about love. And we love it as well. Its beautifully harmony touched our cold-stoned hearts 😉

Some people get on the train–others are still standing at the station. This was what The Forever Now’s Montgomery de Luna was feeling when he penned their latest single “Lover’s City”. If you’ve ever experienced the loss of parting ways with someone too soon, then you know what this song is about. Now with the release of the single, almost four years since he first wrote the lyrics, de Luna, somewhat serendipitously, is experiencing that loss again. Joined by Danish singer-songwriter Trine Lyngvig, “Fyn’s own Lana del Rey” (Fyens Stiftstidende) the two weave together rich harmonies that tell a story of loss and longing. The song is supported by masterful mixing by Peter Katis (producer for The National, Interpol, Death Cab for Cutie), and mastering by Shawn Hatfield (Yumi Zouma, Oh Land).

“Don’t let me fade away,” pleads the song’s narrator as the song reaches its climax, drowned out by the screeching feedback of backmasked guitars and swelling strings. Never one to shy away from blending genres and sounds, the single uses analog instruments in a very digital way. An organ is hooked up to an arpeggiator, a Moog synth mirrors the bass guitar, and a tape machine increasing in RPM acts as a riser–creating a unique sonic pallette of indie rock that recalls the band’s previous synthpop singles in a novel and subtle way.

With a more narrative structure, cues from indie folk music, and attention to vocal harmonies, the song certainly opens a new chapter in The Forever Now’s body of work–asking the listener: are you on the train–or still standing at the station? <3