Velveteen
by PONY
Grösspöllütä
ChungKingCanSuckIt
Brynn Rees
bhaggart
mrhonorama
Ross Cavins
prodigious1
mockturtle
Bruce
David Brown
acefloyd
JiliK
Leonardo Campoamor
Anthony & Dante
a crow what likes music
ykeep2012
Music Man
Joe Maier
Chris Staros (tcbstaros)
cai
parakeetleah
FRINGE MUSIC FIX
tow123
Wayne Eddy
Super Super Sounds
Whimsical Lone
David Hoffman
Jill Krajewski
Tankboy
Jenn
Noah
David Lee
Dominic Siadak
Matthew Rebeiro
Dane De Guzman
Bill Peregoy
Chris Prowse
Frank Baumeister
Ron Wade
Art Fin
Peter
markcgarrett
NostalgicJeremy
benjamineric
Francis Storr
Scott Manzler
christianmallen
thornhill50
brownfrancis
jjm
imdantastic
jeremyjacobsnerd
ninead
Gary
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Digital Album
Streaming + DownloadPre-order of Velveteen. You get 4 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.Purchasable with gift card -
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Albumlisten to PONY's brand new album 'Velveteen' on a classic compact disc!
Includes digital pre-order of Velveteen. You get 4 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.digital album releases May 19, 2023item ships out on or around May 18, 2023Purchasable with gift card$9.99 USD or more
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Record/Vinyl + Digital Albumjam to the new PONY record old school style on this limited edition color in color pressing!
Includes digital pre-order of Velveteen. You get 4 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.digital album releases May 19, 2023item ships out on or around May 18, 2023Purchasable with gift card$24.99 USD or more
You own this
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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album12" vinyl version of PONY's latest record. Pressed on baby pink + apple a/b side variant!
Includes digital pre-order of Velveteen. You get 4 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.digital album releases May 19, 2023item ships out on or around May 18, 2023Purchasable with gift card$24.99 USD or more
You own this
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Record/Vinyl + Digital Albumforecast calls for a partly cloudy pressing of the new PONY LP !!
Includes digital pre-order of Velveteen. You get 4 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.digital album releases May 19, 2023item ships out on or around May 18, 2023Purchasable with gift card$24.99 USD or more
You own this
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Record/Vinyl + Digital Albumshow off to all your friends by grabbing all three 'Velveteen' variants !
Includes digital pre-order of Velveteen. You get 4 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.digital album releases May 19, 2023item ships out on or around May 18, 2023Purchasable with gift card$69.99 USD or more
You own this
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Record/Vinyl + Digital AlbumA color in color LP + a comfy cute bunny tee of PONY's latest release!
Includes digital pre-order of Velveteen. You get 4 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.digital album releases May 19, 2023item ships out on or around May 18, 2023Purchasable with gift card$39.99 USD or more
You own this
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Record/Vinyl + Digital AlbumA color in color LP of PONY's latest release + a comfy cute angel hoodie!!
Includes digital pre-order of Velveteen. You get 4 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.digital album releases May 19, 2023item ships out on or around May 18, 2023Purchasable with gift card$59.99 USD or more
You own this
-
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Record/Vinyl + Digital AlbumA color in color LP of PONY's latest release 'Velveteen', a comfy cute angel hoodie, cozy bunny tee, star long sleeve AND bunny tote bag.
Includes digital pre-order of Velveteen. You get 4 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.digital album releases May 19, 2023item ships out on or around May 18, 2023Purchasable with gift card$109.99 USD or more
You own this
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Record/Vinyl + Digital AlbumA super cool A side B side LP + a comfy cute bunny tee of PONY's latest release!
Includes digital pre-order of Velveteen. You get 4 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.digital album releases May 19, 2023item ships out on or around May 18, 2023Purchasable with gift card$39.99 USD or more
You own this
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Record/Vinyl + Digital AlbumA funky A side B side LP of PONY's latest release + a comfy cute angel hoodie!!
Includes digital pre-order of Velveteen. You get 4 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.digital album releases May 19, 2023item ships out on or around May 18, 2023Purchasable with gift card$59.99 USD or more
You own this
-
-
Record/Vinyl + Digital AlbumA funky A/B side LP of PONY's latest release 'Velveteen', a comfy cute angel hoodie, cozy bunny tee, star long sleeve AND bunny tote bag.
Includes digital pre-order of Velveteen. You get 4 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.digital album releases May 19, 2023item ships out on or around May 18, 2023Purchasable with gift card$109.99 USD or more
You own this
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Bagcutest tote bag to hold your brand new PONY LPshipping out on or around May 19, 2023Purchasable with gift card
$19.99 USD or more
You own this
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T-Shirt/Shirtthe cutest bunny tee you've ever seenshipping out on or around May 19, 2023Purchasable with gift card
$19.99 USD or more
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T-Shirt/Shirtyou'll be feelin' like a star in this cute long-sleeve!shipping out on or around May 19, 2023Purchasable with gift card
$24.99 USD or more
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Sweater/Hoodiecomfy cozy hoodie w/ the cutest front + back printshipping out on or around May 19, 2023Purchasable with gift card
$39.99 USD or more
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1. |
Très Jolie
03:08
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do you ever picture us together
standing beneath the glitter in the sky
can you promise that you’ll love me honestly
cross your heart and hope to die
i want to kiss you
i want to make you mine
i want to lie to you and say that i am fine
no pretending when being feels like heaven
lying in quiet has never felt so nice
do you swear it cause i can’t even bear it
rasp in my voice from talking trash all night
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2. |
Peach
03:28
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you sweet like a peach
bad seed within
i can never win
and i get distracted by the saccharine
i can barely stand this sin
dripping down my chin
rinse my mouth my teeth are coated
rotting out i can’t control this
picturing the salt of the beach
cause i don’t want to drown
in the taste of this peach
i try not to sink
staying afloat
you said you’d never let me go
your eyes black like the sea
salty and mean making me feel unclean
when all the mystery is gone left burning in my eyes
don’t want to die a waste of time
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3. |
Sick
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4. |
Sucker Punch
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5. |
Haunted House
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6. |
Who's Calling?
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7. |
Did It Again
03:51
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i’ve been selling a lie
trying to smile while i force down the bile in my mouth
my lips are dry
i can’t get any of the right words out
i’m stuck on repeat
feeling like this this is just too consuming to me
should i just let it be and should i try to get some sleep finally
yeah i went and did it again
yeah i went and did it again
and i bet i’m gonna lose all of my friends
yeah i went and did it
i’ve been trying to float
breathing and blinking without always doing the most
put my worry on hold
drop the line a veil of self control
i’m not trying to stay static has always felt just so unhealthy to me
should i just learn to freeze and should i try to get some sleep finally
so what?
i try to tell myself to just shut up
so what?
i bite my tongue until it bleeds
so what?
i try to tell myself to just shut up
so what?
i’m bad at knowing what i need
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8. |
French Class
03:43
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you’ve changed turned into someone you’re not
you say to me while we’re crossing the lawn
but i can't think about anything more
when they’re around i'm a puddle on the floor melted
my heart breaks
with every breath they take
cause i know i know they’ll never be mine
mine
dressed up in some else's clothes
you can tell you know me better than most
but i can’t promise you anything more
when all i want is to fall down onto the floor
Parlez vous français?
Oui Je t'aime
Oui Je t'aime
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9. |
Sunny Rose
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10. |
Haircut
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about
***This Is A Pre-Order***
***Will Ship On/Or Around May 19th***
Get the Urban Outfitters Exclusive Variant here: bit.ly/3K5emNe
There’s a long tradition of bands that can compellingly explore the nuances of the human experience within the confines of pop music, that can elegantly consider both the lighter and darker elements of life through a deceptively sunny-sounding three-and-a-half-minute song. On their sophomore full-length album, Velveteen, Toronto’s reigning power pop champions PONY manage the task with both finesse and panache across 10 irresistibly hook-filled tracks–and further cement their place in the genre’s lineage. Influenced by countless hours of self-reflection, literature, television, and insomnia, the record showcases the band’s elevated sound and is their most fully-realized to date–examining the complex relationships between longing, connection, and being true to oneself.
PONY’s genesis can be traced back to 2015, but its current incarnation took shape in 2018 when singer/songwriter/guitarist Sam Bielanski paired with multi-instrumentlist and collaborator Matty Morand while writing their 2021 debut LP, TV Baby (Take This To Heart Records). In the strange and unprecedented isolation of the two or so years following that record’s creation and release, the pair made the best of it by challenging themselves to write a new song each week. The end result of that effort was over 200 songs and the finely honed songwriting chops that are on full display throughout Velveteen.
For Bielanski, this time around writing Velveteen included a nine-month struggle with insomnia, during which they reached for the nightly balm of an audiobook of The Velveteen Rabbit. The classic tale resonated so deeply with them that it ended up inspiring the album’s title and influencing the themes that run through it–feelings of existential dread or worthlessness, as well as self-acceptance and vulnerability. “I became obsessed with it but I always fell asleep before getting to the end. The way I interpreted the story was that it's the love that we give and receive that makes us real or whole,” they explain. “The one chapter I found especially heart wrenching is when the velveteen rabbit is trying to hang with the real rabbits of the forest, and through comparison, he realizes he isn’t as real as he thought he was. It was a good lesson for me, even now, because I'm constantly fighting the urge to compare myself to others. Your individual experiences make you who you are and nothing can change that. That's what I thought, until I finally listened to the whole thing and found out that at the end of the book, a fairy turns the velveteen rabbit into an actual rabbit, which I felt undermined the earlier lessons of the story. After that, I was really confused.”
Velveteen emerged through this combination of seclusion, introspection, entertainment deep-dives, and the sleep-deprived osmosis of a children’s story. Bielanski, due to a bad neighbor’s demands for quiet, was forced to record many of the album’s demos into their iPhone while tucked away in a closet (which happens to also double as a vocal booth for their voice work, aptly, as Jazz Hooves on the current generation of My Little Pony). “I wrote the songs on this record differently than the last because we were stuck at home all together and I didn’t want to annoy anyone,” they explain. “So I would often make full instrumental songs on my phone and then add vocals last, which is pretty much the opposite of how I wrote the songs on TV Baby.”
Despite the isolationist nature of this process, they double down on the importance of connection and collaboration when reflecting on Velveteen’s creation. “Once I was happy with the songs, Matty would add their contributions until we felt the songs were nearly done,” Bielanski says. “It was amazing to see how much the songs would change every time a new person was added into the mix. It wasn’t until we recorded them in the studio with [recording engineer] Alex Gamble that the songs truly came to life for me. I guess Alex was the fairy who made Velveteen real.” Morand adds, “When we recorded TV Baby I went into the studio thinking I was the bass player, and then our guitar player quit and I ended up writing and recording the lead parts in the studio. When it came time to make Velveteen, I wanted to really spend time with the songs and be meticulous. I think Sam writes such great vocal melodies and I’m always afraid to step on them, so I spend a lot of my time picking out the spots that I think can benefit from more guitar and leave out anything I think is unnecessary. I never want to do any more than the song needs.”
Velveteen is musically scaffolded by a hyper-catchy concoction of ‘90s college rock, its more radio-friendly contemporaries, and early ‘00s alternative that manages to reference 30+ years of guitar music–while never being at odds with itself. Blending thoughtful themes with pitch perfect hooks, PONY fuses the sheen of Third Eye Blind, the anthemic pomp of Weezer, and the unguarded vulnerability of Rilo Kiley into a formula that feels as effortless as it does fresh; it’s an adept yet unsurprising skill for a band who mention disparate elements like The Cure, J. Mascis, Spin Doctors, Johnny Marr, Hole, Backstreet Boys, Turnstile, John Frusciante, Angel Olsen, and The Beatles–as well as books like Sarah Jackson’s A Bit Much and TV shows like The Sopranos–as musical and cultural reference points when discussing Velveteen’s songs.
Velveteen opens firing on all cylinders with the instantly memorable “Très Jolie.” A hook-filled confection that Bielanski describes as chronicling “the conflicting emotions of falling in love with someone when you don’t quite love yourself yet,” the song’s lyrical vulnerability is mirrored in the muted verses that bloom into a soaring chorus. It’s followed by the one-two punch of “Peach,” a sugary spoonful of pure pop that looks at how love can turn conditional and sour, and “Sick,” a polished alt-rock lament about losing oneself in relationships. The moodier “Sucker Punch” deftly layers chiming guitar leads alongside a singsong chorus, while the dance-y, wistful “French Class” captures the ache of a new crush. Led by a woozy farfisa line and featuring a cascading, layered chorus, closer “Haircut” relates how one’s sense of self can blur and change as you grow, compounding the confusing uncertainties of adulthood.
Bielanski’s read of a stuffed rabbit’s quest for self-acceptance is the beating heart that gives Velveteen life. The album’s consideration of love, finding a feeling of belonging, and the pursuit for authenticity is woven throughout. “I’ve learned that we become our most authentic selves when we allow ourselves to be open and deeply affected by someone else,” explains Bielanski. “A lot of the songs on TV Baby were about finding the power in being alone. Since then I have done a lot of growing and realized that isolating oneself from others doesn’t serve you in the pursuit of happiness. Showing the love that we have for others is what matters.” And with this open-hearted, reflective, and effusive album, there’s no question that PONY is definitively real.
***Will Ship On/Or Around May 19th***
Get the Urban Outfitters Exclusive Variant here: bit.ly/3K5emNe
There’s a long tradition of bands that can compellingly explore the nuances of the human experience within the confines of pop music, that can elegantly consider both the lighter and darker elements of life through a deceptively sunny-sounding three-and-a-half-minute song. On their sophomore full-length album, Velveteen, Toronto’s reigning power pop champions PONY manage the task with both finesse and panache across 10 irresistibly hook-filled tracks–and further cement their place in the genre’s lineage. Influenced by countless hours of self-reflection, literature, television, and insomnia, the record showcases the band’s elevated sound and is their most fully-realized to date–examining the complex relationships between longing, connection, and being true to oneself.
PONY’s genesis can be traced back to 2015, but its current incarnation took shape in 2018 when singer/songwriter/guitarist Sam Bielanski paired with multi-instrumentlist and collaborator Matty Morand while writing their 2021 debut LP, TV Baby (Take This To Heart Records). In the strange and unprecedented isolation of the two or so years following that record’s creation and release, the pair made the best of it by challenging themselves to write a new song each week. The end result of that effort was over 200 songs and the finely honed songwriting chops that are on full display throughout Velveteen.
For Bielanski, this time around writing Velveteen included a nine-month struggle with insomnia, during which they reached for the nightly balm of an audiobook of The Velveteen Rabbit. The classic tale resonated so deeply with them that it ended up inspiring the album’s title and influencing the themes that run through it–feelings of existential dread or worthlessness, as well as self-acceptance and vulnerability. “I became obsessed with it but I always fell asleep before getting to the end. The way I interpreted the story was that it's the love that we give and receive that makes us real or whole,” they explain. “The one chapter I found especially heart wrenching is when the velveteen rabbit is trying to hang with the real rabbits of the forest, and through comparison, he realizes he isn’t as real as he thought he was. It was a good lesson for me, even now, because I'm constantly fighting the urge to compare myself to others. Your individual experiences make you who you are and nothing can change that. That's what I thought, until I finally listened to the whole thing and found out that at the end of the book, a fairy turns the velveteen rabbit into an actual rabbit, which I felt undermined the earlier lessons of the story. After that, I was really confused.”
Velveteen emerged through this combination of seclusion, introspection, entertainment deep-dives, and the sleep-deprived osmosis of a children’s story. Bielanski, due to a bad neighbor’s demands for quiet, was forced to record many of the album’s demos into their iPhone while tucked away in a closet (which happens to also double as a vocal booth for their voice work, aptly, as Jazz Hooves on the current generation of My Little Pony). “I wrote the songs on this record differently than the last because we were stuck at home all together and I didn’t want to annoy anyone,” they explain. “So I would often make full instrumental songs on my phone and then add vocals last, which is pretty much the opposite of how I wrote the songs on TV Baby.”
Despite the isolationist nature of this process, they double down on the importance of connection and collaboration when reflecting on Velveteen’s creation. “Once I was happy with the songs, Matty would add their contributions until we felt the songs were nearly done,” Bielanski says. “It was amazing to see how much the songs would change every time a new person was added into the mix. It wasn’t until we recorded them in the studio with [recording engineer] Alex Gamble that the songs truly came to life for me. I guess Alex was the fairy who made Velveteen real.” Morand adds, “When we recorded TV Baby I went into the studio thinking I was the bass player, and then our guitar player quit and I ended up writing and recording the lead parts in the studio. When it came time to make Velveteen, I wanted to really spend time with the songs and be meticulous. I think Sam writes such great vocal melodies and I’m always afraid to step on them, so I spend a lot of my time picking out the spots that I think can benefit from more guitar and leave out anything I think is unnecessary. I never want to do any more than the song needs.”
Velveteen is musically scaffolded by a hyper-catchy concoction of ‘90s college rock, its more radio-friendly contemporaries, and early ‘00s alternative that manages to reference 30+ years of guitar music–while never being at odds with itself. Blending thoughtful themes with pitch perfect hooks, PONY fuses the sheen of Third Eye Blind, the anthemic pomp of Weezer, and the unguarded vulnerability of Rilo Kiley into a formula that feels as effortless as it does fresh; it’s an adept yet unsurprising skill for a band who mention disparate elements like The Cure, J. Mascis, Spin Doctors, Johnny Marr, Hole, Backstreet Boys, Turnstile, John Frusciante, Angel Olsen, and The Beatles–as well as books like Sarah Jackson’s A Bit Much and TV shows like The Sopranos–as musical and cultural reference points when discussing Velveteen’s songs.
Velveteen opens firing on all cylinders with the instantly memorable “Très Jolie.” A hook-filled confection that Bielanski describes as chronicling “the conflicting emotions of falling in love with someone when you don’t quite love yourself yet,” the song’s lyrical vulnerability is mirrored in the muted verses that bloom into a soaring chorus. It’s followed by the one-two punch of “Peach,” a sugary spoonful of pure pop that looks at how love can turn conditional and sour, and “Sick,” a polished alt-rock lament about losing oneself in relationships. The moodier “Sucker Punch” deftly layers chiming guitar leads alongside a singsong chorus, while the dance-y, wistful “French Class” captures the ache of a new crush. Led by a woozy farfisa line and featuring a cascading, layered chorus, closer “Haircut” relates how one’s sense of self can blur and change as you grow, compounding the confusing uncertainties of adulthood.
Bielanski’s read of a stuffed rabbit’s quest for self-acceptance is the beating heart that gives Velveteen life. The album’s consideration of love, finding a feeling of belonging, and the pursuit for authenticity is woven throughout. “I’ve learned that we become our most authentic selves when we allow ourselves to be open and deeply affected by someone else,” explains Bielanski. “A lot of the songs on TV Baby were about finding the power in being alone. Since then I have done a lot of growing and realized that isolating oneself from others doesn’t serve you in the pursuit of happiness. Showing the love that we have for others is what matters.” And with this open-hearted, reflective, and effusive album, there’s no question that PONY is definitively real.
credits
releases May 19, 2023
All songs written and produced by Sam Bielanski and Matty Morand
Tres Jolie, Did It Again, Peach, Sunny Rose, French Class recorded by Josh Korody at Candle Recording. Additional guitar and synth recorded by Alex Gamble at Raventape
Haunted House, Who’s Calling?, Sucker Punch, Sick, Haircut recorded by Alex Gamble at Union Sound
All songs Mixed + Mastered by Alex Gamble
Vocals, Guitar, Synth, Piano - Sam Bielanski
Guitar, Bass, Synth, Piano - Matty Morand
Drums - Josh Cassidy
Additional vocals on “Who’s Calling?” by Lilly Mehari
Extra special thanks to Bobby Kimberley, Joe Urban, Robert Lee, Christian Beale, Dan Leo, Shayna Casey, Stefanie Purificati, Mike Haliechuk and Fucked Up, Lilly Mehari, Becca Howes, Jono Hunter, Brittany Farhat, Kyle Murray and Alannah Kavanagh, Fat Tony, Ian Shelton, MSPAINT, Eva Link, Tommy Rockstar, Vanessa Cito, Joe and Carla, CJAM, 2MTV patrons, Jon and Laura Temporal, Dr Disc, Wolf and Rebel, Casper and Wylie, Derek O’Donnell, Morgan Waters, Ali Daly
All songs written and produced by Sam Bielanski and Matty Morand
Tres Jolie, Did It Again, Peach, Sunny Rose, French Class recorded by Josh Korody at Candle Recording. Additional guitar and synth recorded by Alex Gamble at Raventape
Haunted House, Who’s Calling?, Sucker Punch, Sick, Haircut recorded by Alex Gamble at Union Sound
All songs Mixed + Mastered by Alex Gamble
Vocals, Guitar, Synth, Piano - Sam Bielanski
Guitar, Bass, Synth, Piano - Matty Morand
Drums - Josh Cassidy
Additional vocals on “Who’s Calling?” by Lilly Mehari
Extra special thanks to Bobby Kimberley, Joe Urban, Robert Lee, Christian Beale, Dan Leo, Shayna Casey, Stefanie Purificati, Mike Haliechuk and Fucked Up, Lilly Mehari, Becca Howes, Jono Hunter, Brittany Farhat, Kyle Murray and Alannah Kavanagh, Fat Tony, Ian Shelton, MSPAINT, Eva Link, Tommy Rockstar, Vanessa Cito, Joe and Carla, CJAM, 2MTV patrons, Jon and Laura Temporal, Dr Disc, Wolf and Rebel, Casper and Wylie, Derek O’Donnell, Morgan Waters, Ali Daly
license
all rights reserved
tags
shows
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Mar 28Hamilton, ON
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Mar 30Kitchener, ON
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Mar 31Toronto, ON
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May 21Somerville, MA
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May 22Somerville, MA
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May 26Toronto, ON
discography
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May 2023 -
Oct 2022 -
Aug 2022 -
Jun 2022 -
Apr 2021 -
Aug 2020 -
May 2020 -
Nov 2019 -
Oct 2017 -
Mar 2017 -
Feb 2017 -
Jun 2015