Thanks to fantastic live sets and some downright haunting music, darkened synth pop duo MYTHS have been on our radar for a while. Now, the Vancouver duo of Quinne Rodgers and Lief Hall (formerly of noise punk destroyers Mutators) are finally delivering their self-released, self-titled full-length debut.
The album, which is currently streaming here in our Click Hear section and below, has been a long time coming, but as the band tell Exclaim!, they're more than a little pleased by the results.
"With Mutators and with a lot of bands, you pump stuff out really fast. You record it, do it and then you're done with it," she says. "Maybe there are things you don't like and you just deal with that, but for us, in the end when [the MYTHS album] was done, we felt so good about it. We feel like this is a solid thing we can get behind, which is a really amazing experience."
Over various recording sessions with Felix Fung, Fine Mist's Jay Arner and self-recording at the band's own practice space in Vancouver, the material on MYTHS evolved slowly but surely. "Things changed a lot, it was a huge process" Hall says. "Re-recording things, going over things and having intros and outros, it really became a piece that went together and actually has a somewhat abstracted narrative form. It definitely came together as a full idea by the end of it. But it was a very long process."
The music on MYTHS maintains the dark, at times off-putting synth pop that has characterized the duo from the beginning. By their own admission, though, the duo are still making positive music.
"It is dark, but it's kind of empowering at the same time," Rodgers explains. "It deals with darker themes and we definitely have dark inspirations, but the idea is kind of to look at them and try to figure out how you can overcome those things and be empowered... I think sometimes to sort of be in a really empowered, positive space you need to be able to deal with the darkness that exists."
Now, the duo have been testing the waters on tour, including a recent stint at the Ottawa Bluesfest. While they avoided the natural disasters, they felt a little out of place on the outdoor stage. "When somebody asked us to do it, everyone was like, 'Why are you doing a blues festival?' And we thought, 'I dunno, we're obviously not blues music,'" Rodgers recalls. "And it's true, they do have all kinds of other music, like Soundgarden was playing and Neon Indian, but actually there was a blues band before us and a blues band directly after us. It was really awkward."
But MYTHS still have a handful of shows lined up, including an album release show in Vancouver on August 6. You can see the dates below, and the record will officially be out August 6 digitally and as a limited CD, with a vinyl release tentatively planned for the future. You can get the record directly from the band on their upcoming dates and it will also be available on iTunes.
Right now, you can stream here in our Click Hear section and below.
UPDATE: You can now buy the record here on iTunes.
Tour dates:
7/27 Montreal, QC - The Torn Curtain
7/30 Meaford, ON - Electric Eclectics Festival
8/6 Vancouver, BC - Gam Gallery
The album, which is currently streaming here in our Click Hear section and below, has been a long time coming, but as the band tell Exclaim!, they're more than a little pleased by the results.
"With Mutators and with a lot of bands, you pump stuff out really fast. You record it, do it and then you're done with it," she says. "Maybe there are things you don't like and you just deal with that, but for us, in the end when [the MYTHS album] was done, we felt so good about it. We feel like this is a solid thing we can get behind, which is a really amazing experience."
Over various recording sessions with Felix Fung, Fine Mist's Jay Arner and self-recording at the band's own practice space in Vancouver, the material on MYTHS evolved slowly but surely. "Things changed a lot, it was a huge process" Hall says. "Re-recording things, going over things and having intros and outros, it really became a piece that went together and actually has a somewhat abstracted narrative form. It definitely came together as a full idea by the end of it. But it was a very long process."
The music on MYTHS maintains the dark, at times off-putting synth pop that has characterized the duo from the beginning. By their own admission, though, the duo are still making positive music.
"It is dark, but it's kind of empowering at the same time," Rodgers explains. "It deals with darker themes and we definitely have dark inspirations, but the idea is kind of to look at them and try to figure out how you can overcome those things and be empowered... I think sometimes to sort of be in a really empowered, positive space you need to be able to deal with the darkness that exists."
Now, the duo have been testing the waters on tour, including a recent stint at the Ottawa Bluesfest. While they avoided the natural disasters, they felt a little out of place on the outdoor stage. "When somebody asked us to do it, everyone was like, 'Why are you doing a blues festival?' And we thought, 'I dunno, we're obviously not blues music,'" Rodgers recalls. "And it's true, they do have all kinds of other music, like Soundgarden was playing and Neon Indian, but actually there was a blues band before us and a blues band directly after us. It was really awkward."
But MYTHS still have a handful of shows lined up, including an album release show in Vancouver on August 6. You can see the dates below, and the record will officially be out August 6 digitally and as a limited CD, with a vinyl release tentatively planned for the future. You can get the record directly from the band on their upcoming dates and it will also be available on iTunes.
Right now, you can stream here in our Click Hear section and below.
UPDATE: You can now buy the record here on iTunes.
Tour dates:
7/27 Montreal, QC - The Torn Curtain
7/30 Meaford, ON - Electric Eclectics Festival
8/6 Vancouver, BC - Gam Gallery