Kylie: A lot of the bands here are people that we had the pleasure of playing with. I think they deserve more recognition because they don’t have a lot of Spotify streams, they’re not heavy on the radio. Eeveryone is super up and coming still and that’s something I was trying to focus on when picking these artists. People that don’t necessarily have proper press or publicists really pushing their stuff out there!

Eliza: I included some artists that I’m particularly excited about and that I enjoy listening to right now that aren’t super mainstream.

K: Obviously it’s the latest single so I wanted to plug it. We found out about Fade Awaays because they went to our high school. I actually met Duncan and Shawn on a high school band trip. We instantly hit it off and they told me about their band, and then just last year we had them open for us when we played Kee to Bala. And they were so good, they blew everyone away. We love to support them as much as we can. And we have some crazy tour stories with those guys. I’m so glad that they came along for that.

E: I had such a good time on the road with them and just watching them perform. They’re so young, and I know that’s such a cliche thing, especially for me to say because people have said that about us, but they’re so good for how young they are. Their songs are so good and I just love everything about them. They’re a classic rock band.

K: And they’ve got a very good natural chemistry between all of them. They write good songs, that’s another really important thing. They’re really good songwriters. That’s so rare to see in bands that are that young. Usually that takes a couple years to develop, but coming out of the get-go with these amazing rock songs. Not trying to be too weird or anything. But I like them a lot.

E: And they share the lead, which is cool.

K: I like that everyone has their own identity, and their own voice, like us. It’s not just a lead singer and the band. Everyone has a moment to shine and has their own personality and thing on stage. It’s a very cool thing to see. They’re like a male us.

E: I think that’s why I like them so much.

E: Love them. We played with them in England, they opened for us at our show.

K: That was the funnest show that we had ever done in the UK. It was so great. They have such an amazing stage presence. At one point the lead singer jumped down into the audience and started running around. They had so much energy but they still sounded so good throughout the entire thing. It didn’t turn into a mess, so I don’t know how they did that. They’re also super nice guys to hang with, and they continued to be supportive. They came to our show in London the next year. So it’s great to support other bands like that. They’re also a really new band. The show we did with them at Birthdays was like their third or fourth show. It was their first show in London, which is crazy.

E: I think this was also on our pre-show tour playlist. Temples are great. I got to see them live in Toronto at a pretty intimate venue for their size — they’re pretty big in England. But we got to see them at Lee’s Palace which was pretty cool. I also love that they really put thought into their appearance, but also they’re just British so they look cool naturally. And their performance was just amazing. Super high energy, really interactive with the audience. Love that.

K: They look like they’re straight out of 1967.

E: They’re so cool, their fashion sense is unreal. I told them that.

K: Wow, what a time. We met Adam playing at a Sofar Session in New York City. What’s the concept of Sofar again?

E: Sofar sounds is a company that puts on shows and you essentially buy tickets without knowing what the artist is going to be but they always curate really cool, diverse artists that people might not have heard of. So you buy your ticket, you just know the place and time, you show up and there’s food and drinks. It’s a really cool venue, usually. We did ours in a loft in New York City and it was just a really cool place. We saw so many cool artists there including Adam and Amy Leon. And Miya Folick. Adam was there and he played guitar for Amy, right?

K: Yes! And we also went to a Pentatonix party at some loft in Tribeca and Adam came along for the ride.

E: Oh my God that party was wild. And your cab ride over? You almost died.

K: We almost died! We got in a cab that turned its meter off and I’ve never felt so scared in my entire life. We were swerving through all the lanes. So me and Adam shared a near death experience. Since then he’s moved to LA, he’s been working with all these cool producers. Producers that we’ve actually worked with too, so we’ve had some shared experiences and we’ve kept in touch. He released this new single and it’s really, really cool. I think it’s going to take him to the next level. Oh, and Adam was also on The Voice. For like an episode.

E: King P. Ohio. This song is misleading, it starts off kind of slow and ballad like, but turns into just a shred fest. And also King Princess. We got to see her live in Austin and she was just so good. And so funny too. We were backstage with her a bit and she was hilarious.

K: She was the funniest fucking person in the entire world. And oh my God, her Twitter and her Instagram give me absolute life. I love her fierce ‘tude.

E: This is an artist that I’ve never seen live and that I’m just so sad about. Just her aesthetic alone is so cool. I first found out about her through Jacknife Lee, our producer as you know, and he showed us her visual album. It’s a minute per song and it’s 15 minutes long. Each video is completely different, but it’s all continuous. She’ll walk into the next set and it’s a totally different thing. The songs are very unique, just like this one, but actually this is probably her most mainstream song. This one is very accessible. But she has a very cool aesthetic, so make sure you check out her visuals.

K: It’s so innovative, how each song is only a minute long. No one has done a literal music video album. It’s crazy.

E: Yeah, that’s what drew me in for sure, the visual part of it. But then I started listening to her all the time and literally I think I’ve played her album Whack World more than any other album I’ve ever played.

K: I think Jacknife, our producer, showed us this artist. We were in the studio when we were recording The Professional and he was talking about this female rapper from Toronto that none of us ever heard of, but somehow he knew about her. Her music’s really cool. She’s also really young, and I think she’s going to be the next big thing that Canada has to offer. She’s going to literally take over.

K: We played with these girls in Buffalo when we were supposed to go on tour with Frank Carter but the tour ended up getting cancelled because of his accident. But we still did the show with them, and they’re incredible. They’re 16 and 17 years old I believe. Still going to high school. Obviously not going to school right now. But they blew us away with their talent.

E: They can shred.

K: They shred. It’s crazy. And it was only them with their guitars. And when you see them, it’s not to say I wasn’t expecting anything, but I wasn’t expecting the sheer power of their voices and their talent. It was heavy, even though it was a stripped down set with these two little fairy looking girls. It blew me away.

E: Yeah, their songs were still full even though it was just two of them. No drummer, no bassist. It was cool. I would also love to see what their whole setup is like too because I’m sure it’s really cool.

K: It is! And that’s why I liked listening to their music after we played with them, because I was curious to see what a full band setting would sound like with their voices, because I remembered the songs. And it’s really, really cool. They were great stripped down but I always love a full band setup. I think they’re going to be real big. And they still go to Rosedale, the high school we went to.

E: This is my favourite song that they have. They toured with us as well, for the first part of our Canadian tour. Very fun guys from California. The thing is they don’t sound like a California band per se; they don’t sound surf–rock or anything. It’s kind of pop–punk almost, Jason’s voice. Very catchy, fun songs. Fun live. And I like I said this is my favourite song of theirs.

K: We became good buds with them. We went out in the worst places to be in Canada. In the coldest places, but made the best of it. We were able to connect. We all became very close in a very short period of time without knowing anything about each other. It’s kind of rare that you have that kind of connection with a band you’re on the road with. It’s rare that it happens amongst all the members, like usually there’s one person or two people that find friendships, but I think we all became really good friends. Even James[our tour manager] was obsessed with them by the end.

K: This is a band that I actually literally just started listening to. I think they’re from Montreal, and that song just kind of spoke to me. I thought they were really cool, and I think that they’re starting to get a bit bigger even across America. I think they just got signed to a big US deal.

K: The reason why I found out about this band is because the leader singer, her dad used to be on Grey’s Anatomy. His name is Justin Chambers, he played Dr. Alex Karev. He’s no longer on the show [spoiler alert], but I follow him on Instagram and he posted that his daughter was in this band, so I went to go check them out. I didn’t really have any expectations but they’re so cool. It’s like surf–garage, grungy–rock. They’re also super young. And they slay. They’re really starting to kick ass and take names, and I think that’s awesome. They’re definitely a bit more lo–fi sounding, but again, so funny that their dad is on Grey’s Anatomy. It’s amazing.

K: Again our tour fam. We love them so much. This song is definitely a new departure sound-wise for them. I think they did it with Young Gov as their producer, which is a really interesting take. I just like how they kind of elevated themselves from being that kind of high school garage-rock thing to this new chapter for them, and I think they’re going to keep getting better and better with each album they write. They’ve definitely put a lot of work into their aesthetic and their stage setup and it’s definitely paying off. It created a really interesting live show to experience, and this song is really cool.

E: I remember on tour whenever they performed this. It was actually the opening song, and I would always run to make sure I caught it because they intro is so cool.

K: The intro is amazing. And the way that Max does all the parts is so crazy to me. And they’re also super fun guys, they are so fun. I stayed out with Emmett until 7 in the morning on the last night of tour and ran into Leandra’s dad going to work the next day.

E: That’s so funny.

K: And the namedrop in the new song! Emmett’s a good homie. We all love him.

E: Our EP The Professional is out now, and you can expect the full album sometime later this year.