Photo credit: Kat Kwan
Exploding out of their hometown of Toronto, JUNO Award-winning band MONOWHALES has been putting a new lease on the alt rock genre. In 2022, the band was awarded the JUNO for Breakthrough Group of the Year, toured the country as direct support to Mother Mother, and has been releasing a steady stream of unforgettable new music.
“Change###” set the tone for their brand new record, Tunnel Vision, produced by Dave Schiffman (Vampire Weekend, PUP).
Hook-heavy, but more groove-based, “Change###” pushes the boundaries of what a rock song can be. The focus track features an explosive rhythm section in the guitar solo and lead vocalist Sally Shaar‘s Robert Plant-esque wailing of emotion carries into the final chorus.
Drummer Jordan Circosta explains, “We wrote Change### at a time when it felt like the world was spinning out of control. I’ve never seen so much division in my life. People were in a lot of pain, and the media was taking advantage of that, pitting people against each other like caged animals. Some of it was valid, some of it wasn’t, and at a certain point it became almost impossible to tell the difference.”
He continues, “The Tunnel Vision mindset had us staring into the void through our phones, trapped in the echo chamber. But that same focus, when pointed towards music and our love for each other, helped us navigate hopelessness, nervous breakdowns, and worse. Like we say in the song, all we could do was focus on ‘keeping it straight, under the weight of all this Change###.'”
With appearances at some of the country’s most sought-after festivals and a Canadian headline tour this fall, MONOWHALES are showing no signs of slowing down.
