Claire Thérèse
Claire Thérèse says many of Racing Heart’s songs are about ways people connect. (Amelia Fehr photo)
Joining Claire Thérèse and The Lockdown are synth-punk rockers Nothin’!!!, celebrating the release of their self-titled debut cassette, and garage rockers Discount Coffin.
“We’re quite different in style, but I think the punk ethos is there on all sides,” says Adam Manveiler, who plays bass in Nothin’!!!. “Let’s all celebrate the work that goes into writing and recording. It’ll be a good get-together.”
Nothin’!!! also includes Toby Coninec on guitar, Andrew Campbell on drums, and Maria Bromilaw on lead vocals and synth. The group came together four years ago — though Manveiler and Coninec have been jamming together in various iterations for over 20 years — before playing its first show last September.
“It was just sort of let’s get together and it’s been a really great creative social outlet for us. The lyrical content can be pretty heavy, but the live show, it’s a party. We’re loud and fast and fun,” Manveiler says
Over the winter, Nothin’!!! recorded six songs with Shane Barron in his basement studio. When it came time to put it out, the band decided cassette made the most sense.
“We all agreed that tape was the most affordable and the coolest, for where we’re at,” Manveiler says, adding that the group received support from local label Transistor 66 and grindcore distributor Scum Lord. “They were gracious enough to kick in a little cash to put it out.”
An interdisciplinary artist who also works in theatre and the visual arts, Thérèse is also planning an interdisciplinary, multimedia release for when Racing Heart will be made available to streamers later this year. The show will incorporate live performances, contemporary dance and video.
“Interdisciplinary suggests that its enmeshed, that each discipline informs the other, rather than just having other disciplines,” Thérèse says. “It’s why we do things live, right? To come together in this thing that is going to happen once and then never again. I mean, we’ll play again, but that moment will come and go. Now that there’s actually recordings of songs, I take a lot of comfort in being able to look out and see people sing along where I feel like I’ve made it. That I did it.”
More local releases
● Catie St. Germain, granddaughter of Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame Métis legend Ray St. Germain, releases her new single, Home, a collaboration with Don Amero today, bringing two local artists together for a song “about the people and places that shape us, no matter how far our dreams take us.”
● Roots rocker Fontine also dropped a new single, Imposter, today. The Wheat City-raised Fontine has been busy over the past year supporting their debut record Good Buddy, recently taking home two Western Canadian Music Awards for rock artist and Indigenous artist of the year. Fellow traveller Boy Golden released a deluxe edition of Best of Our Possible Lives as well today, which includes six new tracks, including acoustic versions of Suffer, Meadowsweet and New Orleans along with new tracks Pity — featuring Fontine on backup vocals — and Fell In Love (Couldn’t Get Out).
● Jazz vocalist and pianist Erin Propp will celebrate the release of her new record, The Longing Years, with two shows at Cornerstone (300 Hugo St. N). The first, tonight, is sold out, but at press time spots remained for the Saturday show. On stage, Propp will be joined by Fabio Ragnelli, Julian Bradford and Joey Landreth. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.
● On Saturday, the Love Letters are hosting a bash at Public Domain (633 Portage Ave.) to celebrate the release of the new single IKYWI. Local songwriter Zach Riley opens. The show is at 9 p.m., tickets are $17 at showpass.com.
● On Sunday, Op-Ed will release its new record, 75 Years, with an all-ages matinee performance at the Park Theatre (698 Osborne St.). The record “channels the lived experiences and storytelling of Palestinian songwriter Tarek Abdel Aziz into songs of love, resistance, and human dignity, reflecting on the ongoing hardships and struggles of the Palestinian people,” according to an official release. Joining the band for “an afternoon of rock and roll with a message” are local punk veterans the Leftists. The show starts at 3 p.m. Tickets are $24 ($2.50 for kids) at ticketweb.ca.
— Sheldon Birnie