It looks like the summer sunshine is finally here to stay, and Toronto indie rockers Fast Romantics are celebrating with their upbeat new single, "Do No Wrong," as well as a Canadian tour.
"Do No Wrong" will serve as the lead single from the band's forthcoming album, due out this fall. With sunny guitars and synths set to a refrain of "I can do no wrong," the new track is a sprightly slab of pop-rock that heralds plenty of positive things to come from the band.
But according to lead vocalist and songwriter Matthew Angus, the cheery tune was born from some dark times.
Speaking with Exclaim!, he reveals, "I'd been going through some dark shit personally for a little while. Call it winter blues, or whatever. One day, I think I just woke up and it was all gone, no reason, I was just all happiness that day. A good chunk of this song came out that day on autopilot. I left it without thinking and actually thought I'd leave it behind, and then at some point showed it to a bunch of the band who convinced me we should work on it."
The song is not only liberated sonically and lyrically, but also in its means of production and release. "Do No Wrong" was self-produced and self-released by Fast Romantics, as was the band's track "Mexico," which was released last year and is also set to appear on their upcoming album.
On the decision to strike out on their own, Angus says, "After our last record, American Love, I felt we'd reached a peak of knowing the kind of music we wanted to make, and also asking ourselves what it means to be a band in 2019. An opportunity to retake control of things presented itself both musically and on the business end, and it felt silly not to take it."
He continues, "I started up a record label called Postwar Records — we actually put out [Fast Romantics member] Kirty's last solo record on it, which was a really good experience. We decided we'd bring Fast Romantics home and put the next record out on Postwar too. Along with that came the idea to actually make the record ourselves. I have a little bit of a gear buying/selling problem, and it felt like it was time to justify that.
"We started demoing the new stuff in the studio I had been building over the last few years, and once we got deep enough into it and started listening back to our 'demos,' we suddenly realized we weren't making demos at all — this was the real thing."
The title of "Do No Wrong" is also a very appropriate one, Angus explains.
"It's funny, because the theme of the song is reflected in how it was made. It's about coming out of 'the long dark funk' — everyone knows the one, I think — and revelling in that fleeting burst of joy and invincibility you feel, that you also know can't last forever. And because of that, it just felt right to not wait and put it out right now, to try and hold onto it before we go back to being our anxious human selves."
As for their upcoming Canadian tour, Fast Romantics will be taking the new tunes on tour throughout the summer. Check the tour dates below and keep scrolling to listen to "Do No Wrong," which can also be streamed here.
Tour dates:
06/06 Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret
06/07 Victoria, BC - Lucky Bar
06/09 Kelowna, BC - Doc Willoughby's Public House
06/12 Rossland, BC - The Flying Steamshovel
06/13 Red Deer, AB - Bo's Bar & Stage
06/14 Edmonton, AB - Station On Jasper
06/15 Saskatoon, SK - Capitol Music Club
06/16 Winnipeg, MB - The Goodwill Social Club
07/12-14 Guelph, ON - Hillside Festival
07/20 Burnstown, ON - Neat Coffee Shop
07/21 Sudbury, ON - River and Sky Festival
07/25 Calgary, AB - Prince's Island Park
07/26 Squamish, BC - Squamish Constellation Festival
07/27-28 Calgary, AB - Calgary Folk Festival
08/02-04 Clarendon, ON - Blue Skies Festival
08/18 Bath, ON - Back To The Farm Fest
"Do No Wrong" will serve as the lead single from the band's forthcoming album, due out this fall. With sunny guitars and synths set to a refrain of "I can do no wrong," the new track is a sprightly slab of pop-rock that heralds plenty of positive things to come from the band.
But according to lead vocalist and songwriter Matthew Angus, the cheery tune was born from some dark times.
Speaking with Exclaim!, he reveals, "I'd been going through some dark shit personally for a little while. Call it winter blues, or whatever. One day, I think I just woke up and it was all gone, no reason, I was just all happiness that day. A good chunk of this song came out that day on autopilot. I left it without thinking and actually thought I'd leave it behind, and then at some point showed it to a bunch of the band who convinced me we should work on it."
The song is not only liberated sonically and lyrically, but also in its means of production and release. "Do No Wrong" was self-produced and self-released by Fast Romantics, as was the band's track "Mexico," which was released last year and is also set to appear on their upcoming album.
On the decision to strike out on their own, Angus says, "After our last record, American Love, I felt we'd reached a peak of knowing the kind of music we wanted to make, and also asking ourselves what it means to be a band in 2019. An opportunity to retake control of things presented itself both musically and on the business end, and it felt silly not to take it."
He continues, "I started up a record label called Postwar Records — we actually put out [Fast Romantics member] Kirty's last solo record on it, which was a really good experience. We decided we'd bring Fast Romantics home and put the next record out on Postwar too. Along with that came the idea to actually make the record ourselves. I have a little bit of a gear buying/selling problem, and it felt like it was time to justify that.
"We started demoing the new stuff in the studio I had been building over the last few years, and once we got deep enough into it and started listening back to our 'demos,' we suddenly realized we weren't making demos at all — this was the real thing."
The title of "Do No Wrong" is also a very appropriate one, Angus explains.
"It's funny, because the theme of the song is reflected in how it was made. It's about coming out of 'the long dark funk' — everyone knows the one, I think — and revelling in that fleeting burst of joy and invincibility you feel, that you also know can't last forever. And because of that, it just felt right to not wait and put it out right now, to try and hold onto it before we go back to being our anxious human selves."
As for their upcoming Canadian tour, Fast Romantics will be taking the new tunes on tour throughout the summer. Check the tour dates below and keep scrolling to listen to "Do No Wrong," which can also be streamed here.
Tour dates:
06/06 Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret
06/07 Victoria, BC - Lucky Bar
06/09 Kelowna, BC - Doc Willoughby's Public House
06/12 Rossland, BC - The Flying Steamshovel
06/13 Red Deer, AB - Bo's Bar & Stage
06/14 Edmonton, AB - Station On Jasper
06/15 Saskatoon, SK - Capitol Music Club
06/16 Winnipeg, MB - The Goodwill Social Club
07/12-14 Guelph, ON - Hillside Festival
07/20 Burnstown, ON - Neat Coffee Shop
07/21 Sudbury, ON - River and Sky Festival
07/25 Calgary, AB - Prince's Island Park
07/26 Squamish, BC - Squamish Constellation Festival
07/27-28 Calgary, AB - Calgary Folk Festival
08/02-04 Clarendon, ON - Blue Skies Festival
08/18 Bath, ON - Back To The Farm Fest
