Kevin J. Black, the former lead guitarist of Toronto indie rockers Fast Romantics, has announced plans to go solo with a new EP. The artist will share Mistakes on February 3 via Strange Objects Records.
Black — who also previously played with Toronto outfits Hands & Teeth and Basements — pulled and polished the four tracks of Mistakes from a collection of over a dozen demos written in 2018 and 2019 between touring with Fast Romantics.
On the road with the band when the pandemic hit in 2020, Black shares of that period, "Touring with my band ended, both day jobs I had closed permanently, and my relationship with my partner of 9 years crumbled. It was a situation I know many others faced during this time. I was fortunate enough to have a bank of music to sit with, and a home studio to lock myself in. I had a unique opportunity to look back on the material I'd written over the past few years and really dig in."
Black recorded and mixed Mistakes entirely himself, while a lack of live drums at home led to a rhythm section that "skews towards electronic beats and pop-oriented production" compared to his prior recordings. You can get a sense of what that sounds like down below with the glowing "Light Pollution."
"While recording these songs I realized there were aspects of myself I'd been ignoring. Strangely, some of the lyrics I'd written the previous year [2019] seemed more resonant after 2020 than they did when I wrote them — almost like how dreams can seem to provide answers for problems our conscious minds don't even see yet," the artist offers. "I'd like to think the whole process taught me to be more honest with myself and with others."
Black has planned a release show for Mistakes the night of its release (February 3) at Toronto's Monarch Tavern, where he'll be joined by a full band and supported by Grizzly Coast and Wax Atlantic.
Mistakes:
1. Karaoke Night
2. Light Pollution
3. Mistakes
4. Lion's Den
Black — who also previously played with Toronto outfits Hands & Teeth and Basements — pulled and polished the four tracks of Mistakes from a collection of over a dozen demos written in 2018 and 2019 between touring with Fast Romantics.
On the road with the band when the pandemic hit in 2020, Black shares of that period, "Touring with my band ended, both day jobs I had closed permanently, and my relationship with my partner of 9 years crumbled. It was a situation I know many others faced during this time. I was fortunate enough to have a bank of music to sit with, and a home studio to lock myself in. I had a unique opportunity to look back on the material I'd written over the past few years and really dig in."
Black recorded and mixed Mistakes entirely himself, while a lack of live drums at home led to a rhythm section that "skews towards electronic beats and pop-oriented production" compared to his prior recordings. You can get a sense of what that sounds like down below with the glowing "Light Pollution."
"While recording these songs I realized there were aspects of myself I'd been ignoring. Strangely, some of the lyrics I'd written the previous year [2019] seemed more resonant after 2020 than they did when I wrote them — almost like how dreams can seem to provide answers for problems our conscious minds don't even see yet," the artist offers. "I'd like to think the whole process taught me to be more honest with myself and with others."
Black has planned a release show for Mistakes the night of its release (February 3) at Toronto's Monarch Tavern, where he'll be joined by a full band and supported by Grizzly Coast and Wax Atlantic.
Mistakes:
1. Karaoke Night
2. Light Pollution
3. Mistakes
4. Lion's Den