Since making their debut with 2014’s electric Blame Confusion, Montreal rock group Solids has been earning fans by the bucketful, supporting acclaimed indie-punk acts like Metz, PUP and more along the way.
After having performed more than 200 shows in support of their debut effort, the group wasted no time heading back into the studio to cut the four-song Else EP. The release served to chart a somewhat melancholic deconstruction of the themes explored on Blame Confusion, but with the unique perspective of more than two years of honing their live sound.
“We had just come off the road and honestly had no plans to get back into the studio so soon, Solids drummer Louis Guillemette tells us. “Our minds were essentially empty, but not long after we arrived home, a friend asked if we wanted to come by his studio and maybe record a song. We began writing, and before we knew it, had four or five songs to pick from.”
Formed in 2009 by Guillemette and guitarist Xavier Germain-Poitras, Solids initially came together as kind of musical respite from a heavy metal band both members had been a part of. Shedding their heavy metal skin, the music made by the duo served to reflect the influence of that the guitar-driven music of the early 90’s.
“Both Xavier and I came up in the 90’s when the grunge movement was huge. I remember hearing Smashing Pumpkins around the time I was 11 or 12 years old and just being floored by what I was hearing,” Guillemette says.
Acknowledging that the world is unlikely to see another musical revolution that the likes of Nirvana, Soundgarden and others brought with their success in the 90’s, Guillemette remains optimistic that good music will always be able to find its way through the fray.
“On one hand, it saddens me to know that we will probably never see another boom like the whole grunge movement again, but at the same time, music has always been very cyclical. Trends come and go, both within music and outside of it. We just want to focus on doing what we love.”
Following Solids’ run of East Coast shows that will see the band visiting Halifax, Charlottetown, Fredericton and Sackville, the group will be getting ready to undertake a brief American tour. In September, Solids will then head overseas where they will be supporting their friends PUP on nine shows throughout the U.K., giving the groups the opportunity to rekindle their long-running camaraderie that dates back to PUP’s earliest days.
“We couldn’t be happier for those guys [PUP] and the success they have been seeing over the last few years,” Guillemette says. “For them to offer to bring us along to open the tour is really a testament to just how grounded they are both as a band and as people.”
What: Solids
When: Monday July 11, 9 p.m.
Where: Plan b Lounge, 212 St. George St., Moncton