Premiere: The Backstays - "Aquarius"
The Backstays formed in Saint John, New Brunswick in 2018 and have quickly become local favourites in the Maritime music community. Since storming onto the scene, The Backstays have quickly grown their reach with East Coast tours and opening slots for iconic Canadian acts like Joel Plaskett Emergency, Hannah Georgas, and The Great Lake Swimmers. We are very pleased to announce their debut album (and follow-up to their 2018 self-titled EP) will arrive on May 1st. The album, titled Tributaries was written and recorded during the pandemic and was co-produced by Romesh Thavanathan (Hey Rosetta!).
Today we are very excited to be premiering the track "Aquarius" which is the second single from Tributaries. When describing the song Pete Johnston (guitar/vocals) explained:
"I started to record the song in our apartment, with a vocal booth in the closet of the spare bedroom. Derek (Hilchie, who is also in the band) mixed the song, and so we worked together closely, albeit virtually. When our public health level switched from orange back down to yellow, we were able to get the bass and drums recorded with the band at Derek's studio. It was a song born out of necessity in a lot of ways — everything we do is, especially now.”
Enjoy “Aquarius” below and check out Tributaries first single, “No Hot Cargo,” here.