The Elwins

Last updated

The Elwins
The Elwins.jpg
Press Photo By Vanessa Heins
Background information
Origin Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Genres Indie rock, surf pop
Years active2006–2022
Members
  • Matthew Sweeney
  • Travis Stokl
  • Feurd
  • Frankie Figliomeni
Past membersChristopher Shannon
Website theelwins.com

The Elwins were a Canadian indie rock band from Keswick, Ontario, consisting of singer and guitarist Matthew Sweeney, drummer Travis Stokl, guitarist/keyboardist Feurd and bassist/singer Frankie Figliomeni.

Contents

Biography

Early days

The Elwins started out as a duo playing original music in high school at Huron Heights Secondary School. [1] They recorded their self-titled debut EP in 2008 at Chemical Sound Studios. [2] After performing as a duo for a while, they decided to expand their sound, adding long-time friend Feurd on guitar and keyboard, and Christopher Shannon on bass. [3] The band made a number of short videos and clips during this time drawing from comedic inspirations such as Maria Bamford, John Mulaney and Nathan for You, which advertised local shows, handmade merchandise or their comedic chops. In November 2011 the group, released a video for their song "Help a Bro Out (M-O-V-E-M-B-E-R)" aimed at raising awareness for Men's Health. [4] The band recorded an EP titled The Elwins & Friends Volume One alongside Doctor EW and T H O M A S that was released December 25, 2011. [5]

And I Thank You , 2012

Their first full-length album, And I Thank You , was self-released on February 21, 2012. [6] In early 2012, The Elwins embarked on their first US tour, in which they opened for Jukebox the Ghost and SPEAK. The tour consisted of 12 dates spanning much of the Southeastern United States and East Coast, culminating in a SXSW performance. The Elwins recorded a song for each city they played in on their March 2012 tour, lamenting each city's history and serenading about how eager they were to play there. Promotional videos for each song where directed by Christopher Shannon and published on the band's Youtube channel. The songs were compiled into a Tour Songs EP and made available on the band's Bandcamp page. [7] In May 2012, bassist Christopher Shannon left The Elwins to co-found the band 'Bart'; he was replaced by Frankie Figliomeni.

The Elwins began their second major tour in September 2013, this time as headliners. The tour was over 40 dates--a handful of North American dates, the rest in Western Europe. [8]

Play for Keeps, 2015

In October 2014, the Elwins signed with North American record label Hidden Pony Records. They re-released their debut album And I Thank You on October 21 and released their sophomore album Play for Keeps on February 24, 2015. The album was released in North America under Hidden Pony Records, Affairs of the Heart in Europe and Moorworks in Japan. The band supported the release with tours of Canada, the United States, Europe and Japan. [9] The first single, "So Down Low", reached No. 12 overall at alternative radio in Canada. The single charted for six months and was used in a Canada-wide advertising campaign for Fido. [10] This album saw the band move from a DIY and lo-fi sound to a more polished pop-driven sound. At the Juno Awards of 2016, The Elwins were nominated as Breakthrough Group of the Year.

Beauty Community, 2017

On October 13, 2017, The Elwins released their third studio album, Beauty Community. The first single, "Hey! Ya, You", reached the top 10 on Canadian Alternative radio charts, peaking at number 6. They toured the record in late 2017 with Fast Romantics across Canada, followed by a winter 2018 support tour of Dashboard Confessional. Recording for the album took place shortly after the conclusion of their Play for Keeps tours. The album was produced by Derek Hoffman, who had collaborated with the band on their previous album. In spring of 2019, T-Mobile used the song "Never Felt So Good" for their North American Live Nation advertising campaign. [11]

IV, 2021

Following 2017's Beauty Community, The Elwins left Hidden Pony and formed their own label Pink Eye Recordings. The band began working on their fourth studio album in late 2018; they released the album's first single "Take Me All The Way" [12] on April 3, 2020; the second single, "Weight of the World" [13] on June 26. The album, titled IV, was released on October 23, 2020, and marks a swift departure from the innocent and optimistic lyrics of their previous albums and instead takes a more somber and introspective approach. [14] [15] In 2021, the band released an EP called IV More, alongside a visualizer for the new track, “For Love To Come and Find You (Don’t Wait)". [16] [17]

Discography

Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles

Chart performance

YearSongAlternative CanadaBillboard Canadian RockAlbum
2015"So Down Low"1229Play For Keeps
"Show Me How to Move"22
2017"Hey! Ya, You"619Beauty Community
"Never Felt So Good"-43
2020"Take Me All The Way"1023IV
"Weight of The World"

Awards

Juno Awards

The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame are also inducted as part of the awards ceremonies. The Juno Awards are often referred to as the equivalent of the Grammy Awards given in the United States.

YearNominee / workAwardResult
2016 The Elwins Breakthrough Group of the Year Nominated

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constantines</span> Canadian indie rock band

Constantines is an indie rock band from Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexisonfire</span> Canadian post-hardcore band

Alexisonfire is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, Ontario in 2001. The band's members are George Pettit (vocals), Dallas Green, Wade MacNeil, Chris Steele (bass) and Jordan Hastings. The band has won numerous awards, and in Canada their albums have all been certified either gold or platinum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metric (band)</span> Canadian indie rock band

Metric is a Canadian indie rock band founded in 1998 in Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Emily Haines, James Shaw, Joshua Winstead and Joules Scott-Key. The band started in 1998 as a duo formed by Haines and Shaw with the name "Mainstream". After releasing an EP titled Mainstream EP, they changed the band's name to Metric.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Plaskett</span> Canadian singer-songwriter

William Joel MacDonald Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of genres, from blues and folk to hard rock, country, and pop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dallas Green (musician)</span> Canadian musician (born 1980)

Dallas Michael John Albert Green is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who records under the name City and Colour. He is also known for his contributions as a singer, rhythm guitarist and songwriter for the post-hardcore band Alexisonfire. In 2005, he debuted his first full-length album, Sometimes, which achieved platinum certification in 2006. City and Colour began performing in small intimate venues between Alexisonfire tours. The name City and Colour comes from his own name: Dallas, a city, and Green, a colour. His reasoning for the name was that he felt uneasy "putting the album out under the name Dallas Green".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Agonist</span> Canadian metal band

The Agonist was a Canadian metalcore band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 2004. The last known lineup consisted of lead guitarist Danny Marino, bassist Chris Kells, drummer Simon Mckay, rhythm guitarist Pascal "Paco" Jobin and lead vocalist Vicky Psarakis, who joined in March 2014 following the departure of vocalist and founding member Alissa White-Gluz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Said the Whale</span> Canadian indie rock band

Said the Whale is a Canadian indie rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia. The band was founded in 2007 by the group's primary songwriters, guitarists and lead vocalists, Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft. Their current lineup consists of Worcester, Bancroft, keyboardist and vocalist Jaycelyn Brown, bassist Lincoln Hotche and drummer Spencer Schoening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkells</span> Canadian rock band

Arkells is a Canadian rock band, formed in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2006, they signed with Dine Alone Records, and have since signed with Universal Records Canada and Last Gang Records. They have released eight albums: Jackson Square (2008), Michigan Left (2011), High Noon (2014), Morning Report (2016), Rally Cry (2018), Blink Once (2021), Blink Twice (2022) and Laundry Pile (2023). The band has been nominated for over 15 Juno Awards; winning Rock Album of the Year for High Noon and Rally Cry, and six times for Group of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fast Romantics</span> Canadian rock band

Fast Romantics is a Canadian indie rock band based in Toronto, Ontario and originally formed in Calgary, Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah Georgas</span> Canadian musician

Hannah Georgas is a Canadian pop/rock singer-songwriter, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She was nominated in the categories of "Best New Artist of the Year" and "Songwriter of the Year" at the 2011 Juno Awards, and again at the 2013 Juno Awards for "Songwriter of the Year" and "Best Alternative Album".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Strumbellas</span> Canadian band

The Strumbellas are a Canadian rock band from Lindsay, Ontario, formed in 2008. Their music has been described as alternative country, indie rock, farm emo, and gothic folk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sheepdogs</span> Canadian rock band

The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2004. The Sheepdogs were the first unsigned band to make the cover of Rolling Stone and have gone on to a career featuring multi-platinum album sales and four Juno Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unleash the Archers</span> Canadian heavy metal band

Unleash the Archers is a Canadian power metal band from Victoria, British Columbia, currently signed with Napalm Records. The band plays a fusion of traditional heavy metal with power metal and melodic death metal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">July Talk</span> Canadian alternative rock band

July Talk is a Canadian alternative rock band formed in 2012 in Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of singers Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay Goldstein, guitarist Ian Docherty, bassist Josh Warburton, drummer Danny Miles and auxiliary musician Dani Nash. The band has also performed and recorded music with artists Kyla Charter and James Baley. July Talk released its self-titled debut album with Sleepless Records on 16 October 2012 and its second album Touch on 9 September 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PUP (band)</span> Canadian punk rock band

PUP is a Canadian punk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 2010, originally under the name Topanga. PUP's debut album PUP was released on October 8, 2013, on Royal Mountain Records. In December 2013, PUP signed with SideOneDummy Records and re-released their debut album in the United States on April 8, 2014. The group was in the studio in late 2015 recording their second album The Dream Is Over which was released on May 27, 2016, through SideOneDummy. The band's third album, titled Morbid Stuff, was released on April 5, 2019. This Place Sucks Ass, a six-track EP, was released on October 27, 2020. Their fourth album, The Unraveling of PUPTheBand, was released on April 1, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dear Rouge</span> Canadian indie rock band

Dear Rouge are a Juno award-winning Vancouver-based alternative rock band formed in 2012 by Drew and Danielle McTaggart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Glorious Sons</span> Canadian rock band

The Glorious Sons are a Canadian rock band from Kingston, Ontario. Formed in 2011, the band signed with Black Box in 2013. Since then, The Glorious Sons have released one EP, Shapeless Art, and four full-length albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Beaches (band)</span> Canadian rock band

The Beaches are a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto in 2013 by Jordan Miller, Kylie Miller, Leandra Earl, and Eliza Enman-McDaniel (drums). The band released two EPs titled The Beaches (2013) and Heights (2014) before signing to Island Records. In 2017, they released their debut album Late Show, which led to the band winning the 2018 Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year.

Monowhales are a Canadian, alternative rock band from Toronto, Ontario. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist Sally Shaar, drummer Jordan Circosta and guitarist Zach Zanardo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Rheaume</span> Canadian musician

Amanda Rheaume is a Métis folk singer-songwriter from Canada.

References

  1. Macchia, Amanda & Persico, Amanda. "YorkRegion Article"
  2. Marino, Dean. "Summer 2008"
  3. Garvez, Carmel. "The Singing Lamb Recommends..."
  4. Murphy, Sarah. ""
  5. ""
  6. Hudson, Alex ""
  7. Lewis, Carly.""
  8. Exclaim Canada. "The Elwins Roll Out North American and European Tour Dates, Set Sights on New Album"
  9. Murphy, Sarah. ""
  10. "Five Questions with The Elwins – see them live in Cornwall on December 4th". The Seeker Newspaper Cornwall. November 29, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  11. "T-Mobile TV Commercial, 'Live Nation Shows' Song by The Elwins". ispot.tv. iSpot. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  12. "The Elwins - Take Me All the Way". youtube.com. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  13. "The Elwins - Weight of the World". youtube.com. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  14. Brasil, Sydney. "The Elwins May or May Not Have Found God on 'IV'". exclaim.ca. Exclaim!. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  15. "THE ELWINS - IV". killbeatmusic.com. Kill Beat Music. October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  16. "The Elwins - For Love To Come And Find You (Don't Wait)". youtube.com. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  17. Brimstin, Chelsea (April 9, 2021). "Stream: The Elwins release new EP 'IV More'". indie88.com. Indie88. Retrieved October 20, 2021.