BRAIDS RETURNS WITH TWO BOLD NEW SINGLES, A SONIC APOTHECARY FOR DIGITAL MALAISE

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PHOTO CREDIT : Melissa Gamache // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

“For those of u that have ever taken selfies, contorted ur body for selfies, pushed up ur breasts, hid ur breasts, hid ur ass, pushed up ur ass, exaggerated ur bulge, exaggerated ur collarbones, turned up the contrast, softened ur lines, been ghosted, ghosted, used tinder, failed at tinder, fallen down an instagram hole, deleted and downloaded it , deleted and downloaded it, deleted and downloaded it, wandered the drug store for clarity, thought hair dye could ease ur pain, at least for a couple days, and flipped the bird at 1 or all of these things - these songs are 4 u.

We hope you can sing with them, scream with them, dance with them, laugh with them and dream of how u want to feel and deserve to feel. Take a moment for urself.” - Raphaelle

LISTEN TO “COLLARBONES” and “BURDOCK & DANDELION”

BRAIDS’ two new singles, “Collarbones” and “Burdock & Dandelion”, reflect their quintessential sound, yet also exhibit a new, bold and potent musical and lyrical maturity.  Casting a critical eye on our fast-paced, smartphone, media-obsessed culture of consumption, these new songs vulnerably explore the perils of contemporary life and seek redemption from a world that is ‘moving faster / than we ever expected’.  

In “Collarbones”, online dating, impulse-driven intimacy and digital desirability is poked fun at, while “Burdock & Dandelion” turns its critical gaze towards the toxicity of ‘ghosting’, the beauty standards women face that men don’t, and the capitalism of self-care. What emerges in these songs is sonic apothecary for digital malaise, reflecting a generation’s palpable longing for something more real, authentic, less filtered and, ultimately, more human.

We’re here to feel something more
But we’re just hurtling towards
Seeing and feeling nothing
Nothing more than an impulse
To move on to the next thing
And forget the last

BRAIDS are a Montreal-based, three-piece band composed of Raphaelle Standell-Preston, Taylor Smith, and Austin Tufts. BRAIDS have solidified a decade-long reputation for their musical ingenuity and established themselves as one of Canada’s most acclaimed art rock bands, releasing three albums: Deep In The Iris (2015), Flourish // Perish (2013), Native Speaker (2011), and the EP Companion (2016).  BRAIDS’ most recent album Deep In The Iris was a landmark record for the band, winning the 2016 JUNO Award for Alternative Album of the Year. With Standell-Preston’s vocals as the pillar of their sound, BRAIDS weave organic and electronic elements together amidst a lyrical landscape that is intimate and emotionally-immersive.

UPCOMING TOUR DATES
May 03 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa
May 04 - Winooski, VT - Waking Windows
May 06 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East
May 08 - Washington, DC - Songbyrd
May 09 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
May 11 - New York, NY - Zone One @ Elsewhere
May 12 - Annandale-on-Hudson, NY - Smog

Tickets and more info can be found at www.flemisheye.com/on-tour

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DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES ARTWORK

BRAIDS “COLLARBONES” / “BURDOCK & DANDELION”
01 Collarbones
02 Burdock & Dandelion

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LYRICS

“Collarbones”

We are so near
Yet so alone
Sitting next to each other looking at our phones
See the screen light my face in this darkened place
Do you think it makes me look pretty when I soften all my lines away
When I make myself look as far away from real

Breasts pushed up I’m trying to show you
I have collar bones & cleavage you can rest in

This pics lookin’ better than the real
So when my clothes are off and we’re together
I probably won’t look this way again
And I wonder will you still want me then
Will you still want me when
You catch the frowning of my brow and see how my breasts move around
Breasts move around
Breasts move around
Move up and down
Move up and down

Breasts pushed up
I’m trying to show you I have collarbones

Walk with me hand in hand
What the hell is going on ?
We’re here to feel something more
But we’re just hurtling towards
Seeing and feeling nothing
Nothing more than an impulse
To move onto the next thing
And forget the last
Get hold of a new friend
That you’ve never even met
Can I be your new friend ?
I hope I never meet you

Just stay as a number
Help make me feel better
About the craziness that is
This life

Breasts pushed up
I’m trying to show you I have collarbones


“Burdock & Dandelion”

Oops I’m feeling lost again
Guess I’ll wander round the drug store
Till I forget that I feel conflicted
Till I feel calmed
Cause everything around me is moving faster
Than we ever expected
I’ve got a weapon in my pocket
That I’m lifting to my face 90 times a day

I heard I could fix my pain with flower tinctures
Burdock and dandelion, flower tinctures
I heard I could fix my pain with a box hair dye, the red highlight kind

My pain is I’m getting older
And I try not to mind, I really try not to mind

The boy I want is supported by his parents
Doesn’t have the nerve to text me back after a fuck

But has the nerve to ask me if I like my breasts
Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t
But I lied to him and told him that I loved them
And then I died a little inside
I felt the problem was with me
But the problem was with him
What if I asked, do you like your cock ?

Oh gods, I want to feel so beautiful in my skin
And oh gods, I want to find someone to celebrate my state with
And oh gods, will I ever find that one ?
Oh gods, I want to feel so beautiful in my skin
And oh gods, I want to find someone to celebrate my state with
And oh gods, why the hell do we all need someone, want someone ?

Do you ?