Patience is at the core of a lot of bands in Toronto’s rock scene at the moment and that is a good thing. Patience with the process, how long or short or spontaneous it may be; the sounds, intricate and layered, often times completely and beautifully weird; and patience with the direction they are going toward. For Beliefs’ latest record, Habitat, out this Friday via Hand Drawn Dracula/Outside Music, that patience pays off in dividends. Their third LP, and follow-up to the 2015 album Leaper, is harsher and admittedly much darker but it still promises to be illuminating and rich. It’s also no small accomplishment that the shoegaze, post-punk duo comprised of Jesse Crowe and Josh Korody made Habitat in the span of 16 days.
“1994”, the sort of follow-up to “1992,” builds on a steady, melancholic sounding guitar with Crowe’s low vocals skimming overtop. The record dips into a more mechanic lane on “Divided Youth (only lovers)” with a scratchy, distortion, almost mesmerizing in tone, with a specifically firm vocal pacing on the part of Crowe. “Anti,” a more electronic track, is so visceral and fuzzy, a haze of thundering sound. Beliefs have crafted an album that perfectly exemplifies the sonic mixing in the city’s scene—pulling electronic influence and gritty guitars, while adding lyrics so lonesome about life in a metropolis.
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“Habitat explores the future of cities for those in the arts and those who lack wealth. The idea of being pushed out of homes and back into high rises. A love affair with concrete,” says Crowe via email to Noisey. “With the thematic change, comes a musical change as well. Habitat introduces an electronic element to Beliefs that wasn’t previously featured on Leaper nor on the self titled record, giving this record a more frantic, cold, and industrial vibe.”
Listen to Habitat below:
Sarah MacDonald is an Assistant Editor at Noisey Canada. Follow her on Twitter.
