Braids are a Montreal-based 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. The three-piece is back with two new singles, “Collarbones” and “Burdock & Dandelion”, which can be heard below.
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.
“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 Standell-Preston
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