July Talk

Canadian quintet July Talk fuses gritty, blues-driven indie rock with abrupt synth accents and the charged vocal chemistry shared by Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay. That dynamic friction defines the group’s sound, as Dreimanis delivers a hoarse, Tom Waits-meets-Nathaniel Rateliff growl into the microphone while Fay counters with a soulful soprano and airy, lingering sighs. The same contrast has propelled the band from its Juno Award-winning 2012 debut through the taut, tension-filled third album Pray for It, released in 2020, earning both widespread critical praise and commercial traction.

The group came together in 2010, its original lineup featuring bassist Josh Warburton, drummer Danny Miles, and guitarist Eamon McGrath. McGrath departed soon after formation, making way for Ian Docherty. July Talk issued its self-titled debut on Sleepless Records in 2012. Momentum prompted an expanded reissue the following year and a U.S. edition in 2015, the same year the album earned the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year. Sophomore LP Touch arrived in 2016, its sonic palette shaped by echoes of Silversun Pickups, Queens of the Stone Age, and the Kills. The record yielded the hit single “Push + Pull” alongside “Beck + Call,” a track that spotlighted throat singer Tanya Tagaq.

After a four-year hiatus, the band resurfaced in early 2020 with the restrained yet charged single “Pay for It,” whose lyrics reference a violent confrontation Fay observed involving several men and her bandmates. Two additional singles paved the way for the third album, Pray for It, which surfaced midway through 2020.