Kestrels

Canadian band Kestrels blend guitar rock with heavy shoegaze textures, soaring dream-rock atmospherics, and crisp power-pop hooks. Across more than ten years of releases the group assembled a catalog of luminous pop tunes and gritty guitar leads that appealed to listeners drawn to Dinosaur Jr. and Ash, most notably on the 2020 album Dream or Don't Dream.

The project began in 2008 when guitarist and vocalist Chad Peck and bassist and drummer Adam Hartling, both previously in Medium Mood, joined forces with drummer, bassist, and vocalist Marcus Fiddes. This trio cut the debut 7-inch single “Seaside,” issued on Peck’s own Noyes Records. In 2009 Kestrels supplied a cover of “I Am the Cancer” for the Sloan tribute album Take It In and delivered their first full-length, Primary Colours. The 7-inch EP The Solipsist closed out 2010, now featuring bassist Kirstan Moore and drummer Paul Brown alongside Peck. The following year Peck launched the side project We Need Secrets.

Kestrels persisted, and with bassist Devin Peck added the second album A Ghost History arrived in 2012. Sonic Unyon joined the release for the first time, and Ash’s Tim Wheeler contributed a guest vocal. The 12-inch EP The Moon Is Shining Our Way followed in 2014. The band’s self-titled third album emerged in 2016, showcasing guests Elliott Frazier and Alex Gehring of Ringo Deathstarr; it earned global radio play and a Music Nova Scotia nomination for rock album of the year, yet internal tensions dissolved the lineup, leaving Peck as the sole remaining member. He focused on completing a master’s degree and scoring podcasts before resolving to revive the band.

Peck composed new material while visiting Tim Wheeler, then enlisted longtime Dinosaur Jr. producer John Agnello to shape the recordings. Sessions took place in Chicago, Massachusetts, and Halifax, where drummer Michael Catano laid down his tracks; Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis also added a guitar solo. The resulting set emphasized streamlined, ’90s-style guitar rock while tempering earlier shoegaze elements. Darla Records released Dream or Don't Dream in the middle of 2020.