Still Life Still

In 1999 a cluster of junior-high classmates from Toronto’s East York district—Aaron Romaniuk, Eric Young, Brendon Saarinen, and Derek Paulin—formed Still Life Still despite having no instrumental experience. Because Saarinen already played a little guitar and had written several songs, the others installed him as frontman; the group then rehearsed in Romaniuk’s parents’ basement, cycling through temporary names and configurations until they adopted their permanent moniker. Saarinen and Young handled vocals and guitar, Romaniuk took the drum kit, and Paulin anchored the bass, refining their indie-rock sound at neighborhood bars and clubs. Eventually Romaniuk and Saarinen left high school to devote themselves full-time to writing. When Romaniuk’s brother Josh added keyboards and percussion in 2004, the band built a local audience, moved into Toronto proper, and caught the ear of Broken Social Scene—whose atmospheric style is frequently echoed in Still Life Still’s own work—and Arts & Crafts A&R executive Kevin Drew. After a late-2008 showcase, Drew signed the quartet; what began as a three-song demo quickly expanded into an eleven-track session. The resulting EP, Pastel, appeared in June 2009, followed two months later by the full-length Girls Come Too. Still Life Still’s next album, Mourning Trance, surfaced in August 2013, led by the advance single “In Enemies.”