Tallies

The Toronto quartet Tallies drew upon their deep familiarity with early-'90s dream pop to recreate those textures, pairing nimble guitars laden with effects and extroverted vocals on the self-titled debut they issued in 2019, an album whose tracks could slot seamlessly onto a mixtape alongside Lush and the Sundays. They pursued those same reference points even more intently on the 2022 follow-up, Patina.

Vocalist and guitarist Sarah Cogan crossed paths with lead guitarist Dylan Frankland during their sound-engineering studies at Algonquin College. Having started to compose at a very young age, Cogan found her lilting melodies complemented Frankland’s jangling style, which had been shaped by a childhood steeped in Cocteau Twins and the Smiths; the two resolved to start a band. Drummer Cian O’Neill and bassist Stephen Pitman soon joined, after which the group relocated to Toronto. Their rapid integration into the city’s music community resulted in a deal with Hand Drawn Dracula. Throughout 2018 the members crafted their first album while repeatedly revisiting the Sundays’ Reading, Writing and Arithmetic and reflecting on coming-of-age concerns such as the erosion of innocence and confrontation with adult realities. Recording took place at Candle Recordings in Toronto, where Frankland serves as a sound engineer, and the sessions were co-produced by Frankland alongside Josh Korody. The resulting self-titled album appeared in early 2019 as a co-release between Hand Drawn Dracula and Kanine.

For Patina the band shifted to Bella Union, the label established by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. Issued in mid-2022, the album was co-produced by Frankland and Graham Walsh of Holy Fuck, whose other credits include work with METZ and Bully.