Winnipeg’s Living Hour recently announced its sophomore LP, Softer Faces, due out March 1 via Kanine Records. A follow-up to their highly-praised 2016 S/T debut, it features the haunting, ethereal vocals of lead singer Sam Sarty accompanied by lush, expansive instrumentation.
The band shared a first taste of their new record with hazy, hypnotic leading single “Bottom Step”, and now they’ve released a lyric video for the track. NPR says “Bottom Step” “softly but assertively navigates the feeling of rejection, accented by delicate synth and brass. The song’s accompanying visuals expand upon the protagonist’s yearning for solitude, as Sarty enjoys a solo swim.”
The band has announce tour dates for early 2019, including performances in Saskatoon, Calgary, Rossland, and Edmonton before heading to Austin for SXSW. Full tour dates can be found below.
Living Hour has been expanding since their humble basement beginnings in 2015. Now a quintet, rounded out by Gil Carroll (guitar), Adam Soloway (guitar, vocals), Alex Chochinov (drums, trumpet, orangelle), and Brett Ticzon (bass, vocals), Living Hour’s emotive vocals, intricate harmonies, with dreamy washes of guitar, bass, keys, and horns sees the band pulling from many genres to create their own diverse vibe that’s intimate, honest, and vulnerable.
Softer Faces was produced by Kurt Feldman (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Chairlift, DIIV, Dum Dum Girls) in Living Hour’s hometown and mixed by Jarvis Taveniere (Real Estate, Woods, Blouse, Widowspeak) at Thump Studios in Brooklyn.
Known for their mesmerizing and deeply-moving live show, Living Hour has toured Europe, the UK and North America. Their performance captures the dreamy, emotional power of the band’s recordings, creating a mesmerizing, unforgettable, cathartic, and deeply moving live music experience. Sarty finds that, “Sometimes people are a little turned off and not living in the now or being present. I find that when you perform, it’s one of the most present moments that you can be in. You’re living in the hour.” The band is currently wrapping up a North American tour — see below for upcoming dates.
TOUR DATES:
Jan 24 – Saskatoon, SK – Winterruption Festival @ Black Cat
Jan 25 – Calgary, AB – Big Winter Classic
Jan 26 – Rossland, BC – Blizzard Fest
Jan 29 – Edmonton, AB – Aviary
Mar 7 – New York, NY – New Colossus Festival @ Pianos
Mar 9 – Savannah, GA – Savannah Stopover Festival
Mar 13-17 – Austin, TX – SXSW
