Two years after first forming, Charlottetown-based indie rock trio Absolute Losers have released a pair of guitar-drenched debut singles, “Astray” and “Coexist.” Inspired by the sounds of Alberta’s art-rock scene, particularly bands like Women, Preoccupations, and Faux Fur, Daniel Hartinger (drums), Josh Langille (guitar), and Sam Langille (bass, lead vocals) decided they wanted to get in on the fun themselves.
Mind you, the last couple of years probably weren’t an ideal time to start a band unless you were really determined to spend all the extra hours practicing. Audience feedback has been at an all-time low.
That being said, the band found plenty of opportunities to make use of their downtime by diving into home recording. Beginning with “Astray,” the trio has been working on a full-length album from home.
“I think ‘Astray’ will be kept close to our hearts because it’s the first release that we recorded ourselves,” says Sam Langille. “I’ve had nothing but great experiences recording in professional studios, but having the time flexibility to experiment with parts and sounds at home is incredible. You don’t need to worry about making it to the finish line before going broke.”
Two sides of the same coin, “Coexist” and “Astray” share more than just thematic elements, they literally share lyrical chunks. They come at a distant third to the massive drum/bass combo, making them sound like we’re hearing The Strokes from the bottom of a well, but such is the post-punk ethos. The vibe is everything and this vibe is all about turmoil and anxiety.
“Around the time I wrote these lyrics [for ‘Coexist’], I was dealing with some growing pains, trying to choose a career, figuring out the kind of human I wanted to be, the usual feelings of becoming an adult,” says Langille. “With this pressure, I found myself bending and being bent in all kinds of ways that didn’t feel genuine. I think most people can relate to this idea of feeling bent out of shape by pressure from themselves and others.”
“Astray,” as Langille notes, is more hopeful or, at least, less angst-ridden. Not exactly upbeat, “Astray” is certainly the more mellow of the two singles, showing a side to it that is less post-punk and more post-post-surf rock. It’s not a massive stretch to imagine this as the great-grandmusic of Link Wray.
“One of the main goals for ‘Coexist’ and ‘Astray’ was to make music that was simultaneously abrasive and pretty, brutish and delicate. I’m not sure if we achieved it, but having this goal inspired most of the decisions in writing and producing these songs,” says Langille.
“‘Astray’ is musically and lyrically an alternate version of Coexist [..] It seems to me that Astray is about coming to terms with reality and working with it, as tough as the situation may be.”
While Absolute Losers were keen to tackle recording on their own, they left the polishing to wizards like Adam Gallant and Colin Buchanan. Recording locally, but sending tracks back and forth while in lockdown, Gallant took on the mixing of “Astray,” and Buchanan handled the engineering of “Coexist.”
“We’re thrilled to have ‘Coexist’ recorded and released. We’ve been playing the song since we started the band in 2019, and it has always been a favourite at our live shows,” says Langille.
“I’m really glad that people who came to our early shows and supported us from the start can now listen whenever they please!”