By Madison Gummow
If you’re looking for a new local band to support, it doesn’t get much more local than Dead Friends. Three of the five members, Jesse Ladd, Carter Mackie and Brian Musilek, are NAIT students. Callum Harvey and Ellen Reade, the other two members are also Edmonton natives.
“We started about three years ago, but we’ve developed a lot since we started. We’ve released a full length EP, we’ve gone on a couple Canadian tours and now we’re about to release another full length and embark on a US tour,” said Harvey.
Supplied photo.
The band has changed their sound over the years with each release sounding a bit different.
“When we started we were more like a garage rock band but then with our second release we made it more a little bit more western. Although we do fit within a certain genre, we have the ability to do a lot more and adapt to different styles,” said Harvey.
They describe their overall sound as of late as an unusual mix of different genres.
“Definitely psychedelic,” said Mackie.
“Kind of like a mix between country and surf,” said Ladd.
“It’s like a psychedelic cowboy on a surfboard,” said Mackie.
They say their new song, Molly, has a message they believe everyone can relate to, especially students.
“We have a new song coming out February 14. It’s called Molly, named after my dog. Has nothing to do about the dog or the drug,” said Ladd.
“It’s about having faith in something, putting all your effort towards it, achieving it and then finding out it was never worth it,” said Mackie.
Supplied photo.
The exact sound can’t be explained in one generic word. Dead Friends say all five of their personalities can be heard in this track.
“As much as it is a group, we all individually add our own styles into too so each of our own sound comes through in it,” Mackie said.
“There’s quite a bit of country influence in it, not so much modern country but more like ‘Berta influence. I’ve really been into the west coast sort of punk music so there’s a bit of that coming through,” Ladd said.
“If you like pop music, if you like catchy choruses and interesting guitar parts then you’ll probably like it,” said Harvey.
Dead Friends can be found on all platforms and will be playing the evening of April 11 at The Aviary in Edmonton.
