Canadian trio Afternoon Bike Ride could be described as a low-key supergroup; all three members established themselves as musicians in their respective genres prior to forming the band. Made up of Lia Kurihara (lia), David Tanton (tender spring) and Éloi Le Blanc-Ringuette (Thomas White), Afternoon Bike Ride deliver refined emotional storytelling through a lens of avant-garde production. Lia’s vocals convey distorted anxieties in the January release, ‘Nothing In Particular’. A single from their sophomore album ‘Glossover’ and released via Friends of Friends, it touches on themes that Kurihara has described as “a cycle of frustration and grief”:

“This song explores mixed up emotions about caretaking for my dad, where on the one hand all I want to do is spend time with him and cherish where he’s at and on the other hand it’s challenging my sense of self as someone in my twenties who shouldn’t have to be burdened with this responsibility. There’s an element of guilt for any resentment that I feel which is why the song starts with

“I’d never want to make you feel I’m haunted / by what I have to do to keep you well.”

When I listen to new music, it’s a very solitary experience. I love taking away my initial interpretations and feelings and learning what the writer’s inspirations were, and I was actually surprised when I learned the specificity of the experience Kurihara elegantly weaves during ‘Nothing In Particular’. The universality of this track can be felt throughout; fearing for a loved one’s health; feeling guilty when you recognise the burdens we often carry for others; craving the fleetingness of less troublesome days after they have passed. Afternoon Bike Ride relay all this and more in barely 3 and a half minutes, and feels like an exercise in healing when it’s done.

Listen to ‘Nothing In Particular’ now on Spotify:

‘Glossover’, the new album from Afternoon Bike Ride is available to stream now: