Aside from one emergency landing in a mountainous border town, neither member of Sackville, N.B. rock band Partner has ever visited British Columbia intentionally.
That changes this month when the duo – Josée Caron and Lucy Niles – embark on their first West Coast tour, which comes to the Queen’s in Nanaimo on Thursday, Feb. 21.
Last year Partner’s debut album, a blast of ’90s-style guitar rock called In Search of Lost Time, was shortlisted for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize.
They’re currently working on their next record, but in the meantime the duo is releasing a five-song EP, entitled Saturday the 14th, in April.
Niles said they didn’t feel any pressure following up their Polaris-nominated record.
“The thing about an EP for me, I’ve always found, is it’s kind of like you can do whatever you want because it’s maybe not as much like canon … this is us just dropping in to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got a little something to say, it’s not a whole album, hope you like it,’” she said.
Among the tracks on the EP is an ode to Canadian music store chain Long and McQuaid.
“The EP is pretty random,” Caron said. “I think we really just let loose and did whatever the hell we wanted. I feel like that’s a way to respond to pressure, is to just do what you want.”
Niles said their second album will be “groovy” and “more grown up,” since they wrote most of In Search of Lost Time when they were in their early 20s. She said their musicianship has also matured but their style will remain recognizable.
Caron said from her perspective “on the ground” it’s hard to tell if Partner’s popularity has profited from the Polaris push. But as the one in charge of the group’s Instagram account, Niles said she keeps a closer eye on the buzz and has a rough idea of the number of followers they have.
But she agrees with her bandmate in the sense that the day-to-day can feel the same.
“When you’re just chilling at home, doing your dishes or whatever, and not leaving your house much, like what we tend to do, you kind of forget that anybody cares,” Niles said. “And then you go play a show and there’s a bunch of people there that know all your songs, so it’s really wild.”
WHAT’S ON … Partner performs at the Queen’s on Thursday, Feb. 21. Doors open at 7 p.m., show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the door or $12 in advance from the Queen’s, Lucid, Desire Tattoo, Sunrise Records, or online.
arts@nanaimobulletin.com
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