The Stills

Biography

Montreal's the Stills are nothing like Interpol, but like those New York City suit-wearing hipsters, the Stills launched their career with a stately post-punk sound inspired by the likes of Echo & the Bunnymen and Joy Division. Having known one another since the age of 12, vocalist Tim Fletcher, drummer Dave Hamelin, guitarist Greg Paquet, and bassist Oliver Crowe played in various bands before forming the Stills in 2000. These art school students temporarily left their beloved Canada for a two-month stay in N.Y.C. to design a lush, swarthy pop style with the help of a four-track recorder. A deal with Vice followed before the year's end; however, joint shows with the Music, the Rapture, the Streets, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were what cemented the Stills a dominating spot among the ever-changing rock scene.

The Rememberese EP appeared in June 2003, while stateside dates with Interpol followed that fall. Logic Will Break Your Heart marked The Stills' full-length debut in October, and the band spent time touring the U.K. and North America before heading into the studio to record a second album in late 2004. Founding member Greg Paquet announced his departure from the lineup the following year, and drummer Dave Hamelin responded to the change by switching roles and filling Paquet's spot on guitar. Touring keyboardist Liam O'Neil and Sea Ray drummer Colin Brooks were also added to the lineup. The resulting Without Feathers, released in 2006, was something of a departure for the group, relying less on new wave and post-punk and more on rootsy, '70s heartland rock (Hamelin also became the band's co-frontman, sharing vocal duties with Fletcher). 2008's Oceans Will Rise saw the Stills stretching their boundaries even further, this time incorporating sonic experimentalism and uplifting, anthemic rock. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide