Mermaids Exist
Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2013 | SELF
Music
Press
Mermaids Exist can make anyone believe, not only in mermaids, but also in other mystical things like love and acoustic pop. The 5-piece Toronto band’s second EP, This Is Love, is a set of catchy acoustic guitar and piano-led tracks that showcase the band’s ability to write effective pop-rock songs
Mermaids Exist packs This Is Love with singable tunes that are tinged with acoustic folk. The folk elements on This Is Love are evident in the string accompaniments, bouncy folk style drum patterns, and acoustic guitar style. One tune that captures the essence of Mermaids Exist is their single, “Addicted”. Full of passion, the song describes the promise of a lasting love. It’s an “everything” tune that’s radio friendly and pleasing, yet still driven and challenging. Peeling back the layers of “Addicted” shows how it’s a delicately composed piece of music with a catchy pop chorus, impeccably blended vocal harmonies, an uplifting message, intricate guitar parts, and tasteful string accompaniment. “Addicted” is pop-folk that’s done well.
Mermaids Exist’s artistic range doesn’t begin or end with pop-folk. Out of the tunes on This Is Love, the track “Easier” stands out as a heavy rock tune with its amplified guitar and bass. It especially demonstrates the skill and talent of the lead vocalist. Whether their songs are amped up or presented as softer ballads, This Is Love is a display of Mermaids Exist’s sophisticated level of pop musicality.
Top Tracks: “Addicted”
Rating: Strong Hoot (Good) -
Discography
Breathe (2014)
This Is Love (2015)
Losing Colour (2017)
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Bio
That dog-eared truism about only getting one chance to make a first impression? It’s a windfall for fast-rising Toronto quintet Mermaids Exist, whose alternately luminous and scorching debut album Losing Colour is beguiling from the first chord to the last.
Opening salvos just don’t come more confident - or melodic or fully formed - than this, a point presciently underscored by the band’s 2016 Toronto Independent Music Award win for best adult contemporary act, bestowed nearly a year before Losing Colour’s arrival.
Clearly, the buzz is on. And with Mermaids Exist, it’s backed up by intricate, atmospheric yet utterly accessible pop/rock buoyed by three gifted songwriters, a pair of sibling lead vocalists, a heap of disparate but winning influences and, according to singer/songwriter and guitarist Jason Hopkins, a lifetime spent seeking the note-perfect lyric.
“Music offers such clarity. I love lyrics because I can write them and they can mean one thing to me and something else to you but they can make a difference. When I was in high school I was super-depressed; music turned that around for me. Listening and writing is therapy. And offering clarity to people who need it is a definitely a metric of success for me as an artist.”
As brother, singer/songwriter and keyboardist Geoff Hopkins notes, his band’s communal approach to making music ensures the unique strengths of all five members – lifelong friends from the ‘hood who have performed together since 2014 - are channelled into every song.
“Typically, one or two people will work on a song until they have the basic structure – lyrics, melody – before it comes to the band. At that point, everyone gets involved. Then it’s a matter of deciding which songs resonate and which we like playing most. We all trust each other and it’s a very collaborative process.”
Band Members
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