COMMON DEER UNLEASH DEBUT ALBUM MAXIMALIST TODAY
SHARE STANDOUT TRACK NEGATIVE THOT
SPECIAL GUESTS TO JESUS JONES ON MAY 15 IN TORONTO AT THE EL MOCAMBO
“Straight up vulnerability. Straight up honesty. A real
human experience.” – George Strombo
“ …catchy songs with biting lyrics and titles that tickle my fancy…” – 3am Revelations
TORONTO, ON – APRIL 1, 2022 – Today, Toronto’s 80s-inspired modern synth-pop band, Common Deer, release their debut full-length album, MAXIMALIST, and share album standout track, Negative Thot. Check out the driving and undeniable earworm here and stream the empowering and bold debut album here. To further celebrate the record the band will be playing a hometown Toronto show, as special guests to Jesus Jones, on May 15 at the El Mocambo – get your tickets here.
“A 'maximalist' is someone who holds strong opinions and is unwilling to waver on them, which is the larger theme of this album and the circumstances surrounding its recording. MAXIMALIST is Common Deer without concession or compromise,” offers the band. “Contrary to the past releases, a lot of the themes come from a place of anger, rather than joy or optimism, and that’s reflected in the lyrics. Lyrically, the album addresses mental illness, addiction, abuse, the music industry, and intimate relationships with raw vulnerability.”
Mostly completed before the pandemic, the four-piece band - comprised of two sets of siblings: Sheila Hart (vocals), Adam Hart (guitar, synthesizer), Liam Farrell (percussion, samples), and Connor Farrell (bass) - created MAXIMALIST with producer, Luke Roes, at his “small but mighty studio” in London, Ontario. A close friend of Adam’s since his band, Ivory Hours, shared a bill with Common Deer in 2016, Sheila says, “We had a great personal relationship, and he’s really pushed me as a songwriter.”
This bounds-pushing songwriting style is especially prevalent on the deeply personal tracks Fuckboi, Guts and LonelyFans. Fuckboi is a diss to a guy Sheila dated who ghosted her - but after her BPD diagnosis she realized “girl, maybe you’re the problem.” Guts is about being disrespected as a young woman in the music industry; and LonelyFans is a reflection of how she might have spent time during the pandemic had she been born just a few years later.
On the album standout, Negative Thot, Sheila says: “This track is a twisty look at reveling in your absolute worst. Just because I’m mentally ill, doesn’t mean I’m always miserable – sometimes you have to have fun with it.”
"MAXIMALIST is a celebration of excess and a refusal to compromise, however misguided that might be.”
Dive in to Common Deer's MAXIMALIST world and stay tuned for more to come from the band this year!