Today, Canadian rock duo The Blue Stones have shared “Grim,” the second single off their upcoming sophomore album out on Entertainment One (“eOne”) next year. “Grim” finds the band exploring a more experimental sound, blending lo-fi beats with a hip-hop-inspired vocal approach while still remaining true to their alternative-blues roots. Following the success of “Shakin’ Off The Rust,” the track showcases the band’s continued lyrical growth as vocalist Tarek Jafar takes a darker look into his vices. In addition to the new single, the band has announced their North American ‘Hidden Gems’ Tour in early 2020 with support from JJ Wilde on the U.S. dates and Mute Choir on the Canadian dates. You can stream “Grim” here now, watch the visual accompaniment on YouTube, and find tickets for the tour on sale here.
About the track, the band states:
“People ask us what ‘direction’ we’re heading in for our new material. ‘Grim’ is a pretty good representation of that. We drew from a myriad of genres that we love, and wrote a song that makes you feel so good about being bad.”
When Tarek Jafar and Justin Tessier formed The Blue Stones, they were facing uncertainty about who they were individually. What they did know for sure, though, was that they wanted to make music together – and, so they did. Following the success of their debut album, Black Holes, the band quickly found a following in the alternative rock world that lead to them sharing the stage with the likes of grandson, Welshly Arms, and Reignwolf. As they began working on new music, The Blue Stones caught the attention of producer, Paul Meany (Mutemath, Twenty One Pilots), with whom they would eventually enter the studio with this past summer. Working with Meany lead to The Blue Stones exploring – and creating – music in a different way than they had before, and led to a new approach by Jafar when it came to tackling lyrics. The result was the band truly discovering who they were during the writing process. They’ve crafted something that shimmers with such purity and truth – musically and lyrically – that one can’t help but be swept up and carried off by the songs that will eventually form their as-yet-untitled sophomore album slated for release on Entertainment One next year. The duo may be redefining who they are, but their decision to pursue the rock’n’roll dream holds as strong as ever as they enter the next stage of their journey.
