Jennifer Di (vocals & synths/guitar) and Mike Allain (drums & synths/progamming) make up the Vancouver based alternative-synth pop duo, Evil Tongues. Both with past careers as an audio engineer and as a production assistant, these two up and coming artists know the ins and outs of the music industry. “We’ve both been working professionals in the Music Industry for years, and one day we decided we wanted to trade from being backstage, working behind the scenes, to being the ones on the stage performing. We both had a love for 80s and analog sounds and wanted to bring our own fresh take on the genre.” Originally forming in 2017, the major hit on the industry due to the pandemic saw the pair with ample time to focus on the band. Mike says, “We started writing music together back in 2017 and once the pandemic hit we took the opportunity to push forward, record and release our music.”
With the success of the band’s first single “Fine”, Evil Tongues geared up for their second single titled, “Energy For This”. This track was impressively recorded with platinum certified Canadian music producer Nygel Asselin, mixed by Juno award winning Canadian engineer Kevin Dietz and mastered by Grammy award winning Emily Lazar (Sia, Foot Fighters) and Chris Allgood out of The Lodge in Manhattan. When asked about the meaning behind this new track, Jennifer says, “This song is about a relationship that I gave everything to and completely lost myself in the process. I had moved to a new province for my partner, and no matter what I did over the course of the year I lived there, my partner felt I always had one foot out the door. Nothing I could do or say would change his mind that at any moment I was ready to leave. He started treating me like I was gone months before I ultimately decided to leave. I was a ball of depression, anxiety and insomnia and was a shell of the person I used to be by the time I decided to leave. During one argument in particular I was told that he didn’t “have energy” to deal with me, which is where the chorus of the song comes from.” Both songs have touched on tough yet relatable topics such as mental health which is so refreshing. When asked how this single differs from their debut, Jennifer says, “Our previous release the song explores the relationship with myself, where this song focuses on my relationship with another person. Both of them look at the topic of mental health.”
The alt-pop band teamed up with LyricVids to bring their love for retro video games and that classic 8-bit nostalgia to life. On April 29th, they released a professional lyric video to pair with their newest single “Energy For This”. When asked why they chose a lyric video they said, “We were looking for something clean and visually effective to help showcase this song, and we felt a lyric video was the perfect option for the release.” Taking immediate inspiration from their single cover, the lyric video features an old rounded television screen displaying static images with a heavy focus on the lyrics. The retro tv screen is identical to that of their first lyric video for “Fine” which is a smart choice for creating brand cohesiveness, especially as they are new to the music scene and growing their fanbase. The looping pixel visuals pair perfectly with their unique 80s cinematic sound – one that you just can’t help but fall in love with. They’re colourful and nostalgic, capturing that same wistful energy as the synthesizers whilst delivering meaningful lyrics. The glowing 8-bit font is great and as the words type out one character at a time, it is evident that this music video is lyric focused. Taking further inspiration from the single cover, the band really wanted to showcase that retro heart shaped “life meter” – slowly draining and filling again throughout the song. I think the choice to have the energy become completely depleted at the end was *chefs kiss*! When asked about their favourite part of the video, Jennifer says, “I love the old school video game feel that we were able to achieve with this video. My partner was very into video games, so having that aesthetic has a deeper meaning for me, and for the song lyrics.”
Evil Tongues assures us there will be more 80s inspired altpop soon enough as well as live performances to look forward to! You can follow them across all social media and music streaming platforms @eviltongues
Check out the lyric video for Evil Tongues “Energy For This” on YouTube here: