Toronto screamo (and more) band Respire have announced a followup to 2020’s great Black Line, Hiraeth, due July 26 via their new label home, Dine Alone Records (pre-order). “The album serves as a tribute to those who have uprooted their lives and their families in search of hope and a better future,” the band says. “It also serves as a cautionary tale to those who remain complacent, falsely secure in the privileges of their illusory societal positions. Hiraeth is a manifesto of the immigrant experience; a call for all of us to embrace our shared humanity, awaken to the fragility of our existence, and confront the crises we face collectively before it’s too late.”
The album was engineered by Sean Pearson, mixed and mastered by Jack Shirley, and features “numerous collaborators,” and the first single is “Distant Light of Belonging.” It swirls together harsh screamo, melodic emo, metallic fury, uplifting horns, and more, and it’s a very triumphant first taste. “The video is a look back at the past ten years of Respire,” the band says, “featuring Mini DV footage captured on tour and in the studio, as well as live performances at venues that range from a basement in Toronto, to a festival in the English countryside, to a rooftop in Mexico City. It truly was a collective effort, featuring footage shot by many of our friends and collaborators, and edited by us; a testament to the fact that community and friendship are the antidote to the alienation and isolation we often feel.” Check it out below.
Tracklist
1. Keening
2. The Match, Consumed
3. Distant Light of Belonging
4. First Snow
5. Home of Ash
6. Voiceless; Nameless
7. The Sun Sets Without Us
8. We Grow Like Trees in Rooms of Borrowed Light
9. Do the Birds Still Sing?
10. Farewell (In Standard)
Respire — 2024 Tour Dates
May 31 Montreal, QC Casa Del Popolo
June 1 Gatineau, QC Minotaure / Festival LOURD
June 2 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace / Prepare The Ground Festival
September 14 Richmond, VA The Broadberry / Dark Days, Bright Nights