in our own words*

*with a little help from Michael Barclay and Eric Alper

Nameless Friends think big. Big music. Big sound. Big ideas. Go big or go home. Which is why the ferocious rock band from London, Ontario, wrote their debut, original album “Blasphemy” (2023) about some of the biggest problems facing the modern world: right-wing bigotry, gendered violence, climate change, and economic inequality.

Fun times, right? But Nameless Friends is not a dour band. Far from it. This is also the band who put out a live album of Queen covers, recorded in front of a sold-out crowd at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern—because they’re the kind of band that can actually pull off a Queen cover set, with all the musical chops and sense of camp that requires. 

This balance of grandeur and frankness has the female-fronted, multicultural, queer-inclusive band striking powerful chords with their original tunes. They’re likely the only commercial rock band in the world to write a song about reproductive and menstrual rights (“7 Years of Blood”), and have amassed hundreds of thousands of views online for an epic “feud” with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe over the rights of transgender children.

“We’re trying to make music about the justice we want to see in the world, that’s also really bloody fun to listen to” says the lead singer, producer, and founding member known only to the outside world as Number One. “If anyone has ever dared to tell you that their sky daddy doesn't love you, this record is for you.” A revolving cast of fellow members - including Number Two, Number Three, Number Four, Number Five, Number Six, and Number Seven - concur.

Blasphemy is out on May 19, 2023. It was mixed by Andrew McLeod (Sunnsetter) and mastered by Darcy Proper at Proper Prent Sound. The band is touring across Canada to support it, hitting the prairies in fall 2023 and the east coast in spring 2024.

words from others

Nameless Friends: Spite-fueled Chaotic Do-Gooders with Electric Guitars
Next Wave Magazine

Nameless Friends Know What You Need
Tinnitist

Nameless Friends shares new single... (Interview)
Canadian Beats

Nameless Friends Aim for "World Domination" in 2023
Interrobang


Press for Demons

Tinnitist  •   Canadian Beats  •   Record World  •  Cashbox Canada  


Press for Need

Record World  •  Cashbox Canada  •  Maximum Volume  •  FindYourSounds


Press for Mezzanine

Helly Cherry (Serbia)

“Za mikrofonom je atraktivna crnka u rekao bih, kasnim dvadesetim, koja baš zna da peva i ima glas negde između Krisi Hajnd iz Pretendersa i Edi Brikel. Da zna da peva pokazala je u vokalno najzahtevnijoj pesmi sa EP-ja, “First” koja kao da je izašla iz Sijetl kuhinje u vreme devedesetih, mada i u ostale četiri pesme ne zaostaje. Gitarski rad je uzbudljiv jer je raznolik i drugačiji iz pesme u pesmu. Čas ima alternativni prizvuk, čas je u hard rock fazonu, dok prog šmek a la Dredg sve vreme ledbi negde iznad. Ritam sekcija je tačna, neumoljivo precizna i pre svega zanimljiva jer nije samo u pratećoj funkciji već punopravno utiče na kompletnu zvučnu sliku. Produkcija je više nego odlična, a naročito bih pohvalio zvuk bubnjeva, posebno doboša koji je dominantan i snimljen baš na način koji mi se dopada, naročito u pesmi “Little Pieces”, ali i tokom celog mini albuma “Mezzanine” koji vam ovde predstavljam.

“Svakim narednim slušanjem sam nalazio paralele sa mnogim bendovima, ali sam ih brzo i odbacivao i upoređivao sa nekim trećim što je znak da bend i pored toga što je “sve već odsvirano” ima svoj stil i svoj lični pečat. “Classic Protagonist” je najčvršća od pet koliko ih se nalazi na ploči i u nekim trenucima me je podsetila na njihove zemljake, najbolji kanadski bend ikada, Rush…”