Nameless Friends think big. Big sound. Big ideas. Big glitter. Go big or go home. Which is why the ferocious band from Ontario, Canada 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 record of Queen covers, recorded in front of a sold-out crowd at Torontoās Horseshoe Tavernābecause theyāre the kind of band that can actually pull off a Queen cover set, with all the musical chops and sense of camp that requires.Ā
This balance of grandeur and frankness has the female-fronted, queer band striking powerful chords with their original tunes. Theyāre likely the only commercial heavy band going to write a song about reproductive and menstrual rights (ā7 Years of Bloodā), and have amassed hundreds of thousands of views online for an epic āfeudā with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe over the rights of transgender children.
āWeāre trying to make music about the justice we want to see in the world, thatās also really bloody fun to listen toā says the lead singer, producer, and founding member known only to the outside world as Number One. āWeāve been described as modern glam, prog punk, metal-adjacent, hysterical pussy shit, and your new favourite band.ā
Nameless Friends' first EP, 2018's Mezzanine, received glowing reviews in Canada and Serbia, and single "The Flood" was featured on the City of Kingston's #YGKMusic Municipal playlist in 2022. Their self-produced debut album, Blasphemy, released in May 2023, was mixed by Andrew McLeod (Sunnsetter, Paper Bag Records) and mastered by Darcy Proper (Porcupine Tree, The Eagles). Blasphemy and its singles generated millions of views on Tiktok and Instagram, and garnered PR attention for the bandās politically active āknack for turning spite into rocket fuelā (Next Wave Magazine). The official music video for single āSympathy for Lilithā was also an Official Selection at the 2023 Forest City Film Festival. A fan-inspired followup, Blasphemy [Deluxe], followed in October 2024 with exclusive live versions of crowd favourites, and two new singles āMezzanineā and āBitter Manā headed to Canadian, UK, and US radio.
Nameless Friends has performed regularly across Canada since 2018, including Indie Week 2019 in Toronto, ON; the 2019 #JunosWeekend in London, ON; and showcases for the City of Markham and Western University. They opened for the The Flatliners at the Horseshoe Tavern's sold-out Stranded Fest in 2019, which is available online in audio/video as "Nameless Friends, Live At Stranded Fest". They were featured on the main stage at both Deep River Summerfest 2022 (3,000+ people) and London's UNESCO Music City NYE 2022 (15,000+ people); showcased at Bitchfest Toronto in March 2024, Regina Pride in June 2024, and VENUExVENUE in November 2024; and completed five successful legs of the āBlasphemy Release Tourā: central Canada in summer 2023, western Canada in fall 2023, eastern Canada in spring 2024, the UK and Ireland in summer 2024, and the [Deluxe] tour in fall 2024. They are delighted to share the stage on these tours, almost exclusively, with femme/queer-inclusive local bands.
In 2025, Nameless Friends is recording their anticipated sophomore LP āThe Quiet Part, Loudlyā at The Bathouse with Nyles Spencer (The Tragically Hip), and returning to the Canadian west and UK on the āWhat Doesnāt Kill You Tries Againā tour. They think you should come to a show š¤
"Raw and electrifying"
Nameless Friends take the UK by storm on 'Cross The Pond' tour ahead of upcoming album
EARMILK
"The London Ontario-based band have a knack for turning spite into rocket fuel"
Nameless Friends: Spite-fueled Chaotic Do-Gooders with Electric Guitars
Next Wave Magazine
"The perfect combination of power and melody"
Video Spotlight: Nameless Friends ā āMezzanineā
New Noise Magazine
"But you'd expect nothing less in the way of alchemy from a group whose first LP was a live album of Queen covers... Sexy gay baptism, anyone?"
Nameless Friends share āClassic Protagonist (Live)ā
Canadian Beats
"Nameless Friends raise holy hell... and they are willing to put their platform where their mouth is"
Nameless Friends Battle Religious Demons
Tinnitist
"The band intends to make a statement with its debut album. Loudly."
"Nameless Friends can be seen wearing uniforms, criticizing the government, and going through a lot of glitter"
Nameless Friends Aim for "World Domination"
Interrobang
āZa mikrofonom je atraktivna crnka u rekao bih, kasnim dvadesetim, koja baÅ” zna da peva i ima glas negde izmeÄu Krisi Hajnd iz Pretendersa i Edi Brikel. Da zna da peva pokazala je u vokalno najzahtevnijoj pesmi sa EP-ja, āFirstā koja kao da je izaÅ”la iz Sijetl kuhinje u vreme devedesetih, mada i u ostale Äetiri pesme ne zaostaje. Gitarski rad je uzbudljiv jer je raznolik i drugaÄiji iz pesme u pesmu. Äas ima alternativni prizvuk, Äas je u hard rock fazonu, dok prog Å”mek a la Dredg sve vreme ledbi negde iznad. Ritam sekcija je taÄna, neumoljivo precizna i pre svega zanimljiva jer nije samo u prateÄoj funkciji veÄ punopravno utiÄe na kompletnu zvuÄnu sliku. Produkcija je viÅ”e nego odliÄna, a naroÄito bih pohvalio zvuk bubnjeva, posebno doboÅ”a koji je dominantan i snimljen baÅ” na naÄin koji mi se dopada, naroÄito u pesmi āLittle Piecesā, ali i tokom celog mini albuma āMezzanineā koji vam ovde predstavljam.
āSvakim narednim sluÅ”anjem sam nalazio paralele sa mnogim bendovima, ali sam ih brzo i odbacivao i uporeÄivao sa nekim treÄim Å”to je znak da bend i pored toga Å”to je āsve veÄ odsviranoā ima svoj stil i svoj liÄni peÄat. āClassic Protagonistā je najÄvrÅ”Äa od pet koliko ih se nalazi na ploÄi i u nekim trenucima me je podsetila na njihove zemljake, najbolji kanadski bend ikada, Rushā¦ā
Nameless Friends - Mezzanine (EP)
Helly Cherry
The scale of Queen + the energy of PUP + the politics of Rage Against The Machine āØ
4 million+ views on TikTok
Showcase at VENUExVENUE 2024 + Regina Pride 2024 + Bitchfest 2024
Raised $1000 to date for Trans Lifeline and Rainbow Railroad from exclusive Snot Moe merch š³ļøāš
"Sympathy for Lilith", Forest City Film Festival 2023 Official Selection
You know those giant rolling plastic bins they use for hospital linens? That you can fit a couple of people inside? We filled one of those with menstrual product donations for a rad charity in our community, Anova
Featured performer, London's UNESCO Music City New Year's Eve 2022 (15,000+ attendance)
Co-headlined Deep River Summerfest 2022 (3,000 attendance)
Fan Favourite, Forest City London Music Awards 2022 nomination
"The Flood" included on the official YGK Kingston 2022 playlist