Partner announce new EP + share ‘Fear That Closes the Heart’

Partner press photo

Partner are back with a new single and video Fear That Closes the Heart. Dressed in their best Depeche Mode meets Rob Halford outfits, the video was directed by sister hip-hop duo Eboshi and Contra aka Cartel Madras. This single follows recent songs Not Today and Time Is A Car.

A message from Partner: “This was the very first song we wrote during our sessions on Gabriola Island. The song is about fear, and how the sensation of fear can prevent someone from feeling like they’re living in the moment. We drew influence from Heart and 80s pop rock. The summer after we wrote this song, we went to the Folk on the Rocks music festival in Yellowknife, and participated in a collaborative project called “Emerging Wildly” with Celeigh Cardinal and Cartel Madras. When Cartel Madras showed us their videos we immediately knew we wanted to work with them. We were blown away by the cinematography and their vision. We are so happy to present this video that they absolutely knocked out of the park.”  

Message from Director(s) Cartel Madras: “When directing Fear That Closes The Heart, we wanted to reflect where the song lived nostalgically and emotionally. People always do stupid shit and can be stuck in bad relationships. But, when thinking of an enigmatic, but recognizable “back then”, we think of people stuck in the banal and then suddenly doing passionate, impulsive things. And, we also think of life being painted in a twee haze of pretty colours, monotonous but picturesque scenes. That’s what we wanted to bring to this track; a familiar, sentimental story of a love that could not be, but a love that is triumphant. Who knows what happens next, all that we know is that love made it through. I’m sure we could all use even a hint of that certainty in our current lives.” – Eboshi

During a brief period in 2020 when it was safe to travel, the band headed to Gabriola Island on British Columbia’s West Coast where they quarantined themselves for 14 days in a cabin writing and rehearsing and headed into the studio for 7 days at The Noise Floor Recording Studio. Fear That Closes the Heart is the third song from this session, the rest will be out October 7 on their new EP ‘Time Is A Car’. Watch the video for Fear That Closes the Heart via YouTube below.

Lucy and Josée formed Partner in the spring of 2014. They were looking to experiment with genre, discuss being gay, and share some jokes and ideas. Their objective has remained the same over the past eight years, although in that time their sound has shifted considerably.

Partner have released two albums ‘In Search of Lost Time‘ (2017) which was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize and ‘Never Give Up‘ (2020). Partner were also the recipients of the SOCAN songwriting prize for their song Play the Field which is also the theme tune to the TV series Slo Pitch.

Partner have worked with Chris Shaw (Ween, Bob Dylan, Cheap Trick), recorded a Tiny Desk for NPR’s All Songs Considered, been featured in Stereogum, Rolling Stone, Exclaim, CBC Music, Indie 88 and many more. 

Partner have also released an EP ‘Saturday the 14th’ which found the duo embarking on bolder and more playful compositional excursions. Partner like to push the boundaries of what people expect and constantly re-invent their passion for rock. ‘Time Is A Car’ is the next step along their journey of shredding guitar pop post-classic-rock and pays homage to Heart, Pat Benatar, Stevie Nicks and many other great women of 80s rock.

Tour dates 2022
Aug 21 – PRIDE, Fredericton NB
Sep 29 – Pop Montreal, Montreal QC
Oct 05 – Mills Hardware, Hamilton ON
Oct 06 – Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto ON
Oct 07 – Meteor, Windsor ON

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