Living Hour

Living Hour’s expansive, gently psychedelic dream pop is distinguished by lovelorn melodies, transient polyrhythms, and an instrument palette that includes multiple voices, Organelle, and brass in addition to keyboards, guitars, and drums. They made their full-length debut in 2015 with Living Hour. Following in 2019, Softer Faces’ production team included Jarvis Taveniere and Kurt Feldman, while Melina Duterte (Jay Som) was among the crew of 2022′s Someday Is Today.
After forming in Winnipeg, Canada, Living Hour released their first basement recordings in September 2013, including a cover of the White Stripes’ “In the Cold, Cold Night” and the original song “There Is No Substance Between.” Already establishing a woozy, slow-moving style, their first studio recording arrived in early 2014 in the form of the single “Steady Glazed Eyes.” Establishing the core lineup of Samantha Sarty (lead vocals, keyboards), Adam Soloway (guitar, vocals), and Gil Carroll (guitar, vocals), their eponymous debut album followed a year later. It received a limited-cassette release from Bloomington, Indiana-based Tree Machine Records in April 2015 before it was picked up for a wider release by another U.S. label, Portland’s Lefse Records, in February 2016.
By the time Living Hour recorded their second album, the group had settled into the expanded lineup of Sarty, Soloway, Carroll, Brett Ticzon (bass, vocals), and Alex Chochinov (drums, organelle, trumpet). With production by Kurt Feldman of the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Woods’ Jarvis Taveniere, Softer Faces was released on Kanine Records in February 2019. Down to a four-piece with the departure of Chochinov, their next album featured guests including Jason Tait (Broken Social Scene, the Weakerthans) on drums. It also saw Ticzon expanding his role to include multiple instruments and found the group’s core members rotating lead vocals. With tracks produced this time by Melina Duterte (Jay Som), Jonathan Schenke (Parquet Courts, Pottery), and Samur Khouja (Cate Le Bon, Gruff Rhys), Someday Is Today arrived on Kanine in September 2022. ~ Marcy Donelson