  The Stills (Handout) |
It’s been a tough week for Canadian indie-rock.
First, Vancouver dance-punks You Say Party announced they were going on hiatus. Now The Stills have thrown in the towel too.
“Simply put, The Stills have broken up,” according to a notice posted on the Montreal pop-rock quintet’s website Friday. “After the better part of a decade together, several months ago we sat down and decided to disband The Stills and part ways.”
It’s not clear which member of the band wrote the statement, which doesn’t explain the reasons behind the split but does suggest it didn’t come out of the blue.
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“We spent the better part of the last year trying to keep it going for each other, out of love for one another and out of respect for our long past together. But ultimately ... in order for each of us to live fully, creatively, and freely, being true to our hearts, this had to happen.”
The band — guitarists Tim Fletcher, Dave Hamelin and Gregory Paquet, bassist Olivier Corbeil and keyboardist Liam O'Neil — put out three albums during their decade-long career. The latest, 2008’s Oceans Will Rise, earned them Juno Awards for alternative album and new group of the year in 2009.
Shortly after those wins, an optimistic Hamelin viewed them as the start of brighter days for the band.
“I feel relieved that this might get people to listen a little more,” he said. “It gives us a better shot. It's less of an uphill battle now. I think we're going to keep climbing ... and I think we're going to have a little more time in the sun before things go south.”
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