‘Keep It To Yourself’ / ‘OKAY’ out now via New Damage Records
Beloved Canadian post-hardcore trailblazers Rarity have returned with their first new music in three years. Today, the revered four-piece have released two new songs, ‘Keep It To Yourself’ and ‘OKAY’, taken from their eagerly-awaited, yet-to-be-revealed third album – due for release later this year via New Damage Records. Check out the video here.
Rarity vocalist Loeden Learn comments on ‘Keep It To Yourself’:
“‘Keep It To Yourself’ is a song about the daily mental struggle that keeps us locked in, unable to even leave our room. It captures the challenge of mustering the energy to simply socialize with friends and family, even when you’re otherwise comfortable with them and see them most days. It depicts the difficulty of accomplishing the simplest tasks, such as picking up the phone when someone texts or calls, cleaning up after yourself, and even taking care of basic human needs like eating or personal hygiene. Times get tough, and your mind isn’t always your friend. It illustrates how a house can feel like a prison when your mind also feels like one.”
Originally uniting in 2014, the members of Rarity started touring straight out of high school and quickly amassed an avid following. In 2015, the Hamilton, ON-based outfit dropped their debut EP, Alive in Your Eyes, featuring the breakout single ‘Anne Hathaway’ and showcasing a mature blend of buoyant pop-punk and intricate post-hardcore that belied their relative youth.
A critically-acclaimed full-length, I Couldn’t Be Weaker, came the next year and, with fan-favourites like ‘Stranger’ and ‘Exhale’, proved the band’s quick rise to prominence was well-earned. Rarity saw their stock soar to impressive heights with high-profile tours and festival slots and, for a while, it seemed that they were unstoppable.
But then, in 2017, the band watched as their foundation started to weather and crumble. They faced a cesspool of legal struggles, illnesses, strained relationships, and the departure of two founding members. That left drummer Evan Woods, singer Loeden Learn, and guitarist Adam Clarke with some difficult decisions.
It would’ve been easy to throw in the towel – and they almost did – but self-doubt, strain, and conflict soon spurred unbridled creativity and Rarity, augmented by the addition of bassist Cole Gardner in 2018, realised there was plenty to fight for.
The band emerged in 2019 with their critically praised comeback record The Longest Lonesome, which was still rooted in accessible, hook-laden melodies, but with a sharper edge and more potent distillation of their various influences – from metal and hardcore to pop-punk, alternative, and much in between.
Now, Rarity look forward to starting their next chapter in 2024, re-energised and with a new found wealth of creativity, as they continue to carve their own niche in the pop-punk/post-hardcore scene.
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