Beliefs

Toronto's Beliefs started out as a shoegaze duo before eventually putting aside their wall-of-sound guitar attack and embracing a more stripped-down, spacious form of synth-heavy post-punk. The group formed in 2010 when vocalists/multi-instrumentalists Josh Korody and Jesse Crowe met and bonded over noise pop groups like <a href="spotify:artist:5UqTO8smerMvxHYA5xsXb6">Sonic Youth</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3G3Gdm0ZRAOxLrbyjfhii5">My Bloody Valentine</a>. They began playing gigs around their home city and eventually signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Hand+Drawn+Dracula%22">Hand Drawn Dracula</a>, which issued their debut single, "Catch My Breath," in 2012. The duo's self-titled debut full-length appeared in 2013, quickly followed by a split 7" single with <a href="spotify:artist:2Aqdb3j9ZlBUuCgnnBtsNw">Greys</a>. Beliefs performed at several music festivals and shared the stage with groups such as <a href="spotify:artist:3kx1S2P2Qq3a9bG4DGsAjR">A Place to Bury Strangers</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1xgFexIwrf2QjbU0buCNnp">the Breeders</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3UkN1XeK2D4wD4uhtJx4vb">Suuns</a>. Their second full-length, Leaper, appeared in 2015, and the duo contributed a cover of "Sound of Thunder" to Making Patterns Rhyme: A Tribute to Duran Duran. Third album Habitat arrived in 2017, and was a turning point for Beliefs, with a greater emphasis on electronics than guitars, and a gloomier sound recalling <a href="spotify:artist:7bu3H8JO7d0UbMoVzbo70s">the Cure</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6liAMWkVf5LH7YR9yfFy1Y">Portishead</a>. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi