Still Life Still

History

Still Life Still is a Canadian indie rock band that came together in 1999, rooted in the Woodbine-Lumsden area of East York, Toronto. The core lineup has stayed consistent: guitarists and vocalists Brendon Saarinen and Eric Young, bassist Derek Paulin, drummer Aaron Romaniuk, and his brother Josh Romaniuk on keyboards and percussion. The original four members—Romaniuk, Young, Paulin, and Saarinen—met in elementary school and started playing together. Before settling on Still Life Still, they performed under the names Unreal and El Mo.

After building a local following, the band caught the attention of Mushroom Productions, a small DIY label and studio, through MySpace. The label saw them play at NXNE in 2005 and approached them afterward, inviting them to record. Within a week, they were in the studio laying down many of their early key songs.

Mushroom put out two albums of live recordings and two demo EPs in 2006 and 2007, which featured Alanna J. Brown, a childhood friend of the band. Physical copies of these releases are scarce. By 2007, Still Life Still had become a notable presence in the Toronto scene, earning two critics’ picks at NXNE that year.

While recording north of the city at Mushroom, the band connected with William New of the Drake Underground, which helped draw in more fans. Soon after, Kevin Drew caught a show at the Cameron House and signed them to Arts & Crafts. In 2009, they were featured as headliners in NOW Magazine’s NXNE issue, having joined what they considered their dream label. Recording with Drew and Martin Davis Kinack of Broken Social Scene began in 2008.

Their first commercial EP, Pastel, came out in June 2009, followed by their debut full-length album, Girls Come Too, that August. All songs were written and performed by the band, with lyrics containing explicit sexual references. To promote the album, they toured North America alongside The Most Serene Republic and The Hold Steady, and appeared on MTV Canada’s MTV Live in summer 2009. In early 2012, the track “Neon Blue” from Girls Come Too was used in the romantic drama The Vow, a film shot largely in Toronto.

The band then worked on a second studio album, Mourning Trance. Rolling Stone premiered the first song, “Burial Suit,” online on April 25, 2013, and the official single “In Enemies” followed on June 3, 2013. Mourning Trance was released on August 20, 2013. Their label now lists them as non-active.