Montreal indie/pop group Hansom Ēli today unveils their new single “Rails,” a comforting and engaging track with an inviting, warm sound.
“Rails” offers a sonic embrace and highlights the band’s signature style, providing an exciting preview of new music coming this year via label The Vault.
Hansom Ēli, a duo made up of Camille and Alexy Guérer, skillfully blends folk, indie-pop, and electronic sounds for a style that feels both free and eclectic. Themes of ecology and nature are woven through their music, reflected in both their thought-provoking lyrics and the integration of nature recordings and samples. Their commitment to environmental sustainability extends beyond their music; they created two videos for Earth Day’s YouTube channel and regularly highlight these issues in their social media.
The duo’s songwriting process is spontaneous, finding the right words through improvisation. This is how they landed on their name, Hansom Ēli—a playful exploration of gender norms. The compliment “handsome” is often attributed to men, so they decided to make it gender-neutral and make it their own. Inspired by artists like Billie Eilish, Peter Gabriel, Mutemath, and Snarky Puppy, the Guérer siblings sing in French, English, and even dabble in Spanish.
Since their 2019 debut EP, Yesterday, Hansom Ēli has achieved notable milestones. These include a PDV grant from RBCxMusic and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, plus the use of their song “Summer Rise” in a Tourisme Montréal campaign. They’ve also performed at notable festivals like SXSW, Pop Montreal, Osheaga and Francos de Montréal. Their pandemic-focused work on the web series STUCK (TFO / ONFR+) further broadened their reach.