JUNO Award-Nominated Alternative-Rock Band Bleeker Releases New Album, Messed Up
JUNO and Canadian Radio Music Award-nominated alternative-rock band Bleeker have unveiled their brand new album, Messed Up, via Known Accomplice / Cadence Music Group.
Produced by Brian Moncarz (Alice Cooper, The Tea Party, Our Lady Peace) and the band’s own Chris Dimas (Marissa Burwell, Surf Dads, Flash Back), Messed Up is meticulously constructed. Each song on the 11-track album is uniquely crafted, from the blistering riffs of “Phenomenon,” to the introspective ballad “All Downhill From Here” and high-energy songs like “Cool”.
The album also includes the band’s past anthemic hits “Make It Better” and “Let’s Go,” which caught the NHL’s attention, recently becoming a staple in the 2024 playoff season soundtrack, and their most recent single “1998.”
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Taylor Perkins, I sing in the band Bleeker. Bleeker is myself, my brother Cole, our best friend Mike Van Dyk, who we’ve known since we were just kids, and the newest member Chris Dimas who is from Regina and we love him. Chris has been in the band for a while but he’s still the newest and youngest member.
Congratulations on the release of your new album, Messed Up! Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the album and what listeners can expect from it?
Thanks. Messed Up is a diverse collection of songs we are just really proud of. We feel like this is our most authentic work to date. I hope listeners find that there is a really good mix of moods and emotions on this record. It’s multisided. We’d like to think it’s a down-to-earth, honest album. It definitely has some recurring themes like feeling messed up, accepting who you are, and being ok with sometimes not being ok.
The album was produced by Brian Moncarz and Chris Dimas. How did their involvement contribute to the overall sound and production of Messed Up?
Brian’s an old friend who we have worked with before and we really like working with him. Chris is ours, he’s part of the band, family, and we are extremely comfortable with his opinions and the direction he likes to push the band in sonically. Both Chris and Brian produced tracks on the album, almost half and half. Chris has a few more. Chris mixed the entire album though so his contribution to the sound is pretty huge. We all get involved, Cole engineered a bunch of these tracks as well. It was a solid group effort.
You recently released the single, “1998.” What do you think it is about this song that resonates with listeners and continues to gain momentum?
It’s not a radio single but a fan favorite live. Every time we played it live people DM’d us asking where it was so we got it out there. “Let’s Go” is still the radio push, it’s 16 and still moving up. It’s also been in a ton of playoff hockey games which is pretty cool.
You’ll be embarking on a Canadian tour with Boston Levi. What can fans expect from your live performances? How do you bring your raw talent and magnetic energy to the stage?
The tour has been going amazing. Boston Levi are a great band and we’ve had a great time with them. How do we do it? I dunno, we just live to play live. So when we get out there it’s the best part of our day. We really just give every show our all and make an effort to always connect with the audience. Nothing beats the energy you get for your audience. That’s why we do it.
Lastly, How do you feel your music has evolved since your previous releases? Are there any new elements or influences that you’ve incorporated into your sound?
I think we’ve returned more to our rock roots, there are a lot of riffs on this album. There is a lot of who we really are. Like I said, this feels like the most authentic Bleeker album to date. Until we make the next one…and then I’ll say “actually this is the most authentic album we’ve made” BUT for now messed up IS the one. We are just really proud of it. We made a record with no outside influence and we love the results. We made it for us, but we think people will dig it too.
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