Canadian experimental duo Allegories blend electronic music, dream pop, shoegaze, and indie rock on their long-awaited new album, By Accident, On Purpose.
Experimental duo Allegories, featuring Adam Bentley and Jordan Mitchell, have released their long-awaited new album, By Accident, On Purpose, alongside the dreamy focus track “Glorious Vanity.”
Blending electronic music, indie rock, dream pop, and shoegaze, the album emerged from an unusual creative challenge: write every song on ukulele, remove the ukulele from the final recordings, and rebuild the compositions using electronic instrumentation.
What began as an attempt to simplify the songwriting process quickly became something far more ambitious.
“In theory, it seemed like a way to simplify our process. In reality, it opened up a million possibilities and often made the original song almost irrelevant.”
Beginning in 2021 and reaching completion in the summer of 2026, the project pushed Allegories to rethink their approach to songwriting, production, and collaboration.
Allegories Turn Creative Restrictions Into Musical Possibilities
For Adam Bentley and Jordan Mitchell, self-imposed creative restrictions have long been a way to break familiar songwriting habits.
On By Accident, On Purpose, those restrictions became the foundation for an album that constantly shifts between electronic experimentation and organic instrumentation.
Mitchell gradually transformed the original ukulele compositions into layered electronic arrangements, often burying the initial melodies beneath entirely new musical ideas. Bentley then introduced additional vocals and melodies, allowing the competing versions to evolve into something neither musician had originally envisioned.
Some songs retained recognizable elements from their earliest versions. Others changed almost beyond recognition.
The result is a record shaped by unexpected discoveries rather than predetermined outcomes.
The album’s evolution has already been documented through earlier releases, including “Pure Comedy” and “They’ll Never Suspect Us”, both previously featured on Canadian Beats Media.
“Glorious Vanity” Captures the Album’s Experimental Spirit
The album’s focus track, “Glorious Vanity,” offers one of the clearest examples of Allegories’ willingness to embrace the unexpected.
Of all the songs on By Accident, On Purpose, “Glorious Vanity” underwent perhaps the most dramatic transformation. By the time the recording was complete, only the title remained from its original ukulele composition.
The finished track moves into dreamy, ethereal territory, creating an immersive listening experience that reflects the album’s broader sense of exploration.
Rather than holding onto their initial vision, Bentley and Mitchell allowed the song to develop naturally, following new ideas wherever they led.
Watch the official VHS-style video for “Glorious Vanity” below.
By Accident, On Purpose Brings Electronic and Indie Rock Influences Together
Although Allegories initially planned to rebuild their songs primarily through electronic instrumentation, the recording process gradually brought more organic sounds back into the mix.
Guitars, which were largely absent from the duo’s 2022 album Endless, returned alongside live drums and bass. Shoegaze-inspired textures also emerged, reconnecting the musicians with elements of their earlier work in the indie rock band The Rest.
Those influences helped shape an album that exists somewhere between the duo’s musical past and their more experimental present.
Throughout By Accident, On Purpose, electronic production meets atmospheric dream pop, indie rock instrumentation, unconventional arrangements, and moments of melodic immediacy.
The album reflects Allegories’ willingness to abandon familiar formulas, allowing contrasting musical ideas to coexist.