Yes We Mystic shares their third LP, Trust Fall – and no longer exist
The end of Yes We Mystic has come. After first announcing their final album and future breakup back in August, the band proceeded to release three singles, a performance art phone hotline, and host a sold-out retrospective screening; now, the ‘art rock luminaries’ share Trust Fall, third and final album of their decade-long existence, which arrived on October 21, 2022, on vinyl and streaming services via DevilDuck Records.
Having grown from high schoolers making music in a basement in Winnipeg into an internationally touring indie powerhouse, Yes We Mystic’s five members – (Adam Fuhr, Keegan Steele, Jensen Fridfinnson, Jodi Plenert, and Jordon Ottenson) found their lives pulled in different directions as they headed into their tenth year together. After exploring a breakup, they decided they couldn’t abandon their new songs, having recognized that they were writing the strongest material of their career. The members made a pact to extend the life of the band, then redoubled their efforts to perfect their sound before parting ways.
Trust Fall was recorded over 36 days at House of Wonders (Winnipeg), the band’s second full-length to be produced by Fuhr. The ten-song album is the band’s most cohesive and nuanced work, a seesaw of stark, tender vulnerability and frenzied bombast brought to life by the band and their tight-knit web of collaborators.
“Before we recorded one note of this album we had confronted the fact that it would be our last, and we’re thankful to have gotten the opportunity to make a final statement together. The reception and outpouring from people who care about the band has been really overwhelming and really touching.” shares Yes We Mystic songwriter/vocalist/producer Adam Fuhr. “This was an immensely collaborative album. The knowledge that the band was coming to an end gave us the idea to really expand beyond ourselves and open up the recording process to lots of different people.”
The towering and euphoric “Head Rush” features Oliver Macharia on saxophone (of Polaris Prize nominated Super Duty Tough Work). At the same time, the meditative “Dead Bolt” is shared with the Winnipeg band Virgo Rising. “Long Dream” and “Trap Door” welcomed Chelliot Osuntade of Julien’s Daughter/JayWood on bass, and the album’s epic closing track “Sun Room” features a sample by ambient project Gòra. An album highlight, piano-centric “High Beams,” leaves the listener with a nostalgia for the present – as it inevitably slips through one’s fingers. Fuhr trades vocals with Fridfinnson throughout, signing off with the lines, “I’m alive right now with you, That’s the one thing I can lose,” toeing the line between existential dread and romance. The record was mixed by John Paul Peters (Tanya Tagaq, Begonia) and mastered by Cam Loeppky (The Weakerthans, The Constantines).
Fuhr adds, “To get to send off this band – and this chapter of our lives – with intention, with some meaning, it’s not something that everyone gets and not something we take lightly. We’re grateful to all the people who have helped make this happen.”
In August, Yes We Mystic launched an interactive toll-free choose-your-own-adventure style phone line in support of Trust Fall. The hotline has been called hundreds of times from locations all over the world since its launch. Still, the band only recently revealed its central secret – if you picked your options carefully and trusted the characters in the narrative, the entirety of the album was available to listen to on the hotline since the day Trust Fall was announced (a secret only a handful of fans discovered). One can still reach the toll-free hotline by calling 1 (877) 347-5231.
On October 17, the band premiered their 17-minute concert film Showroom at a sold-out screening at Winnipeg’s beloved Cinematheque theatre. Showroom documents the last time the band gathered, in secret, to perform, joined by past members Solana Johannson and Eric Ross for a once-in-a-lifetime-grouping. The event sold out in under two hours, and the video will be available to watch online after October 19th here.
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