Being in tune with your emotions is an incredibly important part of life. The ability to analyze and deal with what you’re feeling can be difficult, but when you achieve it there’s nothing better. This can be recognizing why you’re happy and savoring it or why you’re sad and dealing with it. Not only do you help yourself by doing this, it helps with relationships with other people as well. Toronto band Only Yours find themselves exploring that deep level of emotional honesty and connection on their new single “Doubts,” which we’re premiering on Substream today. Strap in for some emotional pop goodness on this one.
From the second the opening notes unexpectedly go up in pitch instead of down, “Doubts” is full of smart indie pop ideas. The staccato blast of the other instruments coming in underline lead singer and songwriter Lowell Sostomi’s tender and piercing voice. There’s something visceral and real about his lyrics, in which he’s coming clean about all the emotions he’s dealing with to someone close to him. “Doubts” remains crisp and rich in sound throughout, adding small snippets of percussion or an interesting harmony to keep each repetition of the excellent chorus fresh and exciting. Even on successive listens (many of which have occurred for me already), there’s some new twist in Sostomi’s writing or Only Yours’ music that will grab your ear.
Talking about the story behind “Doubts,” Sostomi says “‘Doubts’ is that endless pause of silence right after you spill your guts out to someone in the heat of the moment. The subsequent vulnerability of having all of your cards on the table and feeling the pit in your stomach knowing you can’t take it back. Reckless and regrettable because everything as of that exact second has changed.”
You can listen to “Doubts” below, which will be officially released tomorrow through Pirates Blend Records. Then you can listen to it a few more times, too. Only Yours will also be touring in the fall, and you can find a list of dates below the stream.
09/28 @ Warehouse Concert Hall, St. Catharines, ON
10/12 @ Quai des Brumes, Montreal, QC*
10/13 @ L’Anti Bar & Spectacles, Quebec City, QC*
10/23 @ The Grad Club, Kingston, ON*
10/24 @ Mill’s Hardware, Hamilton, ON*
10/25 @ Warehouse Concert Hall, ON*
10/26 @ Starlite Social Club, Waterloo, ON*
10/27 @ Aeolian Hall, London, ON*
11/10 @ National Arts Centre, Ottawa, ON*
11/16 @ Neat Coffee Shop, Burnstown, ON*
11/17 @ Longboat Hall, Toronto, ON*
*w/ Kalle Mattson