Getting Our Bearings: The Band on Upcoming Release ‘Comfort Company’
Photo courtesy of Discogs
Less than a month away from releasing their fifth album Comfort Company, and hitting the road to bring it to the greater East Coast, Canadian pop-punk band Bearings Zoomed in to talk full circle recording at Room 21 in Toronto, album deep dive and longevity of the band.
Bearings balance the brevity of youth with the perspective of growth, framing songs that feel familiar, drawn from the kind of intimacy that only comes from years of shared experiences. Comfort Company is a testament to the way each member personally influences every track, creating a record that’s cohesive and uniquely their own.
“I think there's certain songs that maybe I imagined a different way, but I also think that's sort of the beauty of being like a true band, is that when it's all said and done, it's gonna have a little bit of everyone's influence on it,” vocalist Doug Cousins said.
Approaching its production with an honest perspective, written in times of near-constant motion during hours spent on the road or in still-found moments between tours, this album was pieced together and then fully refined in the Room 21 studio where they recorded their first EP and Blue in the Dark. Exploring the complexities of growing up, feeling disconnected and needing an anchor of clarity to restore your sense of balance, Comfort Company evokes a soundscape of conscious change in an unpredictable and constantly shifting world, in a melancholic way that feels sustaining and nostalgic.
“So much changes when you go to actually sit down in the studio and write a record,” Cousins said. “Songs are getting written all the time, sometimes it is a battle of ‘we wrote this song six months ago or a year ago, great song, but does it apply to this record?’ Sometimes you have a great song and it’s really cool but it doesn't, you know? ‘Maybe we should cook something else up for this record because we don’t have a track seven yet [and] maybe we need that sort of slower, more creative song.’”
Born from the vivacious pop-punk community back in 2014, and inspired by pioneers of the scene like The Menzingers, Blink-182 and The Front Bottoms, Bearings first committed to the project after seeing Knuckle Puck live at Warped Tour in their early 20s, saying they would be happy if they made it to that level of success. Over the years, the band has outlasted most of their peers in the genre, continuing to write and release music despite some members living in different cities and being in separate walks of life.
For Comfort Company, Bearings also found themselves looking back at where they started, not just as musicians but as a band that has weathered years of changes in the scene and in life. That reflection brought a new sense of purpose and connection to their songwriting leading the band back to a fuller dynamic approach, with Cousins stepping on guitar for the record and bringing that same energy to the upcoming tour.
"It's just gonna be nice having … two guitars, a bass and a drum set on stage again, and on this record, it's kind of the same thing. We wrote it very much in a way that was super simple, trying not to over complicate things,” Cousins said. “I think “Quick Release” is a good example of that. You know, it's just a solid rock song. It's fun to play, and a bunch of the upcoming singles I think are in that space as well, in terms of, like, Comfort Company and I think the whole record’s like that to be honest.”
With Comfort Company, Bearings approached the album with a focused goal of making music they could connect with deeply, writing songs that could hit just as hard in the studio as they would on the stage, resonating heavily with listeners. Now, with the greater East Coast fall shows almost in full swing, hitting cities with As It Is and headlining a few dates with support from House & Home and Second Harbour, Bearings is set to translate their signature style of hook-laden, infectious melodies, driving rhythm and relentless bursts of raw intensity, directly to the crowd. Comfort Company is out on streaming platforms Nov. 7, and gearing up for tour the band looks to the next month with anticipation and full-throttle momentum.
“I also think with it being a bit of a shorter tour and it being predominantly, you know, like, East Coast [and] Midwest [cities], I don't know. I think there's something really exciting about that,” Cousins said. “We get to play some headline shows as well. I can't wait to meet all the other bands. I think it's gonna be a lot of fun.”