Made up of vocalist Amanda Doucette and producer Tom Maguire, Not Sisters is a new Canadian group that delivers quirky-yet-catchy bedroom pop. With a familiar sound paired with modern production sensibilities, the pair write songs to reflect upon the wide range of human emotions.
The duo’s self-produced debut EP – Feelings Make Us Human – just came out on July 19th 2023. You wouldn’t be able to tell, but the songs were recorded in Amanda’s dingy basement and tell a story of self-discovery in recent times: “I think we’ve both been on a journey of emotion in the last couple of years and are really learning about ourselves and how we relate to different circumstances in our lives.” says lead singer Doucette.
Name:
Not Sisters
Genre:
Bedroom Pop
Founded:
Winter 2021
# of Albums:
1
Latest Album:
Feelings Make Us Human (EP, 2023)
Latest Single:
That’s How We Do
Latest Video:
Favourite musician growing up:
Amanda grew up listening to Celine Dion and Queen whilst Tom’s first music purchase was the debut Spice Girls album.
Favourite musician now:
We are really digging boygenuis right now.
Guilty pleasure song:
Ohhh man TikTok is king for this stuff. Braden Bales – Chronically Cautious.
Live show ritual:
We are still always nervous before shows. We do this thing where we have a little huddle just before we go on stage in an attempt to calm us down and remind ourselves that this is supposed to be fun.
Favourite local musician:
We love Dan Mangan; he’s such a wholesome dude.
Tom collaborates with a few really cool local artists – Shaun Finn (indie loopy cool stuff) and Other People (badass poetic post-punk) – who you should definitely check out.
EP or LP?
LP. Obviously. Plus all the B sides
Early bird or night owl?
Ideally neither. We are old souls. If I had to pick: early bird, but don’t talk to me until at least 2 hours of being awake.
Road or studio?
Studio i.e. Amanda’s basement
Any shows or albums coming up?
We are throwing a party to celebrate the release of our debut EP “Feelings Make Us Human”. It’s happening at Treble Five Studios in Vancouver on Friday, August 18th. Grab your tickets now on our website.
Where can we follow you?
Instagram | TikTok | Spotify | Website
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Rapid Fire Local Questions
What is your favourite local restaurant?
We are currently sitting in House Of Dosas on Kingsway – shout out – but we both reached a conclusive agreement on Jamjar on Commercial Drive. They do amazing falafel and this place is also special to us as this is where we decided upon our band name. Other shortlisted band names which we fortunately didn’t decide upon included “Vibe Check”, “LA LA LA” and “Jackson Moon”. I actually don’t mind the last one.
What is your favourite street in your city and why?
We’re going to echo our previous answer here double down on Commercial Drive. There is a vibrant queer community there and the aforementioned great food.
What is your favourite park in your city and why?
Tom lives near Queen Elizabeth Park and this has been the venue for our band get-togethers this summer. There are so many nice spots to hang out here and a beautiful view from the top by the conservatory.
What is your favourite music venue in your city?
We both immediately said Commodore Ballroom, not sure why exactly. Tom’s first show after he moved to Vancouver was seeing Against Me! at the Ballroom which was an absolute treat.
Also, lots of love to all the small venues in Vancouver doing things the right way: Green Auto, Redgate, et al. You rule.
What is your favourite music store in your city?
Long and Mcquade does insanely cheap rentals. This is one of the tricks that has made it possible for us to record to a decent standard by ourselves. You can rent a $3,000 mic for like $40… love it.
