FEATURE: Vancouver Indie Pop Group Blonde Diamond Celebrate Chance Encounters On Debut Album ‘Magnetic Strangers’

Despite it being pieced together in 2020, Magnetic Strangers – the new album from Vancouver indie pop group Blonde Diamond – is anything but a pandemic record. The longing for the attention of a stranger or the serendipitous interaction that comes from chance situations was being considered years before the world shut down. For Blonde Diamond, the excitement of not knowing why, when, or how certain individuals are drawn to each other was a topic of exploration.

“It’s a concept that I’ve been exploring for a while, and has always left me wondering if there is something scientific or perhaps other-worldly that could explain why some people are so immediately drawn towards each other, while the rest of the world passes by as though they’re just background characters to our life’s movie”, shares vocalist Alexis Young.

Their debut full-length, out now via High Tide Music/Fontana, is a 10-track collection that celebrates different ways for the magnetic pull to happen. Lead by their synth-pop songwriting style, the band used the extra free time of 2020 to explore new sonic avenues, and Magnetic Strangers is the groovy result. Cinematic synthesizers and keyboard tones weave between decades and territories, as the band shift their sound across ’80s dance-pop, ’70s French disco, and ’90s Scandinavian synth-wave.

Wasting no time to showcase their experimental endeavors, the album opens with the slow-burning spaghetti-western tune “Man With No Name”. Mysterious and brooding, the song sets the tone for the album’s retro influences, moving into the groovy ’70s slow-burning dance number “Strange Times”.

The one “pandemic” song of the album, the band shares, “Strange Times was (somewhat obviously from the title) written mid-pandemic, when the world felt like it was at a standstill. The entire idea originated from this feeling of living in a surreal dream, but we took the story away from the reality of what was happening in real life and transported it to an extravagant, fictional tryst that is taking place while the world is ending. It’s a nihilist fantasy of living life as a luxurious lie, because it’s all going to end anyways I suppose, so why not enjoy it while we can!”

The dystopian-optimist energy is a driving force of Magnetic Strangers. There’s a moody, dark-pop tone to many of the album’s main riffs, including “Dreamland”, “Loving You”, and the stand-out single “In The Dark”. Filled with mystery and off-coloured nostalgia, “In The Dark” marries high school anxiety with glossy synth-pop and Broken Social Scene references. Alongside its initial release, Blonde Diamond shared the Brandon William Fletcher-directed music video that paid homage to the 1993 film The Virgin Suicides, and further showcased the reflective shadowy energy of the record.

As for the topic of enjoying the enigmatic powers of strangers, the final quadrant of the album embodies the feeling of being out in public, surrounded by strangers and waiting for a connection to find its way. Sultry synth-pop and subtle grooves take charge, providing what could easily be a soundtrack for the moments leading up to a film’s romantic apex on “We Just Wanna Dance”, “Nocturnal Creatures”, and “4AM Eternal”.

Wrapped in narrative and era-jumping synth-pop, Magnetic Strangers comfortably dodges the trope of yearning for “the good old days” whilst holed up at home, and instead reimagines the natural curiousity of the universe through lush dance grooves and picturesque synth-wave.

Listen to the record below, and discover more about the album in the latest Q&A feature just past:

Firstly, the title of Magnetic Strangers is a bit of a juxtaposition considering this was written when people were locked up in their homes. What was the inspiration behind the title? 

The title actually came pre-pandemic! Over the years, strangers have come into my life who I had an inexplicable pull towards—for better and for worse. It’s a concept that I’ve been exploring for a while, and has always left me wondering if there is something scientific or perhaps other-worldly that could explain why some people are so immediately drawn towards each other, while the rest of the world passes by as though they’re just background characters to our life’s movie.    

Despite this being written during the pandemic, this doesn’t sound like an on-the-nose pandemic album that a lot of artists fell into. How do you think the time in quarantine influenced your sound for this record?  

We actively didn’t want this album to sound like a pandemic record. There are certainly moments that are a direct reflection of that period, but by and large we really wanted to take the time to explore themes that are and were greater than the pandemic. So really it was a bit of a blessing where we felt like we had a lot of time to explore new themes and sounds, so if it weren’t for lockdown I don’t think we would have felt the luxury of being quite so adventurous, sonically. 

There’s an obvious retro aesthetic to your sound and visuals. Is there a specific creative influence that inspired this album? 

We have always drawn a lot from the 60s to the 80s, with a sweet dash of the 90s. This was a fun opportunity for us to try some heavy spaghetti western cinematic vibes, and we also pulled a lot from bands like Chic and Air. 

On top of the retro filter, it’s clearly a darker album, with a lot of edge and moody shadows to it. Was that an intentional decision or a more organic result? 

I’ve personally always been drawn to more moodier, or “spookier” progressions, so that is kind of a default for me. But I think lyrically some of the more vulnerable, brooding aspects came organically because we really had time to dig deeper. 

Your previous music video for “In the Dark” had a compelling narrative, complete with plot twist to fit its lyricism. How have you incorporated narrative into your songwriting on Magnetic Strangers? 

Storytelling has always been a big thing for me and it’s a challenge to fit a narrative into a 3min song, however it’s something I love to challenge myself with. This album certainly has a lot more of that. Especially the opening track Man With No Name, I mean, the movie writes itself!!  

I know it’s been out for a few months now, but I wanted to talk more about “In the Dark” because the song and music video were really a wonderful combination. The Virgin Suicides and “Anthem For A Seventeen Year Old Girl” were clear influences, and the theme of “surviving high school” was a very interesting topic. Do you feel that that period of time continues to play an influence in who you are and your music? 

Absolutely it does. I think any period of struggle, whether it’s early on, in high school, or as an adult, will always directly (or indirectly) influence you. And I think because that period of character building is quite nuanced, there is so much more to draw from than just struggle. There’s also self-realisation, freedom, moments of pure joy. Endless creative fodder to explore and probably over-analyze, ha!  

Finally, when was the last time you experienced a sort of “magnetic pull” or noteworthy unexpected interaction from a stranger? 

Hahaha, you’ll have to wait for the next album to hear about that one. 😉 

(Featured image by Brandon William Fletcher)