Canyons and Locusts embrace neon lights and empty nights with ‘Anna Save A Life’
The Boston + Phoenix melodic noise-rock duo return with the first taste of a new album on Friday, November 15
MEDIA PREVIEW: Listen to ‘Anna Save A Life’ on Soundcloud [private link]
Discordant new concept album ‘The Goal Gigolo’ arrives in early 2025
Boston, MA [November 15, 2024] – Whether we realize it or not, we all have an Anna in our lives.
She can be an inspiration, she can be a beacon of light, or she can be something else entirely, angelically equipped with a keen sense to be present and helpful when absolutely necessary. And one day, she may even save a life.
But the details of who Anna is, or could be, is irrelevant. What matters is the person who needs her in their most dire hour, and that personal reflection back is at the core of Canyons and Locusts’ barnstorming new single, appropriately titled “Anna Save A Life,” set for release on Friday, November 15.
It’s the first dose of new music from the Boston and Phoenix melodic noise-rock duo since March’s The Red Angel EP, a record dedicated to late Red on Red Records founder Justine Covault that earned mentions in Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, and elsewhere. And it’s the attention-grabbing inaugural blast from vocalist, guitarist, and bassist Justin Keane and drummer Amy Young’s forthcoming concept album, The Goal Gigolo, surfacing sometime in the early stages of 2025.
To understand the unfolding world of The Goal Gigolo, a discordant, anti-hero record that draws together several storytelling narrators underneath Canyons and Locusts’ unhinged wall of fuzzed-out rock and roll, one must first embrace Anna. Even if our central eponymous character doesn’t quite understand who she may be or how she plays into this universe.
“Anna Save A Life’ is a song from the vantage of a guy looking at the pit,” Keane says. “The line at the beginning of the song – ‘neon lights and empty nights, my disgrace’ – is the rosetta stone for this one. This album is the story of a pretty flawed protagonist, himself The Goal Gigolo, who’s made some bad decisions and has gotten himself into trouble trying to help people in his new location. He’s got to go through some shit to get back on his feet again, and he’s looking at that pit he’s about to jump into, but at that same time he’s got enough gallows humor to imagine writing a letter to someone named Anna who might very well save someone’s life – a life, not necessarily his.”
Produced by Keane and Ethan Dussault, and recorded and mixed by Dussault at New Alliance Studio in Somerville, MA, with mastering by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East earlier this year, “Anna Save A Life” is a tale of desperation. It’s also the first Canyons and Locusts track to feature bass guitar, adding a low-end thunder to the band’s chaotic cacophony of sound.
“I feel like this one jumps out at you,” Keane admits. “It’s bracing, it’s kind of herky-jerky, and I absolutely love how Ethan at New Alliance recorded and mixed this one in particular: Everything really pops out. I always like first singles that are surprising in some way, and I think this is a little bit punkier, and maybe even so very slightly new wave-ier, than anything we’ve done. But it’s also still unmistakably Canyons and Locusts.”
And it arrives at the perfect time. While the cinematic saga of The Goal Gigolo will play out across 2025, its storyline emerging quite like a Canyons and Locusts composition – a slow build of calculated tension giving way to a sweeping undertow of emotion – “Anna Save A Life” is 112 seconds of intrigue. Perhaps that’s intentional in appetizing a concept record; perhaps that’s just how Canyons and Locusts’ roll. And as it hits the streams not too long after a historic presidential election here in the United States, the sonic blast, independent of context, is a needed respite from everything going on in the real world.
“It’s just so energetic and a total invitation to shake off the bullshit,” adds Young. “When I hear it, I want to be in a packed pit of bodies at a show with everyone jumping around and going crazy together and just feeling it. Release – it feels like a glorious release – where you remember and forget everything at the same time.”
The core of “Anna Save A Life” first formed from that aforementioned lyric – “neon lights and empty nights, my disgrace” – with Keane understanding the position of the protagonist and where it lands in the album’s arc. A crunchy guitar riff sets an immediate tone, with Keane’s lyrical delivery reflecting the character’s unfavorable predicament.
“It just felt like it had to be a low point song, something out of desperation, maybe even out of breath, and I got on the guitar and went for it,” Keane admits. “There are a lot of simple barre chords on this one so in a way it just felt like I was following the melody up and down the fretboard. And it’s a song I intentionally sang differently; I wanted the first few lines to sound like someone saying one word at a time like you do while you’re crying and out of breath but still trying to talk, and there are a few other spots on the record where I’m doing things with my voice or guitar that aren’t quite on the money but hopefully work for that moment.”
And then, of course, there’s the bass guitar. While guitarist Keane and drummer Young, still displaying a unique sense of chemistry and rhythm while physically being separated by the roughly 2,650 miles between Boston and Phoenix respectively, are no strangers to skillfully filling space with their minimal set-up, the addition of a new instrument gives “Anna Save A Life” a newly-found depth.
Keane says Dussault first queried the duo about incorporating bass when he learned of the overall vibe of The Goal Gigolo, and he channeled what Keane describes some of the more aggressive late-70s-era Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson tracks as loose inspiration.
“That’s exciting just to add a new element,” Young says, finally finding herself part of a rhythm section. “Also, since we don’t really plan a lot ahead, sometimes inspirations just happen while we’re in the studio; one of us will play something, and you can follow it to the roots of something that’s iconic to one of us. It also reflects how we are never confined to one sound. This one has some rock swagger that sounds new for us, in my opinion. And it’s a testament to not boxing yourself in. Evolution is revolution, baby!”
As The Goal Gigolo surfaces next year, there will be plenty of time to delve into the meaning behind each track, how it flows from one to the next, and the underlying messages that emerge upon repeated listens. But for now, with “Anna Save A Life,” and the relative mystery the song clings to as a stand-alone release, Canyons and Locusts suggest we just come along for the journey.
At maximum volume, of course. Because the duo wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Man, just turn it up loud and go for a ride with it,” Keane concludes. “This whole record really opens up with volume. What do I want people to get? I want them to know we just kicked the door down again. We’re not some one-trick, two-person pony band. And we’re still just getting started. Listen loud. Your hearing is the last sense to go.”
And if trouble arises, Anna will be there to save the day. As she does.
‘Anna Save A Life’ single artwork:
Canyons and Locusts are:
Justin Keane: Vocals, guitar, and bass
Amy Young: Drums
‘Anna Save A Life’ production credits:
Produced by Justin Keane and Ethan Dussault
Recorded and mixed by Ethan Dussault at New Alliance Studio in 2023, 2024
Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East, 2024
Music and lyrics by Justin Keane, Heavy Fuzz Music/BMI
Canyons and Locusts short bio:
Canyons and Locusts are a two-piece band featuring Boston’s Justin Keane on vocals and guitar and Phoenix’s Amy Young on drums and backing vocals. Fueled by the chaos of the world and an urgent need to be part of the conversation, the two took the indie rock foundation they built together in previous bands, adding new levels of noise via pervasive, edgy guitar sounds, low and thundery drum beats, and vocals that capture a mix of emotions and power dynamics. The Red Angel EP, dedicated to Red on Red Records’ Justine Covault, was released in March 2024, and featured a quartet of singles in “Buck Dharma’s Eyes,” “To Art Bell,” “Soo All The Way,” and the Valentine’s Day release “Love Goes Down The Drain.” A new concept record titled The Goal Gigolo arrives in early 2025, led by first single “Anna Save a Life” in November ‘24.
Media praise for Canyons and Locusts:
“Notable.” _Brooklyn Vegan
“Picking up where October’s furious ‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ left off, ‘To Art Bell’ is a hazy fever of gritty alt-rock and Midwestern college rock that clocks in at just over two minutes in runtime. And it’s not lost on the band that this chaotic and noisy tune is inspired, in part, by a radio host who’s timbre and cadence helped put listeners at ease.” _The Big Takeover
“‘Soo All The Way’ is a mean motherrocker that easily could have been on an early Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr album. Distorted guitars, raw and rough. Sturdy drum hits. Expressive and punchy vocals. DIY rock ‘n’ roll at its razor blade sharpest. Hells bells.” _Turn Up The Volume
"The song [‘To Art Bell’] is a fuzzed out indie rock song that sounds like a sludgier Guided By Voices. It's a fun and upbeat rocker that's a fitting tribute to the radio host. It's the kind of song that's loud and thunderous, but surprisingly catchy.” _If It’s Too Loud
“Of note…” _Stereogum
“‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ presents a raw indie rock energy, gritty and live-sounding in its authenticity but mysterious, thoughtful and elusive in its vague though cutting lyrical journey.” _Stereo Stickman
“Canyons and Locusts ram it out in just a little more than two minutes. … Where the previous single ‘To Art Bell’ was a musically varied affair, the duo all but flies out of the bend in the road here [‘Soo All The Way’]. Anyone in the mood for some uncomplicated headbanging knows where to go now.” _WoNo Magazine
“In a flurry of fuzz and ferocious pummeling, Keane and Young are back at it again with barely two minutes of raucous Rawk that ends before it has a chance to get stale. Decidedly a little more chirpier than previous outing ‘To Art Bell’, ‘Soo All The Way’ is a crunchy number with Young laying out some percussive heft as Keane’s growly croon rattles around in your noggin long after the final chords ring out.” _Rock And Roll Fables
“[‘Love Goes Down The Drain’] is a fast paced, no punches thrown tune that shows the band letting their emotions run wild … It could best be described as an anti Valentine’s Day romp with a punk twist.” _Music Box Pete
“Packed with ample doses of throwback punk energy and a sneering-forward delivery, ‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ is everything you’d hope alluding to the BOC frontman, and everything you need to push through the artificial. It is an escape from the clean-cut, over-produced nonsense and exists confidently in its attitude. Laced with an energetic fervor, the two-minute single leaves me wanting so much more. But tis the season to be thankful for what we have.” _Nanobot Rock
“When we heard ‘To Art Bell,’ from Boston and Phoenix duo Canyons And Locusts, it felt like a musical awakening. To hear music and melodies orchestrated like they are presented on ‘To Art Bell’ was absolute magic.” _The Whole Kameese
“Canyons and Locusts’ new track ‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ brings back memories of the early 2000s. With the gritty guitar and equally gravelly vocal performance, you can imagine this tune introducing the latest coming-of-age blockbuster that will have teens and young adults lining up around the block.” _Indie Band Guru
“Canyons and Locusts do a lot with just two instruments and they've had a signature sound since the first single. Their newly released song ‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ has that sound. They've managed to keep things interesting with melody and lyric content and that’s the case here. We really want to read into ‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ but the lyrics don’t reveal anything specific. The repeated use of ‘amen’ also raises the stakes. The verses when read without the music almost seem like a meditation, a calming. Is the title just a way to get the word ‘dharma’ (cosmic order) into the song? It’s all intriguing.” _Boston Groupie News
“‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ initially leads with a fuzzy melodic tempting but soon reveals its garage punk instincts as Keane’s distinctive tones share their emotive contemplation. Already that pop catchiness is fuelling the track’s swing though, a listener involving courting simply adding greater potency to its aligning sonic discord and emotive anxiety. As a whole, ‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ is a track bound in thick infectiousness, its contagion of noise and melodic fire cast with a similarly organic trespass of enterprise which we for one were very quickly enamoured with.” _The RingMaster Review
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