Be Still

Be Still

Be Still is a Toronto punk group. The project forms as a side project and studio collaboration, and the name is also used for a pop-punk band formed by brothers Matt Thomason and Sean Thomason in summer 2017.

Formation and background

One version of the project begins in 2009, when singer-songwriter Lauren Zettler and guitarist Cameron Mizell decide during a summer tour to make music together outside Zettler’s solo work. They work on the project as a DIY duo after Zettler self-releases the seven-song EP On Your Back Porch under her own name. Be Still then becomes a studio side project intended to make Christmas music.

Another version of the band begins in Oxfordshire in 2017, when the Thomason brothers form Be Still as a pop-punk act. This group is based around the sound of 1990s pop-punk and is compared to bands such as Blink-182 and New Found Glory.

Recordings

The 2009 project releases Sounds Like Snow, a Christmas album with an indie-folk approach. It uses non-traditional sounds including backwards guitar, an egg timer and harmonium. Cameron Mizell contributes as a multi-instrumentalist, and Lauren Zettler sings lead vocals. The release includes traditional songs such as “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”, a solo version of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”, and the original title track “Sounds Like Snow”.

The 2017 pop-punk band releases the single “Fractures” in 2017, followed by “Not Into You” and the EP Violets Red Roses Blue in 2018. In 2019 it releases the standalone single “Fairground” and the EP Wonderlust.