Exclusive Interview: Canyons and Locusts' Justin & Amy on new single, upcoming album, collaborating, future plans
Gritty melodic noise-rock duo Canyons and Locusts— comprised of Boston’s Justin Keane (guitar, bass, vocals, lyricist) and Phoenix’s Amy Young (drums, backing vocals)—just released a new single titled “Anna Save A Life” from their upcoming full length concept album The Goal Gigolo, set for release early 2025.
The song is the indie band’s first release since their March EP The Red Angel, which will make The Goal Gigolo their third album since late 2021, after Roll The Dice.
In an official press release, Keane explained the song’s sound (which was 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):
“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…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!… Man, just turn it up loud and go for a ride with it…”
Both members took time for an interview with OOTB to detail the new song, preview the upcoming album, discuss collaborating with a distance of 2,650 miles, and they look into the future—which includes some exclusive insight and mentions.
With the new single “Anna Save A Life” introducing the upcoming concept record The Goal Gigolo, can you share if the song, and album as a whole, was written from a personal nonfiction perspective or as a general fiction approach? In what ways, without spilling too much tea?
Justin: This is definitely a fictional approach, which is a little new for us on the whole. The record’s about The Goal Gigolo—he’s sort of a 1970’s anti-hero character who tends to get himself into sticky situations while trying to help others. For money. You gotta pay him to play.
“Anna Save A Life” has a gritty garage rock vibe, what underlying personal influences do you think show up in this song?
Justin: A little bit of late-’70s Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson with respect to the guitars and some of the vocals and we’re never maybe that far from Nirvana’s tension and release deal.
How did you approach writing and recording differently, or the same, for The Goal Gigolo compared to The Red Angel or going back to Roll The Dice?
Amy Young: I get a lot of direction from a combination of what Justin’s words and ideas, thematically, are, and then we just go for it from there. There’s something inherently intuitive in our communication. We both have the freedom to do and try what we want and we discuss or reframe as we go.
Justin: I think the biggest difference here was that the songs were part of an overarching story, so there was maybe some element of carrying over little bits from song to song—a chord voicing here, a word emphasis there.
As a duo being separated by so many miles from Boston to Phoenix, what challenges have you faced and how have you overcome those challenges?
Justin: For me, I look at it as an opportunity rather than a challenge. It’s the chance to make music in a really different way that captures some moments in time we might not get at if we were playing and gigging together constantly. (Although that would be awesome, too!)
Amy: We’re in constant contact and time moves so fast that it never feels like there’s distance. At the same time, there’s an energy and excitement that builds and grows that gets a release when we come together. We’re really good at never looking at it like a source of frustration. We love every minute of it.
Looking toward 2025, what short term goals do you have for Canyons and Locusts?
Amy: Gearing up for some live-show action, doing some shows with great bands, and getting back in the studio!
Justin: We’re planning some West Coast shows in February and hoping to record our next record, The Town of Our Lady, sometime thereafter. I don’t think we’ve mentioned the next album’s title anywhere, so that’s an exclusive for Out of the Blue! Also, world domination is in order, so let’s go!
Looking toward, say 2035, what long term aspirations do you have for Canyons and Locusts?
Justin: I have no intentions of ever turning the volume down. That’s kind of a mission statement for us.
Amy: To keep doing what we’re doing, add some more live shows, love to do a festival or two. No end in sight!
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Justin: Here’s another exclusive—we’re releasing another single in January, which continues to unfold the storyline of The Goal Gigolo, and then the record drops sometime around Valentine’s Day. But not on Valentine’s Day.
Thanks so much for your time and interest for this interview!
Amy: Thanks for having us!
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