ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Cannons

I first heard of Cannons’ hit “Fire for You” when I had XRT playing in the background during a work day, and the song’s grooving bass line and hypnotic chorus was so captivating that it made me immediately stop to find out who was playing this song.

Formed in Los Angeles in 2013, Cannons came together when guitarist Ryan Clapham and keyboardist/bassist Paul Davis put an ad in Craigslist for their singer. They met Michelle Joy and began playing and recording music together—releasing their debut EP in 2014. The trio has since perfected their own dreamy blend of indie and electropop and released two full length albums, including 2019’s Shadows, which features “Fire for You.” The song also garnered large-scale success after being featured in an episode of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever.

Most recently, Cannons released an EP full of cover songs in August, aptly called “Covers by Cannons.” The EP features Cannons’ take on songs from Kings of Leon, The Isley Brothers, Harry Styles and more, showing their chameleon-like musicality.

I had the chance to catch Cannons’ set at Lollapalooza this past summer, and their creativity and artistry carries over to their live show. Michelle Joy’s silky vocals and the band’s upbeat and fun attitude had the crowd dancing along the whole set. If you missed out on the Lolla appearance from Cannons, the group will be touring with lovelytheband and Sir Sly this Fall. You can catch them at the House of Blues in Chicago on November 23rd. Get tickets here, and check out the video for “Fire for You” below.

ANCHR's Artist of the Week: The Backseat Lovers

Photo by Alex Justice

We’ve all had that experience when we hear a song for the first time and need to know who it’s by so we can immediately look up more songs by them. That was my experience listening to “Kilby Girl” by The Backseat Lovers for the first time while checking out a Lollapalooza playlist ahead of this year’s festival. With over 55 million streams on Spotify, it’s clear I’m not the only one hooked on this song.

Upon that first listen of the band, I thought that the band’s lead singer Joshua Harmon sings with a hint of British inflection, so I was surprised to learn they were actually from Utah. The Backseat Lovers were formed when Harmon asked their now drummer Juice Welch if he wanted to start a band together, and the two began forming full arrangements of songs that Harmon had written. Their lineup further came together when Hamon met the lead guitarist Jonas Swanson in line for an open mic night in Provo City, Utah. As Harmon and Swanson played their music for each other, Harmon finally decided to share his song “Out of Tune,” and that was the first piece the entire group worked on arranging together.

From there, The Backseat Lovers moved on to start recording together in 2018, releasing an EP entitled Elevator Days later that year. They soon followed up the first release with a debut album called When We Were Friends in early 2019, and they’ve said they’re continuing to work on even more new material at the moment.

If you enjoy the pep and warm Summer vibes that the likes of bands like Two Door Cinema Club, Wallows, and Cage The Elephant conjure, make sure you check The Backseat Lovers’ album. “Kilby Girl” has one of those choruses that makes for an easy crowd sing-a-long, and that was certainly the case for their packed afternoon set at Lollapalooza and their sold out after show.

See where you can catch the band performing next here, and watch the music video for their song “Heavy” below.