Men I Trust is a Canadian indie band formed in Quebec City, Quebec, in 2014. The band consists of Emmanuelle Proulx (lead vocals, guitar), Jessy Caron (guitar, bass), and Dragos Chiriac (keyboards). The group has self-released all of their music and has released physical editions on the Canadian indie label Return to Analog. Men I Trust has independently released four studio albums: Men I Trust (2014), Headroom (2015), Oncle Jazz (2019) and Untourable Album (2021). They have also released two physical-only extended plays (EPs), Men I Trust (2017) and Tailwhip (2018).

Men I Trust
(LR) Jessy Caron, touring member Cédric Martel, Emmanuelle Proulx, touring member Eric Maillet, and Dragos Chiriac performing in 2021
Background information
OriginQuébec city, Quebec, Canada
Genres
Years active2014–present
Members
  • Jessy Caron
  • Dragos Chiriac
  • Emmanuelle Proulx
Past members
  • Odile Marmet-Rochefort
Websitemenitrust.com

History

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2014–2017: Men I Trust, Headroom, and physical EPs

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Men I Trust was founded in 2014 by high school friends Jessy Caron and Dragos Chiriac, who reunited in the music department at Université Laval.[1] They released a self-titled album in 2014; the band later performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival, Quebec City Summer Festival, and M for Montreal.[citation needed]

They released their second studio album Headroom in 2015.[2] The album featured multiple vocalists, including Ghostly Kisses and Emmanuelle Proulx, who joined the group full-time as lead vocalist and guitarist in March 2016.[3][4] Vocalist Odile Marmet-Rochefort also joined around this time.[5]

On March 3, 2016, Men I Trust released the song "Humming Man", followed by the song "Lauren" June 13.[5] In October and November 2016, the band embarked on a China tour, playing shows in Shenzhen, Beijing, and Shanghai.[3] After the tour, Marmet-Rochefort left the band to be a full-time member of her band De La Reine.[6] On December 16, 2016, the band released the single "Plain View", alongside a music video made up of clips from their 2016 China Tour.[6][7]

2017–2021: Oncle Jazz and Forever Live Sessions

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On May 10, 2017, Men I Trust released the single "You Deserve This" alongside a music video filmed in Bucharest, Romania.[6][8] This was followed by the singles "Tailwhip" on August 18, and "I Hope to Be Around" on November 10, with accompanying music videos.[9] On February 28, 2018, they released the single "Show Me How" along with a music video.[10][11][12] In 2018, they embarked on a North American tour.[10] They performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 14 and 21, 2019.[13] They also performed at Lollapalooza on August 3, 2019.[14]

In November 29, 2018, the group announced their third studio album Oncle Jazz, which released on September 13, 2019.[15] The album had initially been scheduled to release in February 2019, but was delayed multiple times due to the band's touring schedule and so they could ensure that it was ready. Eight of the twelve singles released since their previous album were reworked and included on this album.[4]

In a conversation with writer Nick Fulton for Billboard, the band noted that the green, solitary confines of rural Quebec were influential in shaping how the album sounded. Proulx stated "It put us in a really different creative mood and we were able to focus more, because there's nothing to do outside of the house except for walking and thinking about music."[16] Oncle Jazz was long listed for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.[17]

In 2020, Men I Trust released the first live album Forever Live Sessions featuring songs from Oncle Jazz and other work. On June 16, 2021, they were featured in an episode of the NPR web series Tiny Desk (Home) Concert recorded in Quebec.[18]

2021–present: Untourable Album

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The band announced their fourth studio album Untourable Album on June 23, 2021, and it was released on August 25, 2021. It was supported by the Untourable Tour in North America which ran from September to November 2021.[19] This was followed by the Untourable Euro Tour from May to October 2022,[20] then an additional USA tour supported by Homeshake and Feng Suave from November to December 2022.[21]

On June 29, 2022, Men I Trust released the song "Hard to Let Go", the first single since the release of their previous studio album.[22] This was followed by the release of the single and video for "Billie Toppy" on September 28,[23] and the single "Girl" on October 12.[24] In November 2022, Men I Trust performed "Show Me" with Joey Badass on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[25] From March to April 2023, the band toured Asia and Oceania.[26] In July 2023, Men I Trust embarked on a tour of Europe[27] and toured the United States in October and November 2023.[28]

Musical style

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NPR called Men I Trust an electropop band,[29] Our Culture Mag describes the band as indie,[9] and online music publication The Fader described their style as dream pop.[12] They self describe their music as a blend of 'dream pop and indie elements' whereby blending 'hypnotic melodies and captivating vocals they have been able to transcend a genre into their own musical space'.[30] Their sound has also been classified as lo-fi and noted to have elements of R&B, jazz, and funk. [31]

Band members

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Timeline

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Discography

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Albums

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Studio albums

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List of studio albums with selected details[34]
Title Album details
Men I Trust
Headroom
  • Released: June 30, 2015
  • Formats: Cassette, vinyl, digital download, streaming
Oncle Jazz
  • Released: September 13, 2019
  • Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital download, streaming
Untourable Album
  • Released: August 25, 2021
  • Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital download, streaming

Live albums

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List of live albums with selected details[34]
Title Album details
Forever Live Sessions
  • Released: July 9, 2020
  • Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital download, streaming
Title EP details
Men I Trust
  • Released: April 22, 2017
  • Label: Return to Analog
  • Formats: Cassette, vinyl, CD
Tailwhip
  • Released: October 14, 2017
  • Label: Return to Analog
  • Formats: Cassette, vinyl, CD

Singles

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List of singles as lead artist showing year released and album name[34]
Title Year Album
"Humming Man" 2016 Non-album singles
"Lauren"
"Plain View"
"You Deserve This" 2017 Oncle Jazz
"Tailwhip"
"I Hope to Be Around"
"Show Me How" 2018
"Seven"
"Say, Can You Hear"
"Numb" 2019
"Norton Commander (All We Need)"
"Lucky Sue" 2020 Non-album singles
"Tides" 2021
"Hard To Let Go" 2022
"Billie Toppy"
"Girl"
"Ring of Past" 2023
"Husk" 2024

References

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  1. ^ Côté, Émilie (2018-02-14). "Men I Trust: merci au DIY et à Spotify". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-06-21.
  2. ^ Idir, Marine (2018-01-31). "Men I Trust appelle au voyage". Le Délit français (in French). Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  3. ^ a b c d e Albors, Maxime (2017-11-21). "Pour Men I Trust, le succès instantané est un mythe". VICE (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  4. ^ a b Proulx, Emma; Chiriac, Dragos (2019-09-10). "Inspirations: Men I Trust's 'Oncle Jazz' Is a Cozy Tour de Force". Billboard (Interview). Interviewed by Nick Fulton. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  5. ^ a b "Men I Trust – Lauren". Indietronica. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Low, Lex (3 March 2017). "Chatterbox: Men I Trust". Purple Melon. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Men I Trust – Plain View". Indietronica. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  8. ^ Ciobanu, Iulia (22 June 2017). "Relax and reflect with Men I Trust's video for "You Deserve This"". Earmilk. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  9. ^ a b Mankus, Modestas (2017-11-14). "Men I Trust present their latest single 'I hope to be around' with a music video". Our Culture Mag. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  10. ^ a b c Gore, Sydney (2018-02-28). "Men I Trust Is The Montréal Band You Need To Know Right Now". MTV News. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  11. ^ Mankus, Modestas (2018-03-01). "Men I Trust present 'Show Me How'". Our Culture Mag. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  12. ^ a b Maicki, Salvatore (2018-03-01). "Watch a new video from Men I Trust". The FADER. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  13. ^ "Coachella 2019: Why the Sonora tent is one of the coolest places to be at who even knows". 21 April 2019. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  14. ^ "Men I Trust". Lollapalooza. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  15. ^ "Oncle Jazz, by Men I Trust". Men I Trust. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  16. ^ Fulton, Nick (2019-09-10). "Inspirations: Men I Trust's 'Oncle Jazz' Is a Cozy Tour de Force". Billboard.
  17. ^ "2020 Polaris Music Prize Long List Is Here". Polaris Music Prize. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  18. ^ Men I Trust: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, retrieved 2021-08-15
  19. ^ Hudson, Alex (19 July 2021). "Men I Trust Detail 'Untourable Album'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  20. ^ @menitrust (16 March 2022). "Updated Europe dates for May and October!". Retrieved 27 December 2022 – via Instagram.
  21. ^ Geiger, Amy (16 August 2022). "Men I Trust announce tour with Homeshake and Feng Suave". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  22. ^ Kylene, Jazmin (1 July 2022). "Men I Trust's "Hard to Let Go" Is a Sonic Ride Through Sweet Despair". Ones to Watch. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  23. ^ Brodsky, Rachel (27 September 2022). "Men I Trust – "Billie Toppy"". Stereogum. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  24. ^ Rettig, James (11 October 2022). "Men I Trust – "Girl"". Stereogum. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  25. ^ Paul, Larisha (2022-11-03). "Joey Bada$$ Brings Men I Trust Along for 'Show Me' Performance on 'Fallon'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
  26. ^ Abanes, Mariel (20 December 2022). "Men I Trust add Singapore stop to their Asia-Australia 2023 tour". NME. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  27. ^ Reymond, Alexandra (31 January 2023). "Men I Trust on tour: dates, places and prices for the 2023 UK & Ireland concerts". Alex. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  28. ^ Hatfield, Amanda (23 May 2023). "Men I Trust announce fall US tour with TOPS". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  29. ^ Thompson, Stephen (2018-03-01). "The Austin 100: Men I Trust". NPR. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  30. ^ Trust, Men I. "Bio". Tumblr. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  31. ^ White, Brenna (2019-11-26). "Men I Trust's Once Jazz Is the Band's Most Ambitious Album Yet". NPR. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  32. ^ a b c NPR - Men I Trust: Tiny Desk Concert, retrieved 2019-12-22
  33. ^ a b "Kareem's Pick: Men I Trust". FRNDY LMRN. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  34. ^ a b c "Music - Men I Trust". Bandcamp. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
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