Premiere: Sister Ray Returns with “Chewing on the Rind”
Photo credit: Sam Tudor
Fresh off the heels of Believer — the Juno-nominated, Polaris Prize long-listed album that cemented Sister Ray as one of Canada’s most emotionally incisive songwriters — the Toronto-based artist returns with “Chewing On The Rind,” a raw meditation on fractured trust, devotion, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. Where Believer wrestled with self-assurance through discomfort, this new single feels like stepping deeper into the wreckage.
Written from a place Sister Ray admits felt unfamiliar — “inside the house” of rage rather than observing from above it — “Chewing On The Rind” transforms emotional scarcity into something tactile and unforgettable, chewing over grief until it becomes physical. Paired with a confessional lyric video directed by longtime collaborator Sam Tudor, the single marks the beginning of a new chapter. We caught up with Sister Ray to talk more about the single and what’s next.
REVERIE: “Chewing On The Rind” arrives not long after Believer and a Juno nomination. Does this song feel like a continuation of that chapter, or the beginning of something emotionally different for you?
This one feels new. I recorded this with an old friend, and only other really regular member of Sister Ray, Eli Browning. It was our first time working together in the studio, and our collaborative efforts are audible to me. Chewing on the Rind also marks a period of time for me that was focused on reclamation of the stories I tell myself about myself and the world, a little more compassion for myself.
REVERIE: What inspired you during the making of the track?
Anger! Writing in rage is something that I haven't really attempted before, it's not a space that's felt approachable to me, it's something I'm usually afraid to touch. I find myself writing from above the feeling, and not in it, but Chewing on the Rind really came from inside the house. Also big bodies of water and In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje.
REVERIE: The title “Chewing On The Rind” suggests trying to extract meaning from something tough, bitter, or difficult to swallow. How did that title come to represent the song?
If I remember correctly, the title came first here. The image was so visceral to me at the time, and touches on what's really central in the feeling here which is both scarcity and devotion. The verses of this song almost edge on being mythical, and the title feels so grounding to me. It places the grief in the body, or as a process of the body, instead of something philosophical.
REVERIE: The lyric video, directed by Sam Tudor, offers the first visual companion to the track. How did that collaboration come together, and what did you want the visual world of “Chewing On The Rind” to communicate alongside the song?
I've been both a friend and a fan of Sam Tudor for nearly a decade now, and have worked with him in the past. He came to me with this idea of a series of vignettes of my friend Hannah and I just being together in these different worlds that go from cold to warm, both in tone and temperature. Something I love about this visual companion is the confessional close feeling, the two of us sharing quiet stories and quiet time, going from the place that some of this song was written about, to the places where it was written. Sam I really united on the colour pallette here, and was a big driving force.
REVERIE: What’s next?
Professionally speaking, I'll be recording more this summer, writing in that time towards another record. I've just come home from tour and am enjoying some of that before some more playing in the summer and fall. Personally speaking, I'll be reading in the sun and playing as many games of cribbage as I can.
Sister Ray’s new single “Chewing on the Rind” is out everywhere May 21, 2026. Pre-save the track here.
