Calgary Welcomes Back Girlfriends and Boyfriends to the Palomino

Photo credit: Matt Wallace (@citizenblitz) - Girlfriends and Boyfriends

In 2008 Girlfriends and Boyfriends formed from the ashes of a Britpop band in Vancouver. They are now based out of Toronto and made their first return to Calgary since 2012, playing at the Palomino (upstairs) alongside local artists Bridgeland and Poltergeist. 

Photo credit: Matt Wallace (@citizenblitz) - Bridgeland

Photo credit: Matt Wallace (@citizenblitz) - Poltergeist

Their sound is heavily influenced by the poppier side of 70s / 80s punk and new wave, like that of Simple Minds, The Cure, and Duran Duran. That playful gothism was shaped early on in Vancouver alongside other talented bands including Spectres, Mode Moderne, and Petroleum By-Product (Sally Dige). The Vancouver iteration of the band toured Canada a few times, playing festivals like NXNE and Pop Montreal. In 2018, they opened for The Psychedelic Furs at the Commodore Ballroom.

In 2020, lead singer Grant Minor relocated to Toronto reforming the band with a new lineup after their LP “Fallacy of Fairness” (recorded by Felix Fung at Little Red Sounds) was released. That LP was released internationally in 2021: Oráculo (Spain), FDH (Philadelphia, also a label of Calgary’s Teledrome) and Dirt Cult (Portland / San Antonio). 

Photo credit: Matt Wallace (@citizenblitz) - Girlfriends and Boyfriends

The current lineup includes Grant Minor (vocals/ bass), Adam Veenendaal on drums (Adjective, The Ludvico Treatment), Cole MacKinnon on lead guitar (Different Dream), and Andrew Wilson on rhythm guitar (Ancient Greece, Tallies, Sahara, Komodo).

In 2024, Girlfriends and Boyfriends released a compilation LP “Lost in the Noise” on Midnight Mannequin records in Minnesota, which included two new recordings and six older B-sides and non-album tracks that were remixed and remastered. Calgary’s own Ryan “Noodles” Kostel, known for his talented art and poster designs for local musicians and venues, created the art for “Lost in the Noise”.

With a revitalized momentum on their side, they are in the process of beginning to write a new album surely to be a worthwhile ear-piece that pairs well with a side of dangling earrings. Their next upcoming show will be in Toronto on May 29th at the Garrison with Theo Vandenhoff, supporting his new album release on Artoffact Records.

Photo credit: Matt Wallace (@citizenblitz) - Crowd