Ink & Paint Colour

Tracklist:

1. Your Master
2. Scared of the Dark
3. Come Apart
4. New Immigrant
5. Don’t Feel Right
6. Happy Cry
7. Jesse James
8. Kill Box
9. Lose My Name
10. Hazy
11. Falling Leaves

You settle into the worn seat of a subway car barely holding together, graffiti scrawled across its walls beneath flickering ads for bionic enhancements and synthetic upgrades. A mechanical voice crackles through the loudspeaker: The next stop is your tiny, stupid little worthless life. This is Metroa dark, gritty ride through rebellion, duality, and self-discovery and The Blue Stones boldest album yet. The Blue Stonesvocalist and guitarist Tarek Jafar and drummer Justin Tessierformed during their university days and inspired by the freedom of creating without boundaries, grew from playing small-town bars to headlining iconic venues like The Troubadour in Los Angeles, Electric Ballroom in London, and The Danforth Music Hall in Toronto. Along the way, theyve racked up over 300 million streams, three JUNO nominations, and radio hits like Shakin Off the Rust, which topped Rock charts in Canada and hit #5 on U.S. Mainstream Rock. METRO the bands fourth full-length LP takes that ethos even further. The album follows a protagonist navigating a dystopian subway, confronting a personified version of their darker sidea manifestation of their buried need for authenticity. The subway is a metaphor for the conflict we all face, says Tarek. Its about balancing societal expectations with your own self-serving desires. The loudspeakers voice, eerie and detached, becomes the protagonists inner critic, a manifestation of societal pressure that feels alien yet inescapable. Tracks like Your Master and Kill Box burn with snarling defiance, fusing raw distorted guitar grooves with a devil-may-care energy. The baritone guitar, a new instrument for Jafar, lends to the albums swaggy, groovy heaviness. This is evident on songs like Come Apart, where a heavy riff with beautiful simplicity meets brash, punchy drums with a swing groove feela combination signature to The Blue Stones. The opening lines of the chorus, Woke up with a headache // Dont know how Im gonna work today, offer a poignant take on todays hyperconnected, chronically online world. Then theres Happy Cry, a moment of catharsis and raw emotion. With its live-off-the-floor energy and soaring vocals, it bursts with triumphant release, capturing the thrill of starting over and embracing growth. The Blue Stones sounda melting pot of rock, blues, hip-hop, and pophas always set them apart. They thrive on contrasts and a controlled sense of chaos, both on record and during their awe-inspiring live shows. Weve always wanted our music to empower people, says Justin. This record is about reconnecting with your authentic selfthe part of you buried under everyone elses expectations. With METRO, The Blue Stones deliver their most unfiltered, unapologetic work yet. Step aboard. The next stop is whatever you make it.