Numb Tongues boogie down with Alexandra Willett on their infectiously funky new single Dance — showcsing today on Tinnitist.
“We want to make music that has a hard-edged funk sound and gets people to break out of their shells to have a good time — because that’s what life is all about,” the band say. “That is what Dance represents to us, and this is the kind of music we see ourselves expanding on going forward.”
Numb Tongues are fronted by lead singer and lyricist Jonah Grinberg, who crafts his melodic hooks with a colourful character. To that, Tristan Lipton adds his technical prowess on the guitar, while Max Wilson delivers monster-truck-sized bass slaps, and drummer Corey Ryan supplies chaotic, beastly percussion.
Arriving ahead of the Toronto four-piece’s new release Low Hanging Fruit, Dance is actually a byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic. Planning a show on Grinberg’s birthday, the band were forced to cancel and begin isolation. Without any idea what the future would hold, they got to work creating a few new beats.
“We wrote Dance with the intention that we’d be able to create an ultimate version — something filling and bone-shaking,” they say. “Something that we would be able to play live as a full band when shows began happening again.”
Eventually, they settled on the beat you hear in Dance, and got to work conceptualizing the project. They reached out to Montreal singer-songwriter Alexandra Willett to sing the hook while adding some go-go style ad-libs inspired by Talking Heads. From there the group secured Patrick Smith and Kyle Windjack to add horns and got Matt Snell (Dua Lipa) to mix the track, which was mastered by Kristian Montano.
Numb Tongues harness a distinctly quirky and zestful brand of gritty funk-rock. Taking influence from artists like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cory Wong and Primus, they boast creative and dynamic songwriting abilities, advanced musicianship and thoughtful lyrics.
Check out Dance above, sample more from Numb Tongues below, and get down with them at their website, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
