Toronto's Silver Pools Share "No Foundation" | Confront the displacement of creatives in cities across the country

Toronto post punk duo, Silver Pools, today share the video for their new single- “No Foundation”. Confronting the displacement of creatives in the wake of the loss of artistic spaces and rising rent in cities across the country, “No Foundation” is the first track to be taken from the band’s forthcoming EP. Set for release later this year, the EP follows their dreamy 2020 sophomore LP Chroma. The pair will be touring this May and June, with dates across Ontario, Quebec and BC. Full tour details below.

Watch/Share: Silver Pools “NoFoundation”

Silver Pools are Todd Macdonald (vocals/guitar/mandolin/synths/drum machine) and Adrienne McLaren (vocals/synths/drum machine). For the opening verse of “No Foundation”, a wash of distorted guitar and spacey synth cedes the spotlight to a dystopian vision of Toronto’s West End. The unsettling truth, though, is that the song’s seemingly imagined apocalypse is simply what’s actually happening.

Macdonald draws on his own personal experience of the city for the track having been evicted, along with dozens of other artists—some who had lived in the building since the ‘90s—when long-running artist haven 888 Dupont was bought up by a developer in 2021. Elsewhere in the song he namechecks the Holy Oak and Raw Sugar cafés, both victims to rising rents. He touches on the legacy of art dealer Katharine Mulherin, who was largely responsible for Queen West’s cultural bloom and eventually priced out of the area by the late 2010s, and died by her own hand in 2019.

“I think we need to talk more broadly about socialism, and have it not be a dirty word, and focus on controlling capitalism and putting more checks and balances into society—to protect people and to make sure everyone has a right to a good life,” Macdonald says. “That’s what I'm advocating for in this song.”

The video is directed by Silver Pools’ own Adrienne McLaren. Speaking on the video McLaren explains, “No Foundation is a video made with a deep desire to tell a story. The video is a love story for the city we love, or are trying hard to love, as it gets harder for artists of all types to work and thrive. Todd and I, with the help of many friends and artists, made this video happen. The goal was to document a variety of artists in their workspaces and studios as they work on their craft. It's a celebration for the small amount of spaces that are left in the city.”

Silver Pools fuse symbolist poetry and protest song with lush synths, overdriven guitar, mandolin, and a hypnotic drum machine named Oscar. Since meeting at a house party jam in 2018 and bonding over their love of bands like The Cure, Sonic Youth, Spookey Ruben and Slow Dive, Todd Macdonald and Adrienne McLaren have been writing and performing together in Silver Pools; pairing down to a duo over the pandemic. They’ve shared the stage with acts such as Charlotte Cornfield, Meltt, Loscil, Sing Leaf, Glassreel, White Poppy, and New Fries, and appeared at Hollowfest, CMW, and the Wavelength Winter Festival.

Upcoming tour dates

• May 19th - Wakefield, QC @ Kaffe w/ Dustin Good
• May 20th - Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo w/ Corey Gulkin & guests
• May 26th - Guelph, ON @ Silence w/ Megan Arnold & M Mucci
• May 27th - Kitchener, ON @ The Yeti Cafe w/ Wax Mannequin & Eiyn Sof
• June 4th - Toronto, ON @ The Baby G w/ Praises, Massey, & DJ Yunjin
• June 8th - Nanaimo, BC @ The Vault Cafe w/ Hush Pup & guests
• June 9th - Victoria, BC @ Caffe Fantastico w/ Richard Garvey & Opal Dar
• June 10th - Vancouver, BC @ Green Auto w/ Rooms, C.Diab, Veda Hille & The Passenger
• June 16-18 - Ymir, BC - Tiny Lights Music Festival