poolblood, the musical nom-de-plume of Toronto’s Maryam Said, is an ethereal spirit of punk rock, swirling and dancing in the air with a collection of gorgeously orchestrated bedroom pop music. Raised in a religious household at arm’s length from popular music, they nonetheless found themselves drawn in by the music of Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), who left an indelible  imprint on Said’s relationship to music and songwriting.

 

The results of their upbringing–time spent practicing chords in guitar class, learning about hardcore from friends after school and honing their songwriting as an early teen–is a winding path of melody, making stops along the way to dabble in everything from noise rock to lush and gorgeous pop hooks.

 

Drawing inspiration from wide array of artists; Fiona Apple, Nick Drake, Ichiko Aoba, Yuck, Title Fight, The Apples In Stereo, Mitski, Deftones and every stop in between, Poolblood is a pastiche of genres and styles working in blended harmony.

 

In poolblood’s voice, stunning and comforting and vital as it is, we live in ease, a calming presence laid over a lifeline of fiendishly brilliant structures of songwriting. Poolblood is here as a halcyon guide through a world of their own creation, lush and dense and beautiful at one turn, sparse and tender and revelatory in others.

 

poolblood is an intrepid explorer, not content to stay in one place for too long. With an undeniable ear for the building blocks of an unforgettable hit, Poolblood is an invitation to a journey, the offer of the expanse of a musical universe that is ever-expanding. As they grow, so too do we, intertwining melodies on a line that cleverly subverts the expectations of what’s next.