“I’ll Take Mine (Seismic Shift)” fell into place when the group decided to try and rip off Rilo Kiley. “This song
took the longest to write and was the hardest to come together but has
turned into my favourite,” the band’s vocalist Sophie Heppell explains.
“I wrote the
ending synth solo melody long before Hyaenas was even a twinkle in my
eye, with other pieces of it collected and stored along the way in voice
notes and journals… The opening line ‘I didn’t see it coming’ I stole
from myself – from a silly song I wrote for Jen [Foster, drums] right at the beginning of
our relationship, and the whole track encapsulates my love for her and
how the path least expected can bring forth the most golden rewards that
you never saw coming.”
Across Human Nature,
Hyaenas – comprised of two married couples – pull from dark pop, indie
rock, and synthy alt-pop to unpick perfectionism and gender politics. As Heppell puts it, “I think
it’s really easy to feel defeated these days… but I think our greatest
super power is hope, and with a record called Human Nature it’s nice
to end on a hopeful note.”
Since
forming in 2021, the band have played festivals such as NXNE, CMW, and Folk on the Rocks,
and shared stages with The Pack AD and Shred Kelly. Their 2023 EP Little Trophy cracked the national !Earshot Radio Charts at number 11, accrued over 175,000 streams, and led to a sync placement in Netflix’s My Life with the Walter Boys.
The
band will mark the album’s release with a run of Western Canadian dates
this summer, including a Vancouver show on 31 July at Wise Hall as part
of Queerdohpalooza alongside Devours and Hank Pine, with further stops
in Cumberland, Nanaimo, Sooke, Fernie, Kelowna, Kamloops and a set at
Chilliwack Mural Festival.
