TORONTO, March 21, 2023 – Sister Ray, the project of Edmonton-born songwriter, Ella Coyes has just announced their new EP, Teeth, out May 12th via Royal Mountain Records, as well as sharing the title-track. A stunning and quietly-devastating tune, it continues where Coyes left off with their debut Pitchfork-approved & Polaris-longlist nominated album, Communion.
The record was featured on the likes of NPR, Paste, Under The Radar, CBC, Ones To Watch, Audiotree and more, and saw them gracing the stage at Pitchfork Festival in Paris & London, Primavera Weekender, and headline and support dates across North America and Europe, including a run with Hurray For The Riff Raff.
LISTEN: to Sister Ray’s “Teeth“
On the track, Coyes explains, “I wrote this song while I was feeling like some of my most fond memories I clung to and preserved through my own fantasy and lore began to slip out of my grasp. I felt betrayed, as if I had dedicated my life to a false prophet. “Teeth” is like a supercut of nostalgia that morphs into whatever the mid-20s equivalent is of finding out that the tooth fairy isn’t real but hating that you have to know.“
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What does it take to not only become unburdened by your past, but to embrace its many contours? Sister Ray, the project of Edmonton-born songwriter Ella Coyes (they/she), was conceived out of necessity; a self-designed vehicle built to examine trauma with unflinching honesty. Armed with a voice that soars and scrapes in equal measure, Coyes converts first-person recollections of big, complicated love into universally potent allegories. The result is an unyielding, spacious, and commanding form of indie rock, rooted in the folk tradition, that transforms unvarnished, interior reflections into a generous public offering.
Born and raised on the expansive prairies of Sturgeon County, Sister Ray’s music is steeped in a wide range of cultural influences. With gospel bluegrass and 90’s country playing in the background of their youth, it was the traditional Métis music played at home that not only brought them closer to their heritage, but taught them a form of storytelling rooted in collective value, resilience, and safety. Through the existential questions that came with examining contradictory identities, Coyes came to understand music’s ability to archive personal histories while also unpacking overwhelming emotions with the support of a community.
Backed by ginla, the Brooklyn based duo behind early Adrianne Lenker (Big Thief) and Lorely Rodriguez (Empress Of) Teeth, their new EP on Royal Mountain Records, came from a need for space and the repercussions conditional to this desire. “I was thinking often about intimacy and avoidance—crawling around to find where my place would be,” Coyes says. The songs were written quickly and vigorously, mimicked through the recording process, crafted by Coyes over five days. With three originals and a spectral cover of “I Never Will Marry,” inspired by Linda Ronstadt’s interpretation, Coyes discerns big and small epiphanies in Teeth. Their yearning tone and staggering honesty trickles throughout and the erosion leads to an opening—vacant, unfamiliar, and with room to breathe.
“Teeth” is out now via Royal Mountain Records. You can listen here.
Teeth (EP) is out May 12th via Royal Mountain Records. You can pre-order it here.
Tracklist
1. Teeth
2. Pressing Down
3. All Dogs Go To Heaven
4. I Never Will Marry
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