Winnipeg’s TUNIC explore the darkness of their hometown on Exhaling, a three track effort due on April 9, 2021 via Artoffact Records. The trio of David Schellenberg (guitar/vocals), Rory Ellis (bass) and Dan Unger (drums) use their visceral art punk approach to explore themes related to coping with the illness of a loved one, the dark side of creativity and dealing with toxic friendships.
New single, “Fade Out,” is about watching someone you love and care about go blind. About four years ago, one of Schellenberg’s co-owners at a venue he operates in Winnipeg, was diagnosed with MS. Over time, his business partner started to lose sight in one of his eyes then eventually the other. He became legally blind and had to leave his position at the venue. It was heartbreaking for Schellenberg to watch happen. “Fade Out” is an attempt at coping.
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Winnipeg is cold. Ice cold. And judging by the the emotional brawn and hardcore might of the three-piece Tunic, it can get very very dark. Winnipeg’s Tunic explores that darkness on the band’s new album Exhaling. Across songs like the title track, “Invalid” and “Fade Out,” the trio of David Schellenberg (Guitar / Vocals), Rory Ellis (Bass) and Dan Unger (Drums) use their visceral art punk approach to explore themes related to coping with the illness of a loved one, the dark side of creativity and dealing with toxic friendships.
“I’m not one to write about situations/emotions that I haven’t lived through,” remarks frontman/guitarist David Schellenberg. “I need that catharsis of screaming about these things over and over again. These are all things that have unfolded in my life and I use Tunic as a coping mechanism.”
Tunic was born of spite in– formed after founder David Schellenberg was told he “wasn’t good enough” for another band leading to a subsequent decision to follow his own path. From there, Tunic sought out a sound inspired by the melodic approaches of Quicksand and Superchunk, venom and heartache in Converge and controlled chaos behind Botch. Since their 2016 debut 7”, Tunic have criss-crossed the globe relentlessly, zigging and zagging as part of more than a dozen jaunts in North America and Europe while logging shows with a varied lot like Ken Mode, Single Mothers and even Hank Wood and the Hammerheads. Tunic’s touring bloodlust eventually conjured a debut LP in 2019, Complexion and not surprisingly, the band followed its release with eleven weeks of touring.
The first single, “Exhaling,” serves as a taste of demolition before Tunic’s next full length hits in 2021. This new song, and the legion of firepower on the band’s previous works, serve as fair warning of the brutality that awaits.
