Somewhere on Vancouver Island, between months of rain and snow and grey, Night Mirrors spent a full year putting together “Breathe Life Out” — eight songs that sound like the weather they were born from, except nothing here just sits around being atmospheric.
The debut EP dropped February 17, and right from the opening title track you get the picture: layers of reverb-drenched guitar wash over you, and then the screams hit. Proper post-hardcore screams, right there in the middle of what you thought was going to be a dreamy shoegaze and post punk record. That’s kind of the whole point with this band.
Night Mirrors started as a three-piece in British Columbia’s Comox Valley — Daniel Baboolal on guitar, synth, bass and vocals, Milli Lyman on guitar and vocals, Mark Hornich on drums. They tracked everything together across twelve months, stacking baritone guitar, standard six-string, synths, bass and multiple vocal takes until each song felt full without losing its raw, organic feel.
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“We call ourselves a shoegaze band but we draw influences from so many places,” the band says. “We pull from the early sounds of that genre with bands like The Cure, Cocteau Twins, and My Bloody Valentine, but we also pull from the heavier sides of doom metal, citing influences like Primitive Man and Russian Circles. We don’t want to fall into the box of being labelled just a shoegaze band and try our best to push the boundaries of what that can be while still maintaining the driving, reverb soaked goodness that we all know and love.”
And they really aren’t limiting themselves. The record moves between moods without asking permission — “Cold Death” drags you into proper doom territory, “Soliloquy” and “Pinned Moth” hold this fragile, almost brittle tension, and “Grey Wall” closes things out past the five-minute mark, letting everything unravel slowly. Through it all there’s this soothing quality underneath the heaviness, something genuinely warm and enveloping even when the music gets dense and loud. Post-rock builds collide with shoegaze walls, bursts of aggression give way to stretches that feel almost meditative. It’s not background music pretending to have teeth — it has teeth, and it also knows when to let go.
Shawn Gabel recorded and mixed the EP. Stu McKillop mastered it at Rain City Recorders. Album art by Mara Combe.
“Most tracks have several layers of guitar and vocals on them,” the band explains. “We wanted the songs to sound full but also retain an organic quality. Shawn did a great job of helping us realize our vision and worked meticulously with us to bring it to life. It came out heavy, with just the right amount of twinkle.”
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The lyrics deal with death, psychological free-fall, transcendence beyond the physical. The kind of territory that could get overwrought fast, but the music carries it honestly.
“These songs were written during the wet, cold and dark winter months that we experience here on Canada’s west coast,” the band shares. “From snowy nights, to the seeming endless deluge of rain and fog, these songs manifest from the darkest regions of our emotions and minds. We intended to paint that dark landscape that we exist in through our music and draw the listener into a space that is both lush and hopelessly bleak at the same time.”
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Since finishing the record, Night Mirrors have shifted their lineup. Hornich departed after tracking his drum parts, and the band now plays live and writes with drummer Tanner Pare and bassist Jory Mckay. “Breathe Life Out” remains a fully realized snapshot of where this band started — and a pretty clear sign they’re not interested in staying in any single lane. Can’t wait to hear more from these guys.
