Rival Boys started as a musical experiment by sister and brother pair Lee a… Read Full Bio ↴Rival Boys started as a musical experiment by sister and brother pair Lee and Graeme Rose. Before they were of legal age, the duo was using fake identification and playing shows in bars across Toronto. Often playing on borrowed equipment and at unconventional venues, they delivered aggressive, noisy grunge-inspired performances at clubs and at house parties alike. Performing songs with a varying line-up of friends in the underground Toronto music scene, the pair spent three years refining their song writing and musicianship, flying under the radar of the Toronto Indie mainstream.

In 2007, after three years of chaotic shows that produced several raw live recordings, Lee and Graeme enlisted the talents of Sam Sholdice on drums, and cemented the line-up of Rival Boys as a hard-hitting guitar/bass/drum three-piece. Through word-of-mouth accounts of their fiercely energetic live shows, Rival Boys built a dedicated and enthusiastic fan base in and around Toronto. In 2009, Rival Boys released their debut EP Life of Worry, recorded at Sleepytown Sound in Toronto, which earned the following praise:

“The Rival Boys first EP Life of Worry is a fantastic return to the straightforward rock, while still keeping it interesting and fresh. Their combination of riff based guitar along with a steady driving drum beats overtop soulful vocals works insanely well. The vocals stand out beautifully through the lo-fi rocky guitar with the drums pushing everything along. "
- Jay, AW Music

"The tracks are sweet, sad, melodramatic and melancholy in a way that conjures say, Hayden writing a record for the male-female harmonies of the New Pornographers."
-City News

Following the release of Life of Worry, Rival Boys continued to play shows throughout Southern Ontario. Playing in small clubs and cavernous amphitheatres alike, Rival Boys has shared stages with The Stills, K’Naan, Cuff the Duke, Kiss Kiss, White Rabbits, Forest City Lovers, The Schomberg Fair, The Pack AD, and many others.

In late 2009, Rival Boys enlisted the help of producer Mike Rocha (Dinosaur Bones, Black Pistol Fire), and began planning for the recording of their debut full-length. In early 2010, Rival Boys began recording at Chemical Sound Studios (Black Keys, Constantines, DFA 1979, Born Ruffians), and spent over a year crafting their new album Mutual Feelings of Love. Recording live off-the-floor to tape, the band strove to balance the irresistible energy of their live performance with the nuance and subtlety of their song writing. The result is stripped-down, exciting rock music with interlocking guitar and bass melodies, propulsive drums, and aggressive two-part harmonies reminiscent of late-era Sleater-Kinney, but with the emotional earnestness of early Springsteen, and the cathartic melancholy of The Constantines. With Mutual Feelings of Love, which will be released in 2011, Rival Boys deliver a jubilant blend of grunge-pop and anthemic post-punk.