The Stills only bore scant similarities to
Interpol, but like those suit-wearing New Yorkers,
the Stills launched their career with a stately post-punk sound inspired by the likes of
Echo & the Bunnymen and
Joy Division. Having known one another since the age of 12, the band's founding members -- vocalist
Tim Fletcher, drummer
Dave Hamelin, guitarist
Greg Paquet, and bassist
Oliver Crowe -- played in various bands before forming
the Stills in 2000. Two years later, they temporarily left their native Montreal for a two-month stay in New York City, where they recorded songs with a four-track recorder and pursued a record deal. An offer from Vice Recordings followed before the year's end; however, joint shows with
the Music,
the Rapture,
the Streets, and the
Yeah Yeah Yeahs were what cemented
the Stills a temporary spot among the city's ever-changing indie rock scene.
The Rememberese EP appeared in June 2003, and stateside dates with
Interpol followed that fall.
Logic Will Break Your Heart marked
the Stills' full-length debut in October, and the band spent time touring the U.K. and North America before heading into the studio to record a second album in late 2004. Founding member
Greg Paquet announced his departure from the lineup the following year, and drummer
Dave Hamelin responded to the change by switching roles and filling
Paquet's spot on guitar. Touring keyboardist
Liam O'Neil and
Sea Ray drummer Colin Brooks were also added to the lineup. The resulting
Without Feathers, released in 2006, was something of a departure for the group, relying less on new wave and post-punk and more on rootsy, '70s heartland rock (
Hamelin also became the band's co-frontman, sharing vocal duties with
Fletcher). 2008's
Oceans Will Rise saw
the Stills stretching their boundaries even further, this time incorporating sonic experimentalism and uplifting, anthemic rock into their sound. The evolution stopped there, however, with the band announcing its decision to split up on April 15, 2011. ~ MacKenzie Wilson