Montreal trio Afternoon Bike Ride have announced their third full-length album, Running With Scissors, due September 19 through Friends of Friends. Alongside the news, the group shared the record’s lead single, “Abigail,” a delicate track that hints at the album’s central themes: memory, grief, and the elusive thread of connection.
The group—made up of Lia Kurihara, Éloi Le Blanc-Ringuette, and David Tanton—have been steadily building a reputation for their introspective blend of ambient textures, indie folk, and hushed pop. Their past releases, including 2021’s Skipping Stones and 2023’s Glossover, have earned them spots at Montreal’s JazzFest and M for Montreal, as well as tour dates across North America, including opening slots for Novo Amor at MTelus and Toronto’s History.
But Running With Scissors is a more intimate offering. At its emotional core is Kurihara’s experience as a caregiver to her father, who lived with dementia and passed away during the writing of the album. “He spent time with us at our writing retreat,” Kurihara said. “He came to nearly all our practices when we were building the live show.” The new songs, she added, were shaped not only by that presence, but by his absence too.
The lead single “Abigail” was inspired by a brief encounter with a young girl Kurihara met last summer. In a statement, she described the moment as feeling “like meeting an old friend from a previous life,” and spoke of the child’s belief in ghosts and trees as companions—ideas that echo the album’s fascination with reincarnation and the metaphysical weight of relationships.
Musically, the trio continue to blur genre lines, pulling in field recordings, bilingual vocals, and delicate instrumentation. Tracks like “Otherworld”, “Feel Through”, and the title cut suggest a project that stays grounded in real-world emotionality, while still allowing space for philosophical drift.
Afternoon Bike Ride will support the album with a run of Quebec and Ontario dates this fall, including a hometown show at La Sala Rossa on November 20.
Nov 20 La Sala Rossa, Montreal, QC TICKETS
Running With Scissors is out September 19 via Friends of Friends.
Photo credit: Akina Chan
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