The Darcys bring the GOODTIME Tour to Petit Campus on Thursday 5 November, two weeks after releasing the three-song EP The Noise. The Montreal show opens a Canadian run that ends in Vancouver on 21 November.
Wes Marskell and Jason Couse started the band in Toronto and took its name from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. They spent the early 2010s on Arts & Crafts as a larger art-rock group. Their self-titled 2011 album, the first for the label, was produced by Murray Lightburn of Montreal’s The Dears, and Warring (2013) was nominated for the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year and longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. Now a duo based in Los Angeles, they have released their own records through The Darcys Inc. Records since 2018.
Marskell writes the lyrics; Couse sings them and handles production. That split dates to 2011, when the band went through what Marskell calls “some dramatic changes” while making Warring:
“We decided I would do x, Jason would y, and so on. We were in survival mode, and we knew that if we didn’t finish Warring, that would be it for us. We had to make sure our world didn’t implode. Over time, some of those assignments have changed, but my role writing lyrics and Jason’s role in production have largely remained untouched. Why? Honestly, I don’t know.”
He plays down the division of labour. “This plot point gets a lot of traction, when in reality everything we do is so collaborative and goes through so many iterations that by the time Jason is onstage singing a song, the lyrics feel as much his as they do mine. When I’m working on new music, I feel like I’m writing for Jason and The Darcys more than I’m writing my lyrics for Jason to sing. I have a pretty good sense of what he’ll respond to and what he won’t when I bring an idea to the table. From there, we work everything into melodies, refine things, Jason brings his lyrical ideas, and the whole thing evolves. Like the production itself, everything is modular. In the end, the computer spits out a song by The Darcys, not a song with lyrics by Wes Marskell and production by Jason Couse.”
The band moved to Los Angeles after more than 15 years in Toronto, though Marskell doesn’t frame it as a choice between the two. “I’ve never really thought of my life as Toronto vs. LA, and I want to make it very clear that I was cheering for the Blue Jays in last year’s World Series. Toronto is home. It’s where our friendship started, where The Darcys began, and where we spent more than 15 years building a world of our own. Our little studio on Dovercourt was our corporate headquarters, recording studio, rehearsal space, and clubhouse. We cut our teeth in Toronto alongside an incredible wave of alternative rock bands, and that city will always be a huge part of who we are.”
The move was about how people saw the band. “At some point, we needed a change. An opportunity to produce in LA came along, and we took it. What LA gave us was the chance to start over. We could step outside the version of The Darcys that people had made up their minds about us as an art-rock band back in 2011. LA gave us some distance from that history. If anything, Toronto gave us our identity, and LA gave us the freedom to redefine it.”
Running their own label has paid off, though he describes the workload bluntly. “There is absolutely nothing glamorous about it! Don’t do it! As control freaks, it’s nice knowing your music is going to come out how you want it, when you want it. But that also means taking on the roles of an entire slate of record label jobs on top of having to write and produce our songs. Transparently, it’s been a huge win for us financially and a wonderful way to take back the power in our careers, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t willing to work an additional 24/7 on top of the 24/7 job that is being an artist.”
Then he reverses himself. “In 2026, anyone can have a label, and that means anyone can release music, which I love. We were rejected by a ton of labels before we got lucky signing to A&C way back when. Had they passed, maybe we would have had to change the plan. But we didn’t have the tools or options that musicians do now. So I take back whatever I said. Start a label.”
On Rendering Feelings (2024), Dreaming reached No. 1 at alternative radio and was used in World Series and NFL playoff broadcasts, and Talking was featured in Grey’s Anatomy. Marskell says the album carried real stakes. “Stop? No. Recalibrate? Yes. I’m not sure we’d know how to stop even if we tried. We’ve been doing this for so long that The Darcys is part of the fabric of who we are as people. But somewhere in the back of our minds, we knew that if Rendering Feelings didn’t make the dent we needed it to, we’d have to find a new way to approach the band, how much time we put into it, and what we’re getting out of it. I think that reality is always kicking around, but for now, we’ve staved it off a little longer. Every time, we stave it off just a little bit longer.”
Earlier this year the band reissued the album as Rendering Feelings (GOODTIME Edition), adding over thinking and GOODTIME.
The band has described the title track of The Noise as being about “tuning out the chatter, trusting your instincts.” Marskell admits he finds that hard. “After being in a band for a trillion years, experiencing endless letdowns and countless rejections, most people develop a thick skin. Me, not so much. I missed that developmental phase. So honestly, there’s always noise. Sometimes I read reviews or negative comments and feel like imploding. I want to go around to every person listening to our band and explain exactly what we’re trying to do and why it’s good. I could, you know, just not read them, but what’s the fun in that?”
For now, he is narrowing his focus. “Insecurity and self-inflicted pressure can create quite an anxiety cocktail, and it can get pretty loud, especially when you garnish it with the state of the world and what it might look like in 10 or 20 years. So, you know, I’m mostly trying to tune everything out. But I’m working on keeping things small and focusing on what I can control, which, at present, is making this live set incredible.”
The band has said it will start recording a new album in 2027, but Marskell says they don’t yet know what they’ll do differently. “We really have no idea what’s next, and that’s exciting and liberating. When we went back into the studio early this year, The Ride, The Noise and Hard Feelings came together quickly. So did a few more songs, and we were left unsure of how to package them. Were these songs the denouement of Rendering Feelings, or the prologue to the next record?”
He says the decision went against habit. “Normally, we don’t thrive in uncertainty, but we felt, in the words of Zack de la Rocha, ‘what better time than now.’ We’ve spent 15 years being precious about things, and maybe these songs can be The Noise EP and then some. Maybe all or some of them will live on a new record, become part of a Singles, B-Sides & Rarities LP, or just exist as they are.”
The tour set includes songs from Centerfold, which turns 10 this year, and a reworked version of The River from Warring. “The River belongs to a different era. It was the tentpole of our art-rock days, when there were more people on stage and the mood of the show was darker and more introspective. Even in a set of songs from Warring, The River stands out, which makes integrating it into a 2026 live show a fun challenge. For The GOODTIME Tour, we wanted our back catalogue to feel familiar and deliver that nostalgia, while still feeling at home alongside the music we’re making today. We’re not out here doing free-jazz renditions of our old stuff. Or are we? We just felt, like Centerfold, The River could benefit from a 2026 refresh. Not a facelift, just a little filler.”
The band played Montreal earlier this year opening for Two Feet, but its history here goes back to its first years on the road. “When our band first started out, we toured Montreal all the time. We drank a lot of Boréale, got robbed more than a few times, and settled the very important question of which bagel shop was best. We played Casa del Popolo and L’Escogriffe more times than I can count.”
The city has never quite opened up for them. “The memories are endless, but Montreal has always been a bit of a mirage. Growing up in Toronto, it feels so close, yet somehow just out of reach. We’ve never quite cracked the code on playing there, but that’s never stopped us from coming back. We have history, affection, and unfinished business. The bike lanes, the creation at Boustan, running up Mount Royal, the coffee shops, the energy. There’s something magical about Montreal, and we’re excited to be back.”
Asked about new music, Marskell named the two acts opening shows on this run: Oliver Forest in Montreal and Pleasure Craft in Toronto. “Both are super cool and worth checking out, online and at the shows. I’m a big proponent of seeing the opening band because you just might discover the artist you’ve been looking for. A lot of people discovered us that way, and I hope we can find a way to pay that forward.”
The Petit Campus show starts at 8 pm, with Oliver Forest opening. Tickets are $22 in advance through Le Point de Vente and $25 at the door. The tour continues to The 27 Club in Ottawa on 6 November, Adelaide Hall in Toronto on 7 November, Commonwealth Bar in Calgary on 12 November and the Capital Ballroom in Victoria on 20 November.
Photo credit: Saint
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