The Satisfactory return this month with “How To Swim / Lydia,” a double single that captures a Montreal rock band thriving on tension. One track builds slowly into euphoria, the other strikes with immediate urgency. Together, they show a band that knows exactly what it wants to say, even when it refuses to over-explain itself.
Songwriter Salvador Vaughan wrote “How To Swim” in his childhood bedroom after visiting the abandoned Ontario Place in Toronto. “Looking at a run down mouldy Ontario Place rotting away by the lake, a place I remember going as a child, provided a nice setting for reflection I’d say,” he recalls. The refrain, “Today I taught myself how to swim,” arrived in that moment, and Vaughan has kept its meaning deliberately open ever since.
“I’ve always hated when artists over-explain the meaning to their own songs,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what it means to them, it matters what it means to whoever is hearing it and how they can fit it into their lives. So I didn’t want to muddy the waters. No pun intended.”
The track builds gradually, anchored by slide guitar work from guitarist Chris that Vaughan calls his favourite musical moment on the song. “I think I was always chasing a song that gradually built into a giant euphoric ending. Because to me it’s a rather euphoric lyric. And especially with a song that’s 70% the same chorus you’ve gotta really make it seem like it’s going somewhere even while still repeating the same How To Swim mantra.”
Produced and mixed by Aran Winter and mastered by Peter Edwards, the double single leans into songwriting that feels timeless. The Satisfactory draw on The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Oasis, but the songs never sound like museum pieces. “As long as the songs are honest, in the way we play and in the way I sing and write them then they’ll still sound just as modern as anything else, no matter the instrumentation,” Vaughan explains. “When I listen to old songs that resonate with me I don’t picture a 90 year old singing from a 90 year olds perspective, y’know what I mean? It’s all about being genuine in where you are and who you are.”
“Lydia” strikes a different tone entirely. Sharp, immediate, and driven by buzzing guitars, the track follows a relationship at its breaking point, complete with the unforgettable line about a Nonna’s ring. That detail came from a simple edit. “I had originally written the line ‘Grandma’s ring’, but I thought about it and I don’t have a grandma I have a Nonna so I changed it to give it more of a personal touch,” Vaughan says. “I don’t wanna ruin the mystique but I’m only 22 and haven’t been close to marriage so the line is a bit of fiction.”
The song balances humour, regret, and frustration without tipping into bitterness. “I don’t know really, it wasn’t a super active choice to write in that style. It’s kinda just who I am, there’s no point in being a hundred percent bitter, I hear it gives you bunions.”
That contrast between soft warmth and sharp urgency runs through the band’s entire approach. Vaughan attributes it to two sides of his personality. “There’s always a part of me that’s really jumpy, loud, and just go go go all the time. I call him Dave. And then there’s another that just wants to sit at home, drink tea, play the piano and talk to myself. His name is Terry. I love and nurture them equally, and it comes out in the music.”
The Satisfactory have been building a devoted following in Montreal over the past few years, playing “How To Swim” at nearly every show long before its official release. “It’s been a bit surreal that as we’ve grown in the city, seeing people come and sing along to it before it even got released,” Vaughan says. “The scene here is so lovely and supportive it really feels like something special is happening and we’re just glad to be a part of it.”
Montreal crowds have shaped the band’s approach to writing and performing. “If there’s one thing about them that’s affected the way I write it’s that I’ve definitely been writing more dance numbers here. Those usually go over very well,” Vaughan notes. “It seems people are willing to let themselves go and just have fun in Montreal compared to other places I’ve played, and it fits the kind of music I enjoy playing live the most. I’ve always been quite energetic and jittery on stage and the crowds here are the same.”
The band celebrated the release with a show at Petit Campus, followed by an Ontario run through Hamilton, Toronto, Peterborough, and Ottawa. Two additional Montreal shows are planned for April, along with another single release. Taking the songs outside Quebec doesn’t change the core experience. “People always dance. We definitely know how to blow the windows off any venue we play, no matter where it is. I guess the only thing that changes is we’re less known elsewhere so we have to win over audiences but I love doing that. Probably because we always do. Knocks on wood a hundred times.”
In a music landscape that moves fast and forgets faster, The Satisfactory are leaning into something they call timeless. For Vaughan, that comes down to honesty. “Sure we are pulling influences from the past but the songs are still coming from me and not any fossilized rock n roll star. No matter where the band goes, that will always remain the same. The songs will always be written by me in my bedroom no matter where that may be. (Hopefully a very big one someday)”
“How To Swim / Lydia” is out now, with a music video on the way. The double single shows a band that knows how to build tension, hold space, and let listeners fill in the blanks. Vaughan isn’t interested in spelling everything out. He’d rather you figure out what it means on your own.
