Canadian indie rock institution By Divine Right is returning in the Fall of 2022 with a new album, OTTO MOTTO, their first to be released by upstart label Fortune Stellar Records. In the wake of two previous singles, “St. Leon’s” and “No. 87,” comes the third offering, “The Weeping Man,” which once again displays the album’s overall haunting, psychedelic pop sound. That’s reinforced by the song’s video, showing the three band members moving in black and white stop-motion around spooky, late-night Toronto neighbourhoods.
By Divine Right’s perennial driving force, Jose Contreras, says of “The Weeping Man,” “I didn’t remember writing this song, ‘til I came across it, then I was like, oh yeah, this thing! We tracked it at the end of our session in the middle of the night, very quietly, levitating. The story of the song, really, is it’s an amalgam of the invisible people we see everyday. My Toronto always has had spirit people living in it. The people no one talks to; the people that don’t go into stores; the people you see day after day and no one knows.”
By Divine Right has earned its place as one of Canada’s legendary bands, with its ranks having included, at various points, Feist, Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning and Holy Fuck’s Brian Borcherdt.
Since 2010, By Divine Right’s lineup has been a fan favourite trio consisting of Contreras, Alysha Haugen (bass/vocals) and Geordie Dynes (drums/vocals). This band, heard on 2013 album Organized Accident (Hand Drawn Dracula) and 2016’s track-for-track interpretation of Depeche Mode’s Speak & Spell (Headless Owl Records) as well as the upcoming 2022 double LP OTTO MOTTO (Fortune Stellar Records) is the longest-running lineup in BDR’s evolution.
By Divine Right has built its reputation through numerous award nominations, but most significantly through the adoration of both music fans and the CanRock elite. José’s rare combination of artistic adventure and cultural intuition pre-dated the ’90s alternative music explosion and the 2000’s indie rock phenomena, and it’s this creative curiosity and fusion of sensibilities that continues to make BDR relevant. Since 1995, BDR has released eight albums and played thousands of shows across Canada, the US, UK, Australia and China. They have influenced at least three generations of Canadian music. José has become a sought-after and in-demand record producer and songwriter, while at the same time By Divine Rights’s 2010 album Mutant Message was long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize and nominated for a JUNO Award.
