The Fake Friends Channel Montreal Cool and Post-Punk Edge on Debut LP ‘Let’s Not Overthink This’
Hailing from Montreal’s tight-knit punk and indie scene, The Fake Friends grew out of shared apartments, shared stages, and a love of music that runs through every corner of their city. Frontman Matthew Savage leads a six-piece lineup—guitarists Felix Crawford-Legault and Luca Santilli, bassist Michael Kamps, keyboardist Bradley Cooper-Graham, and drummer Michael Tomizzi—whose sound moves effortlessly between hardcore intensity and catchy, power-pop hooks. High-energy, melodic, and a little jagged, their music reflects both their roots and their relentless drive forward.
Onstage, The Fake Friends have built a reputation far beyond Montreal, touring the Midwest and East Coast and sharpening their sound show by show. With placements like Hockey Night in Canada and support slots for acts like Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, the Buzzcocks, and Wine Lips, they’ve proven themselves as one of the city’s most exciting live acts. Their new single, “A Sucker Born Every Minute,” out December 11 via Stomp Records, is the first taste of their 2026 album Let’s Not Overthink This—a bold, rhythmic, and unmistakably Montreal record full of post-punk edge and melodic hooks.
Montreal’s The Fake Friends sharpen their sound on Let’s Not Overthink This, out via Stomp Records. Blending post-punk urgency, new wave cool, and melodic punch, the record channels the wiry tension of Wire and Pylon with the danceable snap of Franz Ferdinand. What began in 2020 as a casual project evolved into a tightly locked unit led by Matthew Savage and Luca Santilli alongside longtime collaborators, refining their hardcore roots into something controlled but still volatile. The album feels distinctly Montreal — neon-lit, cold, and restless — capturing the clarity and chaos of late nights in the city.
Across eleven tracks, the band balances wit, anxiety, and swagger. Opener “Ministry Of Peace” and the nervy centerpiece “HyperConnection” wrestle with media noise, ego, and modern overstimulation, while songs like “The Way She Goes” and “Control” pull the tempo down into sleek, introspective territory. Darker cuts such as “Backstreet’s Back pt. II” and the defiant “Dance On My Grave” add shadow, before closer “Good Friends” strips things back to a stark, communal finish. Recorded at Mixart with producer Jordan Barillaro and mastered by Vince Soliveri, the album preserves its grit and live-wire chemistry, landing as a confident, community-driven debut built for loud rooms and long winters.
Make sure you check out ‘Let’s Not Overthink This’ on Spotify below and on your favorite streaming platform!
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Who am I? Just some guy who decided to start writing on the Internet years ago and now operates his own brand and site. Owner/Operator of Modern Neon Media, I make all kinds of niche content to suit my interests at the time. DIY Enthusiast, Brewmaster extraordinaire, and avid freak for geek culture. Follow on my socials for a more “on” version of me.
