TOUCHED FABLES

Just one week after TOUCHED FABLES celebrated a successful release party for their debut album A Thousand Goodbyes, an unexpected illness struck the guitarist’s family. “Any plans to play more shows were cut short, and weak immune systems meant staying home and avoiding large crowds. We obviously took a long break from music,” says vocalist Paul Anthony.

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Fortunately, the music spoke for itself. At one point, every single track from their 2023 debut was playlisted in dozens of countries around the world.

Jim Roditis: “The support and feedback for A Thousand Goodbyes was incredible. The reviews were all super positive as well. We really connected with a lot of new people.”

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Paul Anthony: “Almost a year later, we were able to return to the stage and started working on new songs. There was a huge turnout at our second gig, and I think our unintentional absence actually created some anticipation here in our hometown of Ottawa. Playing live was also a great way to test out new material. Some tracks we thought were strong fell flat, while others consistently had people dancing. We took this knowledge back into the studio to fine-tune our new album, The Sum of All Wounds. We also had the pleasure of opening for Xeno & Oaklander last fall, which really made us feel like we were operating on a professional level. It was a huge honour to share the stage with them.”

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Jim Roditis: “The gap year gave us time to evaluate and plan where to go next. Those live shows were key. We realized we could write a mix of ‘listen-at-home’ tracks and others that really worked well on the dancefloor. Staying true to our premise that TOUCHED FABLES is the music we wish we could have made when we were younger, two years after our debut puts us around 1988—when early industrial records were emerging from Europe. The percussion on this album reflects that era, and the guitars are much more prominent and aggressive.”

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Paul Anthony: “We’re not only referencing classic post-punk bands, but we’re also mining the same territory as more contemporary acts like Twin Tribes and Drab Majesty. The harder sound on this album also helped me find my voice. I consciously tried to sing with more sustained tones compared to the last release—less clipped. I guess I was able to push the boat out a bit more with the distorted guitars supporting my vocals. It gave me confidence.”

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Jim Roditis: “Paul was up to his usual tricks producing this record—hiding inside jokes and Easter eggs within the lyrics. The album, for instance, is exactly the same length as Japan’s Tin Drum. That’s no coincidence. I remember the day Paul told me if you start playback of the vocals in our track Never Let Me Down at the same time as Lords of the New Church’s 1983 song Dance With Me, the word ‘reprieve’ overlaps. There are all sorts of things like that hidden in our records.”

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Paul Anthony: “The tone of the album really came together once we settled on the cover art. I kept running into someone at my solo gigs supporting Japanese drummer Mineo Kawasaki. That person turned out to be Mag Odnad, a talented local photographer who works with film. We live in an era where anyone can take pristine, high-res digital photos on their phones, but there’s something magical and charming about old media. It’s funny how the flaws of a format eventually become the things that define it—cassette hiss, wobbly VCR tracking, the grain of high-ASA film. Mag’s bleak photo of the northeast coast of Scotland perfectly captured the forlorn, cold feeling we were trying to convey. Ironically, the photo was taken with expired 1985 Kodak VR 1000 film and an Olympus Trip 35—both from the same decade we’re channeling musically. There was no other choice, really, for the cover photo. It was too good of a coincidence.”

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A record release party for TOUCHED FABLES – The Sum of All Wounds will be held on Saturday, October 18th 2025, at The House of Targ in Ottawa.

The album will be available on 12-inch, 180g Gothic black vinyl, compact disc, and digital formats.

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The band also plans to perform in Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, and London, Ontario.