Like Before by Non La

Building upon their 2021 release Not in Love, which largely focused on longing for a romantic relationship, Non La’s most recent album reckons with what happens when that desire becomes a reality. Like Before is a 12-track alt-pop meditation on long term relationships, the difficulty of recognizing care in routine, and the struggle to do better than whatever maladapted form of love your parents were modelling. Despite the universality of these themes, Non La brings a specifically queer focus to the genre including tracks discussing meeting your partner in a bathhouse and how/if to ever tell your family (“Dark Room”), and the conflicting insecurities (“Hurtful”) and reassurances (“Like Before”) that arise from non-monogamy.

As the crush of Not in Love deepened into the romance of Like Before, the band’s musicality has shown similar growth. Rich, nuanced, and more self-assured, the sound on Like Before combines the band’s notorious energy and grit with a new sense of tenderness, resulting in some of the most vulnerable and hard-hitting songs in Non La’s repertoire. From the soaring vocal melodies of “Into the Water”, to the dark, contemplative grunge of “I Don’t Want to Know,” Like Before is simultaneously intimate, loud, soft, and scathing. With this album, Non La provides another crucial contribution to Canada’s queer rock milieu.

DJ On - Guitar, Bass, Drums, Vocals

booking: nonlaband@gmail.com