James Tonic imagines the love that never was on “Wherever You Are”

Montreal has always been good at melancholy with a bit of glamour to it, and James Tonic has spent seven albums turning that mood into something you can sway to. His new single, “Wherever You Are”, is the first of four he’s dropping weekly through October 1, and it’s a gorgeous place to start: late-night pop that sounds like a city seen through a rain-streaked taxi window.

About the single

The song is built on piano, strings and synth, but the real surprise is that it was cut with a live band rather than stitched together on a laptop. You can hear it, too. There’s a warmth and a little looseness in the playing that keeps all that lush atmosphere from tipping into wallpaper.

Lyrically, it lives in the version of a relationship that never actually happened, the one you replay in your head long after the other person has moved on. The whole thing pivots on a single devastating offer: he could have been her shelter, if only she’d pretend, just for a moment, that she needed one. It’s the kind of line that lands softly and then sits with you for the rest of the day.

If your listening diet leans towards Cigarettes After Sex, Lana Del Rey or the moodier corners of The Weeknd, this one is very much for you.

A quiet giant of dream pop

Tonic isn’t exactly a newcomer. His catalogue has passed 25 million streams across 238 territories, and videos soundtracked by his music have clocked nearly 900 million views and more than 21 million likes. Plenty of people have fallen for his songs without ever knowing his name.

That might change this winter. In December he launches the Safety Tour, a staged dream pop musical playing 18 theatres across North America. Given how cinematic these songs already feel, putting them on a proper stage makes a lot of sense, and the tour’s title suggests “Wherever You Are” will be right at the heart of it.

Three more singles are on the way. Start here, turn the lights down, and let it wash over you.

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