Ivytide is an indie pop band from Montreal, Canada. The story of Ivytide began as Nathan Gagné (vocals/guitar) developed a passion for making music in his teenage years, singing in his room with the door closed. Gagné was joined by Kyle Ruggiero (bass) and Jamie Snytte (guitar) to officially form the band, combining their unique influences to produce bedroom pop songs with intricate, but catchy melodies, which float on top of well-thought-out instrumentation. 

The focus track from their new debut album, portable darkroom, leaves nothing at the door. “vacant” delves into feelings of patience and self-reflection. Learning to carry personal luggage takes both time and introspection, yet the song’s uplifting feel hints at the protagonist’s moment of self-realization, choosing to leave his baggage outside where “rain will catch it.” The juxtaposition between the song’s rapped verses and falsetto choruses portrays the thoughtful disarray the protagonist finds himself in.

We do not recollect our memories in a pure way. Rather, when we reconstruct them in our minds, our portable darkroom, they are filled with artifacts, blemishes and impurities, like a photograph from a film camera gaining its color. portable darkroom provides an aperture into the band’s emotions, experiences and memories, as you hear the songs developing throughout.