Week in Pop: Exit Someone, Girl Scout, Treatment

Post Author:

Exit Someone

Introducing wife & husband duo Exit Someone's June Moon & Thom Gillies (from left); photographed by ES.
Introducing wife & husband duo Exit Someone’s June Moon & Thom Gillies (from left); photographed by ES.

June Moon of Forever & husband Thom Gillies from Vesuvio Solo, formerly in TOPS, are Exit Someone who prepare to release their gorgeous, sophisticated sweetness of their EP Dry Your Eyes available January 17 through Atelier Ciseaux. A creative & romantic bond made in Montréal during 2015 when the two were playing the same gig, Exit Someone emphasize the meanings behind absences of people, places & spaces that are beautifully punctuated with sparse & soft bubbling percussion courtesy of TR-505 drum machine. From here June & Thom share a glimpse into their poetry where love & loss exists along the same continuum where their dueting & harmonizing vocals careen in a calm that 2017 desperately needs.
Exit Someone’s tear drop touch-up Dry Your Eyes opens with the Franco pop cinema sound of “Fade To Black” where Thom & June put you in the picture along with them. Confessionals are told like a long litany of whose who games, relationship histories & more expertly sung by June in a duet with Thom with gentle chords & flute accompaniment. European country hopping & emotive undercurrents can be detected on “Austrian Amnesia”, to the scandalous luster of “Forbidden Colours”. “Love in the Days of Rage” is the sound of the two escaping on a wild at heart sort of honeymoon where the pair take their passions wherever they care to take them. Dry Your Eyes completes its cycle with the melancholy of “Security Lies” that reflects the volatility of our times with a dramatic flair that feels like a grand nouvelle vague form of finish.

June Moon & Thom Gillies shared their self-directed visuals for “Fade 2 Black”, edited by June with additional camera work by Alec Nicholas as we follow the power duo strolling about the city streets of Montreal. From here the cinematic, out of time/out of mind sound of Exit Someone finds a familiar environment that shows off the alluring storefronts & sidewalk scenes that add to endless appeal of MTL & it’s rich culture of artistry.

We also present Exit Someone’s self-directed video for “Austrian Amnesia” that features footage from their tour of Berlin. Here we witness busy landscapes, modern architecture & plenty of street dancing opportunities. Arty performance sessions are interspersed withv visuals of traffic, passersby, & various frames of fuzzy focus where the audience easily gets lost amid in the adventures of June & Thom.

Exit Someone's June Moon; courtesy of the artist.
Exit Someone’s June Moon; courtesy of the artist.

Across long distance digital cables, we had the chance to catch up with Exit Someone’s June & Thom in the following interview discussion:
Takes us back to the the summer of 2015 when you two met while playing a show in Montréal. Describe the situation, the setup, the marriage, and how Exit Someone came to be.
June: I wrote a poem for Thom after we first hooked up, and left it underneath an orange in a park next to his place. I thought, if he finds my gift then we’re meant to be…
Thom: I found it. The show was strange, yes. June and Paula stole the show. Weeks later we met again and for cocktails at Beth XXX.
Describe for us the process of creating the sophisticated Dry Your Eyes EP and what sorts of tears & joy went into the recipes?
June: The process has been equally organic and fast. It didn’t feel rushed, but it did feel fast, and I think we were both really turned on by the spontaneity and the immediacy of making Dry Your Eyes.
Thom: Inside a shed. Guitar and voice. But I think most of the chemistry was made and realized during our time inside Berghain.
Thom Gillies of Exit Someone; courtesy of the artists.
Thom Gillies of Exit Someone; courtesy of the artists.

How would the two of you describe your own chemistry?
June: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual.
In what ways have you two noted influences from your other acts, Forever & Vesuvio Solo seeping into Exit Someone?
June: I love singing “Flakes” by Vesuvio Solo.
Thom: I enjoyed the idea of not having to use a computer for this record. Oblique strategies cards were helpful.
What is the secret to making such serene sounds? Every song feels like something of a vacation on a far off hidden away beach.
June: I’ll never tell.
Thom: I’m looking for that hidden beach right now.
Exit Someone's June Moon; courtesy of the artists.
Exit Someone’s June Moon; courtesy of the artists.

Winter survival tips?
June: The best way to look hot is staying warm.
Spring dreams? Summer wishes?
Thom: Harvest.
2016 hungover dreams?
Thom: Plants not pills.
2017 dreams?
June : Record some music.
Thom: June is working on making a new solo record. I’d like to run a marathon.
Exit Someone’s debut EP Dry Your Eyes will be available January 17 from Atelier Ciseaux.