Blue Fog Records
Released on July 18th, 2026
“Here we are again to play and sing, together like we did long ago, though not so long ago…we’re still in the same dream.” As if narrating their very existence, Rick White & Julie Doiron start their collaborative album Together by drawing the listener’s attention to the long and colourful history the two share, and the exciting fact that they’ve reunited to bring us one of the year’s best rock records. Thirty+ years into their careers, the two shine as bright as ever, delivering an album that is as nostalgic as it is relevant.
For the uninitiated, let’s get some context out of the way. Rick White and Julie Doiron were teenage sweethearts-turned-bandmates in what can confidently be called New Brunswick’s most influential rock band, Eric’s Trip. Hailing from Moncton, Eric’s Trip was formed around 1990, and was the first Canadian band to be signed to legendary Seattle record label Sub Pop (having just spent the weekend in Moncton, I can attest to this as an absolute miracle [sorry, Moncton]). Today, the Sub Pop artist archive describes Eric’s Trip’s sound as emulating “the distorted guitar of Dinosaur Jr., the folk leanings of Neil Young, and the lo-fi aesthetic of Sebadoh”. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Eric’s Trip was the face that launched a thousand ships, with legendary East Coast artists like Sloan, Thrush Hermit, Klarka Weinwurm, and Little You, Little Me drawing inspiration from their scrappy, sappy sound. But their impact continues far beyond the East Coast, with iconic artists like Mount Eerie crediting Eric’s Trip as a formative influence.
The band parted ways in the late 90s, and each member charted their own unique paths through the bramble that was the early aughts music scene. Rick spent many years decidedly not making music, choosing, for a while, to design remote control trucks, but did write and record with Canadian legends like the Sadies when he felt so inclined. Julie went on to have a beautiful and varied solo career, forming and unforming various live band iterations usually composed of renowned performers, with members of the Cancer Bats, Constantines, Attack in Black, Construction & Destruction and Dany Placard backing her up over the years.
Now that the Can-con rock history lesson is over, surely you understand how miraculous this album is. Seemingly out of nowhere, the skies have cleared, the clouds have parted, and Together descended from the heavens at our time of need. Incredible!
When well-seasoned acts release new material, especially ones with such unimpeachable musical reputations, it can set a fan on edge. But fear not! Rick and Julie have still absolutely got it. Together is 14-tracks of honest, simple, yet vibrant songwriting. Each song can be appreciated as a singular piece, but together they weave a story of friendship, fuzz pedals, lifetimes and legacy.
What immediately struck me about Together is how much it sounds like Eric’s Trip. I’m not referring to the obvious, that the album was made by 2 members of the band. Rather, I was impressed by how true to that original sound they chose to stay. The guitar tones are almost identical to those on Love Tara. The vocal production is so tubular yet complimentary, you can barely hear the effects of time on their vocal cords. Rick wrote, on the subject, “We didn’t wanna do a folky adult kinda album, we kept it peppy and heavy and tried to retain some of that youthful magic we had originally created together.“ Seeing the Eric’s Trip aesthetic so faithfully reproduced, even all these years later, is oddly comforting. Like, no matter what happens, Rick and Julie remain. Together doesn’t feel like a modern take on something from the past. It’s incredibly authentic, as though these artists were masters of their domain all the way back then, and only they are able to pull that secret recipe from the depths of time.
The album cover also drew my attention, more sturdy evidence of how Rick has remained true to his aesthetic (painting this cover just as he did many prior releases), but also how much Rick and Julie still look almost exactly like they did back then. A little looser around the eyes, perhaps, a little sparser along the hairline, but these two are as timeless as cartoon characters - Julie’s deep-set eyes still peeking out from under a froth of heavy fringe, Rick’s pin-straight black hair still falling well below his shoulders.
It’s hard to pick specific songs to dissect, as each of the 14 tracks are peppered with beautiful turns of phrase, understated storytelling and small idiosyncrasies that champion the larger vision. It was validating to hear Vish Khanna (in discussion with Rick and Julie on the Kreative Kontrol podcast) draw attention to the 2 songs on the album - Pieces, and Learn - that seem the most ‘other’ from the rest, a gut feeling that I hadn’t been able to shake each listen through. Both tracks sit atop a simple and repetitive krauty beat, using the drums as a tool of propulsion, drilling ever-onward.
”Learn” is a high point of the album, a synth-laden fever dream that feels like spinning in circles. Dizzying and off-kilter, it nearly goes off the rails at certain points, with the peppy synth hook fighting to keep up with the unrelenting drum build. The devastatingly short track introduces new tones to the sonic palate of the album, but it doesn’t take you out of the experience, it only expands that world. “No one can offer an easy solution for you…We must learn. We must learn.”
“Pieces” is another perfect 90s indie rock song - the beat delightfully thrashy but cute, the guitars fuzzed to high heavens. But it’s the kitschy piano plinks and spitfire lyrical delivery that shoot this song into oblivion. Rick and Julie twist their tongues around mouthful after mouthful of deprecating self-talk before launching into what can only be described as a downright raunchy guitar solo. If this song was on Peter or Love Tara, I think all of our heads would have exploded. We couldn’t handle this back then! I can barely handle it now!
“Feeling Apart”, the sparsest and saddest of the bunch, feels like a slam of the brakes as it follows the intensity of “Pieces”. Clocking in at a cool 1:11, the song narrates the type of day we’ve all had, and are sure to have again. At least now we have the perfect soundtrack for it. “I’m not feeling a part of this beautiful day, not playing my part in a positive way… though the sun’s shining bright, in my head there’s rain. I know I should block the dark feelings away, but it’s oh so hard to ignore all the pain” It could have been an Elliott Smith song.
We should count ourselves lucky to live in the version of reality in which Rick and Julie reunite and release Together. In the current state of music, when listeners are pulled from one trend to another, when robots are now telling us what is cool, when billionaires decide which art gets heard, artists like Rick & Julie stand defiantly off that beaten path. 30+ years on, they continue to do what they do, just how they’ve always done it; learning, sure, and growing, but with a foundation made of pure rock (and roll).
I can’t help but think about how the lives and careers of these two have twisted and turned and intertwined and parted, only to return to each other time and time again. Time changes us all, and it heals most wounds, and, well, maybe this is your sign to call your first love and ask them if they want to make a record.