Partner is a Canadian rock band,"Five Facts You Should Know About Partner, Atlantic Canada's Best Lesbian Garage Band". Exclaim!, January 3, 2017. originally formed in Sackville, New Brunswick, and later based in Windsor, Ontario.Dalson Chen, "Quirky Windsor rock duo wins $10,000 songwriting prize". Windsor Star, June 17, 2018. The band is most noted for winning the SOCAN Songwriting Prize in 2018 for their song "Play the Field".Calum Slingerland, "Partner Win the 2018 SOCAN Songwriting Prize". Exclaim!, June 14, 2018.Katie Tower, "Sackville band in the running for prestigious Polaris Music prize". Sackville Tribune, July 31, 2018.
History Vocalist and lead guitarist Josée Caron and vocalist and rhythm guitarist Lucy Niles, two lesbians who met as students at Mount Allison University,Josh O’Kane,"Partner's music merges technical prowess with slacker predispositions". The Globe and Mail, May 31, 2017. played together in the bands Mouthbreathers, Yellowteeth, and Go Get Fucked.Marcy Donelson, "Partner". AllMusic.Carly Lewis, "Partner Loving Leisure Life". Exclaim!, September 6, 2017. In 2014, the pair formed Partner in Sackville with guitarist Daniel Legere, bassist Kevin Brasier and drummer Brendan Allison. The group first attracted widespread attention in 2015 when their video "The 'Ellen' Page", created from Creative Commons-licensed footage of actor Elliot Page dancing, went viral after being promoted on social media by Page himself."Sackville punk band Partner gets a Hollywood endorsement". CBC News New Brunswick, October 22, 2015. In 2016, they released the cassette Healthy Release, a collection of their early singles, on You've Changed Records.
In 2016, Partner toured as a power-pop group, performing in various venues, including at the Silver Dollar in Toronto as part of Canada Music Week.Ben Rayner, "Partner's punk is saucy but subtly serious". Toronto Star, May 12, 2016.
Partner moved to Windsor, Ontario in 2016 before releasing their full-length debut album In Search of Lost Time in 2017."Partner: In Search of Lost Time". Pitchfork, September 12, 2017. The album appeared on the !earshot National Top 50 Chart for four months, beginning in October that year,"The National Top 50 For the Week Ending: Tuesday, October 10, 2017". !earshot. was a shortlisted finalist for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize,"Polaris Music Prize Reveals 2018 Short List". Exclaim!, July 17, 2018. and was nominated for an East Coast Music Award.Tom Niles, "Labrador woman receives nomination for ECMA". The Labradorian, February 08, 2018.
They released the EP Saturday the 14th in 2019."Partner: Saturday the 14th EP". Pitchfork, April 10, 2019. "Play the Field" was subsequently used as the theme song for the comedy web series Slo Pitch, which premiered in 2020.
Their second full-length album, Never Give Up, was released in November 2020.Ian Gormely, "Partner 'Never Give Up' on Their Quest to Share the Power of Rock Music". Exclaim!, November 18, 2020.
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