Necking

Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Necking are not a joke band, though they began as an inside joke among a circle of friends. Necking's songs balance feminism, social commentary, and sharp wit set against a backdrop of lean and energetic indie rock with a punk accent. After making an impression on the Vancouver indie scene, the band made their recording debut with 2017's EP Meditation Tape, and they stepped up their game with their first full-length album, 2019's Cut Your Teeth. Necking was formed in 2017 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada by Hannah Karren on lead vocal, Nada Hayek on guitar, Sonya Rez on bass, and Melissa Kuipers on drums. The four women had known one another since grade school, and each of them had an interest in music, but they had never given serious thought to forming a band, let alone making it a career. However, they had taken to collectively making tongue-in-cheek jokes about their non-existent band, which had several different names including Four White Guys and Britney Bitch. The joke spread far enough that people began offering the fictive band gigs, so the four started to practice, worked up some songs, wrote and demoed about 20 minutes' worth of material, and managed to land a spot on the bill at the Music Waste Festival, an annual Vancouver event dedicated to independent music. The quartet, who had settled on the name Necking, went over well, and the band went from being an inside joke to an actual working band who gigged on a regular basis. In November 2017, Necking released a five-song EP, Meditation Tape, that documented the nascent band's humor, smarts, and bite. The EP earned good reviews and brought Necking to the attention of Mint Records, a successful indie label based out of Vancouver. Mint signed Necking to a recording deal, and their first LP, Cut Your Teeth, a tighter and more accomplished effort with the same spirit as the EP, was released in July 2019. ~ Mark Deming