Purveyors of: Lo-fi anthems about losing things that you never really had in the first place.
File next to: Bob Dylan sings the songs of The Pretenders with The Pixies as the house band.

Under layers of fuzz and grunge and frenetic energy lie the intimate lyrical gems of Dilly Dally. Songs that immaculately capture the emotional content contained in a morning-after breakfast, a fleeting glance stolen at the park or a show, the comforting solitude found in the shower. Katie Monk’s lyrics, delivered with a Dylanesque drawl, blur seamlessly into the anthemic, lo-fi pop created by bandmates Liz Ball (guitar), Benjamin Reinhartz (drums), and Jimmy Tony Billy Rowlinson (bass). The songs are presented with a sense of urgency, like when someone you trust is trying to tell you something important. They took some time to answer some of Po Karim’s questions about their past, their present, and their FUTURE!!!!

Facebook says you were born in 2009, and your first show was July of that year. Can you remember that night? Were there any first gig disasters or triumphs?

Right from the start, all the ladies loved us. And we probably sucked.

Indie 88 has reported that you've recently signed to Royal Mountain Records, home to Pup, Hollerado and Alvvays. How did that relationship begin and develop? How has your situation as a band changed since then?

RMR hit us up last fall, and really believed in the songs. Indie 88 is wrong, we never signed, but they did help us out. We can see our path a lot clearer now. It’s pretty, and long... completely insane... and fun as hell. :P

There are two songs available for streaming on your Bandcamp and Soundcloud pages, "Green" and "Next Gold," which we can assume will be on the new record. What else can you tell us about the album and its release?

Me and Liz just made a pact. Our EP is coming out in early July, no matter what. Expect more material in the fall. We have a lot to regurgitate.

Was the record tracked at Candle Recording? There are some amazing records coming out of that studio (Cousins, Fucked Up, Greys), can you reflect on your experience there?

Candle rules. I love those guys. Beautiful Leon, and dreamy Josh. You wanna know a secret? I bawled at the end of that session. Leaving in the car. And I mean, I bawl a lot I guess, but this was like, the best bawl ever!! Recording is an amazing release. Done. Those songs are done, see ya in hell.

Dilly Dally songs feel as though they are very personal, singer-songwriter material, which are then processed through a fuzzy, loud rock band. Is this the case? How does a typical Dilly Dally song take shape?

Most of our songs started with just me on acoustic. I could always hear a band in my head though. Now I can only hear the band. Literally. My hearing is so shit. I can't even play acoustic anymore and feel it, y'know?

You guys did the Pixies for last Halloween's Death to T.O. Did you find the task of faithfully learning another band's material difficult?

Pixies set! Yeah, that was like going into do a huge test that you never studied for... and then somehow acing it anyways. Their early recordings are so lively and raw, so we were able to pull through. I bet Frank Black didn't even know all the words before jumping into the studio.

If you were to do another Death to T.O., which band would you choose for a) the songs b) the costumes?

Next time we wanna do No Doubt. Haha. I dunno. I think it'd be funny.

(Author’s note: No Doubt would be awesome.)

If there was a dream-band to do a Death to T.O. style tribute to Dilly Dally, who would you like it to be? What would they wear, and which essential songs should they cover?

Ummm... haha... this question is terrifying... Oh I know. Fuckin’ TLC. Dressed as TLC… old school. They'd play all our big radio hits.

Very serious final question: Nicolas Cage, or Keanu Reeves?

Katie: Nicholas Cage??? But I mean... Don't ask me. They're both so stressed out all the time.

Liz : Keanu!!!

Dilly Dally plays Wavelength 599 at Handlebar this Saturday (May 17).

Photo by Scarlett Rose