Hugo Alley

For a band that's only been together since November, Kitchener rockers Hugo Alley are wasting no time making themselves known.

The hard-working four-piece — featuring Aaron Cornish (lead vocals), Jordan Osz (drums), Owen Tester (guitar), and Viktor Yakovlev (guitar) — have already played a number of shows in Waterloo Region and Toronto, and recently finished recording their debut EP, which the group plans to release online as early as next week.

As Osz explained in a recent phone interview, the group has bonded quickly based on a mutual drive and desire to succeed, despite not really knowing each other six months ago.

"We've been able to pull our pants up and be able to work really hard at what we're doing, and give a good foot forward in efforts and decisions toward what we want to do. What sparked it is just our passion and our love for music, truly. We all want the same thing out of it. We all ideally want a career in what we're doing," he said. "We all really mesh in terms of work ethic and what we want out of music."

Osz said the band's relative unfamiliarity with each other has not slowed their progress.

"We're still getting to know each other as we go — everyone's only known each other five months. I knew everyone mutually, but everyone else was all strangers to each other, which is what makes it kind of interesting," he said. "As we grow as musicians, we also grow as friends, and it's been a really exciting process."

A youthful veteran of numerous local bands, including The Inclines, Osz said he's been surprised by how quickly Hugo Alley has been able to gain traction.

"It's really shocking because I've been playing in bands for a long time, pretty much all my childhood. I'm only 21, but that being said, I've never seen such progress in such a short amount of time. And good progress, too — it's not like it's aimless or disoriented, it's very organized. We do have a goal in mind, and we all mutually love what we're doing," he said.

The band's EP was recorded at Studio A in Kitchener with engineer Chris Colvin, who Osz said provided a calming presence throughout the sessions.

"It was a really great first experience as a band, because he's a really patient and excellent guy to work with. He captures what you do at its essence. He doesn't provide any feedback or any influence, he'll take you as you are and he records you as such," he said. "He treated us really well."

Although the EP will be released online next week (lead singles "Breeze" and "Oh The Stars" are already available on Spotify), Osz said the band also plan to release physical copies of the album, with an eye on an official EP release party around June. And, true to their waste-no-time efficiency, the band already have half-a-dozen gigs lined up between now and then, and are sourcing potential producers for a planned full-length followup.

"We've still got a decision to make on that, but it's to develop a game plan and a budget for making our album," said Osz, adding that for the time being, the band will be "booking as many shows as possible, (and) we're going to heavily promote our EP both online and in person," with the twin goals of developing a local following and making a little money to put toward the recording of their full-length.

"Definitely the game plan is to keep playing some more music and writing the album — that's really the top two priorities," he said. - The Record

The high energy indie rockers known as Hugo Alley may be still recording new music, but that hasn’t stopped them from releasing their new music video for “No Destination” which we’re exclusively premiering today. (You can purchase the song now via Spotify and iTunes.) This brand new single from the Kitchener, Ontario band highlights the special blend of groovy rhythms, catchy melodies and experimental textures that you’ll find throughout their upcoming sophomore EP titled Point, Place, which is set for release later this year.

The EP will mark a massive step forward for this rapidly developing indie quintet and it will illustrate just how far they have come as songwriters since the release of their debut Therapy EP. Since the release of that album, the band has hit their stride and gathered momentum along the way, fuelled by their performance at Canadian Music Week and other gigs along the way with the likes of The Beaches, Monowhales, Tyler Shaw, Wang Chung, and Lost Cousins.

With an exclusive quote offering some insight on “No Destination,” the band stated, “When I first heard the song, I closed my eyes and was immediately transported to an ocean highway, pine trees lining the road on one side and an endless ocean on the other. That’s just one version of the utopia we hope to create with ‘No Destination.’ The idea was to create lyrics that captured a sense of longing for your own personal paradise and the carefree adventure that comes with personal exploration and youthful freedom.”

With a new EP to come soon with Point, Place and some quality songs to choose from, Hugo Alley are looking to hit the road soon and bring their live show to as many cities and places in Ontario as possible. With an exciting and intense live experience, fans will soon get to know why the group are known to be “high energy.” This may not be the beginning for Hugo Alley, but it’s the start of a new, more exciting and more optimistic picture for a band that you will soon be hearing a lot more from. - Pure Grain Audio