Montreal alt-rock trio A Different Brand of Noise has released its second album, “Far More Than Conversation,” led by the single “Who Dares.” The band is made up of guitarist Robert Ranaldi, bassist Ken Ashdown and drummer Gonzo, who first played together in Montreal in the late 1980s before disbanding after about a year and a half, leaving behind unreleased material.
The group reconvened during the early pandemic, re-recording old songs remotely and teaching themselves production and Logic Pro over roughly three years. That process yielded 19 songs: the first 10, written decades earlier, became the band’s 2025 debut album “Blurry,” while the new nine-song record completes the project. The band describes the album’s themes as touching on sex, drugs and societal collapse, with song notes citing influences including the Velvet Underground, Big Star, R.E.M. and Nick Drake.
Ranaldi and Ashdown had earlier careers in other bands, Secret Act and Man and Things for Ranaldi and This “Blue Piano” and Ulysses Underwood for Ashdown, before reuniting as a trio. Both members currently hold other full-time careers, Ashdown in labor relations and Ranaldi as a behavioral neuroscience professor at Queens College, CUNY, and the band says touring is not currently planned.
Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Eric Alper, thatericalper.com.