MELLOW CASUALTY

Mellow Casualty began as the indie rock recording project of Singer/Songwriter and Multi-Instrumentalist Francois Jolicoeur. Beginning with the release of his self-recorded debut EP Welcome to Now (2017), Jolicoeur uses the Mellow Casualty moniker as a playground to experiment with a myriad of genres and song styles. From raw post punk and anthemic synth pop to 70’s inspired acoustic soft-rock, Mellow Casualty’s repertoire hopscotches from genre to genre, using melodic songwriting and his warm indie charm as a common thread to connect every song together.

This trend continued on his debut full-length album, Sofia (2018) which saw Mellow Casualty expand on his sound and flex his abilities as a producer and songwriter over the course of the twelve song concept album. Sofia also marked Mellow Casualty’s first collaboration with Producer/Engineer Blaine Swanson, who brought a sense of seasoned polish to the project.

Since then, Mellow Casualty continued to expand in terms of reach and scale through a series of releases & accompanying self-directed music videos which saw François Jolicoeur continue to advance the sonic and aesthetic possibilities of the project.

With time, the team began to grow. Firstly, Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist Bjorn Kriel joined and contributed to the recording of what would become Mellow Casualty’s second full-length album, Painting With Yellow (2024). 

The album is a collection of lyrical reflections around the theme of realist optimism set to the sonic palette of early 70’s Lauren Canyon folk-rock and of Canadiana of acts like The Band and Neil Young. Around the time of the release of the album, Jolicoeur recruited Bass player Ben Wood and Drummer Christian Couper and relocated to Montreal and began performing shows to promote the album.

Attention garnered by the live shows combined with a successful social media campaign created a groundswell of momentum, which helped expose the project to more people than ever before. 2024 also saw the band going on tour for the first time, performing to crowds in Halifax, Quebec City and Ottawa as well as a sold-out headlining show at Montreal’s Bar L’Escogriffe.

Presently, Mellow Casualty is preparing for the a series of releases that will culminate in the eventual unveiling of their third album: God Fearing Mammals (2025). The band is also continuing to develop their live show, with plans of a touring Ontario and British Columbia in the spring along with a series of hometown headlining shows.