Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist Scott Girouard started releasing music as hialeah in 2021. According to Girouard, the project is driven by the desire to blend elements of alternative, melodic hardcore, R&B, pop, and jazz into a familiar, but unique, sound of its own.
Hialeah’s debut album came from two years of sessions with producer Fred Mascherino (Taking Back Sunday, Say Anything). They worked both remotely and in-person, writing and collaborating over video calls, then with Girouard making trips to the states to track drums and put it all together.
“Travelling to West Chester, Pennsylvania, to work with Fred and Steve [Angello] was not only the most fun I’ve had in a studio, but super important for me to feel the energy and atmosphere in the same room with them,” Girouard admits. “Having that limited time together pushes you in a way that sitting in your home studio just doesn’t.”
The self-titled album dropped today, Thursday, July 25, on Heading East Records and features the previously-released singles “Dial Up” and “Omission.”
The 10-song full-length is a diverse journey that shows Girouard’s musical understanding, capability and experience. He recently started playing shows with a newly formed line-up of old friends. You can catch them doing a special stripped down set at Kops Records in Oshawa, Ontario on August 2.
Purchase the album here.
Photo by Francis Allard.
