MKE Music Rewind: Canopies, s/t EP (2011) Matt Wild February 20, 2025 In MKE Music Rewind we revisit notable Milwaukee music that was released before Milwaukee Record became a thing in April 2014. This week: Canopies’ self-titled debut EP from 2011. If you dig into the archives of Milwaukee Record‘s first year of existence (2014), you’ll come across a name that, to paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobi, you probably haven’t heard in a long time: Canopies. The electro/dream/psych-pop Milwaukee project was having a big year in 2014. The group was sharing bills with other likeminded and wildly popular groups like GGOOLLDD, their 10-track Maximize Your Faith was getting love from media outlets like Entertainment Weekly and Stereogum, and band and album alike were early staples of ye olde Milwaukee Record. “With Faith,” we wrote when we named the record the 4th best of the year, “what was once a bedroom project has gracefully evolved into a full-fledged band, making Canopies one of the city’s best acts on record and on stage.” Maximize Your Faith still sounds great today: <a href="https://canopies.bandcamp.com/album/maximize-your-faith">Maximize Your Faith by Canopies</a> But let’s dial things back to those “bedroom project” years, to Canopies’ 2011 self-titled debut EP. Guitarist-songwriter Nolan Treolo, singer-songwriter John Marston, and drummer Craig Leren released the five-song effort with little to no fanfare, but it caused quite a splash. Here’s what we had to say in 2014, when we named the EP the 4th best Milwaukee album of the 2010s (so far): Some albums arrive with great fanfare, only to disappoint. Others come out of nowhere and leave a scene reeling. Canopies’ stunningly accomplished self-titled debut EP is a case of the latter, a record that announces itself on its merits alone, no introduction needed. Splitting the difference between dreamy ’80s dance music and 21st century electro-pop, the five-song album is an outrageously hook-laden collection of arena-ready bedroom-synth. “Rebels” swoons in a gauzy haze of smoke while “Born To Your Device” channels the insistent electro pulse of Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s “Love Missile F1-11.” All throughout, Canopies never forgets that the hook is the thing, keeping melody front and center amidst the swirling din. The only thing we’d add to that blurb today is the fact that the songs not mentioned—”Warrior,” “Strangers Glare,” and “Summer Amnesia”—are also bangers. The EP still sounds great today, too: <a href="https://canopies.bandcamp.com/album/ep">[EP] by Canopies</a> Canopies faded away not long after the 2014 release of Maximize Your Faith. Happily, they left behind two records, 15 stellar songs, and plenty of memories. “What happened to Canopies?” asks an old Reddit thread. “Does anybody remember the band Canopies? Any bands like them in the local scene?” asks another. There are plenty of current Milwaukee bands in Canopies’ wheelhouse—Known Moons and Astral Hand are good places to start—but none quite like the actual group itself. Want more Milwaukee Record? Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and/or support us on Patreon. RELATED ARTICLES • Canopies maximize their scope with ‘Maximize Your Faith’ • Listen to Canopies’ excellent new LP, Maximize Your Faith, via Spin • Canopies return to the stage (with GGOOLLDD and Rio Turbo) September 20 • Listen to the new Canopies single, “Getting Older”
