Talking Violet – Destroy (self-released)
Ontario’s Talking Violet release sparkling nugaze single Destroy, putting the shimmer over the devastation of heartbreak and making cathartic use of a rage room in the Gavin Michael Booth directed video.
Artist: Talking Violet
Track: Destroy
Released: 16 October 2025
Label: self released
Find it: Bandcamp
If there is more potent feeling than being in love, it’s love lost. The hollowness, the regret, the grief at the loss of the life you thought you’d share, and ultimately (hopefully) the acceptance. This is the emotional ride Ontario’s Talking Violet take us on with latest single Destroy.
‘Would you see a different girl if we ever stood close again? / I tried to let it go, but the hollowness I can’t amend’
Guitarist and vocalist Jillian Goyeau says of the track, “Destroy is about closing a chapter in my life where I experienced a lot of change which I talked a lot about throughout our Everything At Once record. Before moving on I kinda needed to say goodbye, so that’s what Destroy does. It’s me finally accepting that people can both love you and hurt you at the same time and vice versa. You can love someone even when they aren’t meant to be in your life anymore.”
There’s some great alt-rock touchpoints in the sound here – The Sundays, Slowdive, Ride – but there is also the echo in both melody and sentiment Roxette‘s iconic power ballad It Must Have Been Love. And let’s be clear, this mix is nothing but a good thing. Talking Violet do what those bands did well – offset raw human emotion with shimmering, fuzz-drenched melody. It’s a nugaze (shoegaze, whatever) dream of a track.
The band shared on social media: “Destroy concludes a long journey of trying to understand how change is an inherent part of life. A journey about how love and grief are two sides of the same coin. A reminder that sometimes the people that you think will be in your life forever won’t be, and in the end that is okay.”
Destroy by Talking Violet is out now digitally.
Find Talking Violet: website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook
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Sarah Lay
A long-standing music journalist she's also co-founder of independent record label Reckless Yes, an author of novels, and when not messing around with words and music, a digital strategist.
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