“Honestly, man, when you think of who Harvey Specter is, he’s like this cool lawyer who listens to good music and he’s got this rock side,” enthuses Justin Tessier, drummer and one half of The Blue Stones. “He’s not a pretentious asshole. Well maybe he is a little, but he’s just the right amount.”
If you’re wondering why he’s gushing over the central character in the popular Netflix legal drama Suits, it’s partly down to the fact that the show helped launch the Canadian duo’s career. Within three years of forming at university in 2010, the twosome - Tessier and frontman/guitarist Tarek Jafar - found themselves inundated with offers from TV shows to use their music, despite the pair not even having a record deal. It led to Rolling With The Punches (which later appeared on their 2015 debut Black Holes) soundtracking season three of Suits in 2013.
“It was one of the keystones to us eventually finding management and then a label,” Jafar recalls. “And the song they used fits so well with the show.”
Before long their songs started creeping up the charts in the US and Canada. While it took time for the pair to catch fire in the UK, they eventually attracted interest from Radio 1, and enjoyed a rowdy, landmark show at London’s Electric Ballroom in 2023.
“We were playing a song called One By One and everyone knew the words,” Jafar remembers. “I was plucking on the guitar chords and the crowd were singing the melody right back at us. It was just the coolest thing ever.”
Their music and the fact that they’re a duo has understandably drawn comparisons with The Black Keys, The White Stripes and Royal Blood. This is something that has proved to be a double-edged sword.
“I guess at times people reduce you to a duo they’ve heard before. But there’s worse bands to be compared to,” Jafar argues. “At least you know what fan base you are resonating with.”
Their latest album, Metro – which was inspired by Christopher Nolan films and tells the trippy tale of a man who takes a “transformative ride” on a dystopian subway – fires off powerful, blues-infused numbers like Come Apart and Scared Of The Dark; softer, anthemic moments such as Falling Leaves wouldn’t sound out of place on an album by Manchester indie trio Doves.
“A lot of people ask who our influences are. In a lot of ways we are influenced by other artists, but I think we’re influenced a lot more by film and television,” concludes Jafar. “I resonate more with movies that Christopher Nolan directs than with certain bands that people think we sound like. That’s what had a major influence on me when we were recording Metro.”
Metro is out now via Thirty Tigers
