The Winnipeg music scene has a new addition. Tinge is a self-described indie-rock band that isn’t afraid to take inspiration from other genres like emo and math rock.

While the bandmates first connected in high school, Tinge’s recent signing with Winnipeg label House of Wonders has brought forth new beginnings, including their EP, Big Deep Sigh, which was released on March 3.

The band consists of singer-songwriter Veronica Blackhawk, along with former high-school classmates Jordan Tait on bass and Lincoln Brown on the drums. Blackhawk moved around a lot before eventually coming to Winnipeg and started to perform with Tinge in 2018.

Blackhawk traces their love of music back to childhood, when they sang along to songs on the radio in their father’s car.

“I got my first guitar around eight or nine, because I used to always steal my brother’s guitar all the time,” she says. “I have been writing songs and part of random bands ever since high school”

The name Big Deep Sigh is derived from the emotional experience of writing the album.

“The feeling of releasing these songs is like drawing in a huge deep breath and letting it out really slowly and compassionately,” Blackhawk says.

The band even wrote some of the songs on the EP when they were still in high school. Blackhawk views Big Deep Sigh as a chance to share their experiences with a wider audience who can relate to their feelings.

House of Wonders label manager and founder Adam Fuhr helped the band create the album and says working with Tinge has been great. The collaboration helped Tinge create and launch their EP.

“You can feel how much meaning there is in these songs. (They have) a unique and beautiful perspective on things,” Fuhr says. “Veronica is a great person, hardworking and with songwriting so strong you can’t help but be on their side.”

For Blackhawk, signing with the label propelled her musical career to new heights.

“It has catapulted me to the professionalism I knew I was capable of. I just didn’t really have the guidance,” Blackhawk says.

The songs on the EP deal heavily their background and life experiences. Big Deep Sigh has five songs that cover a wide range of subjects from Indigenous identity to high-school crushes.

One song from the EP, “Armed to the Teeth,” was made available online ahead of the full release. It is a slower, powerful song that Blackhawk uses to vent a wide variety of feelings about their life. The lyrics show her strength as an emotional songwriter.

“If you listen to the EP, take away whatever you can,” Blackhawk says. “If you can relate it to yourself in any way, that’s my goal in putting out music in the first place.”

Big Deep Sigh was released at a show at The Handsome Daughter on March 4. Stream the EP on Spotify and buy it on cassette from your local record shop or at houseofwonders.online.

Published in Volume 77, Number 21 of The Uniter (March 9, 2023)