Biography

Canada's Zeus is an indie rock outfit known for their three-part harmonies, rootsy sensibilities, and sunny power pop hooks. Emerging out of Jason Collett's backing band in 2009, Zeus drew attention with a cover of Genesis' "That's All." Along with continued work with Collett, they have issued several well-received albums like 2010's Busting Visions, on Arts & Crafts. In 2009, childhood friends (and ten-year veterans of the Toronto music scene) Mike O'Brien and Carlin Nicholson were recruited by mutual associate Afie Jurvanen to form a backing band for Broken Social Scene member Jason Collett. Dubbing themselves Paso Mino, the group toured behind Collett for several years. Along the way, O'Brien and Nicholson started recording music together for fun in their downtime. Realizing that their songs had potential, they recruited drummer Rob Drake and multi-instrumentalist Neil Quin to round out the group. In the summer of 2009, Zeus debuted with the Sounds Like Zeus EP on the Arts & Crafts label. Included was a cover of the Genesis hit "That's All," which helped garner the group attention. The band's full-length debut, Say Us, arrived on Arts & Crafts the following winter, in February of 2010. Two years later, Zeus returned with Busting Visions, which earned enthusiastic reviews and a welcome response from fans. A year after its initial release, Busting Visions was reissued in a special edition, accompanied by a bonus seven-song EP with the group performing covers of songs by Michael Jackson, Big Star, Genesis, and R. Kelly, among others. Following extensive touring in support of Busting Visions, Zeus returned to their Ill Eagle Recording Studio and began work on their next album; Classic Zeus, which despite the title was a collection of 11 brand-new songs, was released by Arts & Crafts in September 2014. Following tours with Collett in 2016, they issued their fourth full-length album, Venus. ~ Jason Lymangrover, Rovi