Customer Service channel Sloan in newest music video

It was days before Christmas, and Customer Service’s Owen Harris and Matt Cheverie were watching old music videos from the nineties. Although they weren’t around for the Halifax Pop Explosion, an appreciation of that era and its legacy had been one of the bonding forces for the Halifax emo/punk band when they formed as high-schoolers during COVID-19 lockdowns and went on to make a bang of their own with last year’s debut EP, Live More Forever. The year had been good to the foursome: Their EP’s release not only landed them an Exclaim! shout-out, but also propelled a multi-province tour, an opening gig for Hollerado and a new record deal with Toronto’s Royal Mountain Records.

“All I ever wanted to do was tour,” Harris says, speaking by phone with The Coast, “and to see more parts of Canada and travel around and meet people in bands that I love. It’s been the best ever.”

Plus, the band—rounded out by guitarist Max Hayden and bassist Nick Adams—had new music on the way in 2025. They wanted to celebrate. And so, as they thought about how best to turn their newest single, “and it feels,” into a music video, the idea dawned on them: Why not pay homage to the music scene that came before them?

Sloan seal of approval “feels awesome”

In the early days of January, Customer Service packed their gear—guitars, bass, drum kit—and headed with director and frequent collaborator MOOSECANFLY to the Mackay Bridge and the highway underpass off Joseph Howe Road. And while they figured they’d make a nod to Sloan—the band saw potential in “Underwhelmed” and “500 Up”, Cheverie says—they didn’t realize quite how close to the mark they’d get.

“None of us had seen ‘The Good in Everyone’,” Harris adds. “And then I went home to see my parents, and my mom was like, ‘Oh, that’s such a nod to ‘The Good in Everyone,’ like, the hat and everything.’”

Any nerves were put at ease when the band spoke with Sloan’s Andrew Scott and Chris Murphy, who gave the tribute their thumbs-up.

“Those guys reaching out to tell us that they like it, it means a lot to us,” Cheverie says.

“It was super cool,” Harris adds. “Super dope to just have people who are important to informing the kind of music we like—even though we’re an emo band and don’t sound anything like them … just on a basic level, having those guys think what we’re doing is cool definitely feels awesome.”

New EP on the way

The new single—which premiered today—is just the beginning of Customer Service’s plans for 2025. The band has an EP in the works, to you, after 2000 years, due for release on Feb 14, as well as a soon-to-be-announced hometown show.

Customer Service’s new EP, to you, after 2000 years, arrives Feb 14, 2025. Credit: Customer Service

For now, the foursome are still getting used to their growing profile.

“Before, we would show up [to a show] and it would just be word-of-mouth, or people would stumble in randomly,” Harris says. Now, he adds, people are showing up to shows as far away as London, Ontario, and they already know the lyrics.

“And I feel like that’s just been, overall, the most surreal thing.”