Toronto glam-punk powerhouse Nameless Friends are back with a gut-punch of a release—two tracks that wrestle with family trauma and political fury in equal measure. The double single release, arriving November 19th, is led by the haunting “Mary” before launching into the defiant protest anthem “There’s a rapist in the White House.”
At its core, “Mary” is inspired by waves of feelings so intense that words can’t reach them anymore. The track begins with tender, progressive guitar work that lulls you in before shattering into an explosive punk-rock assault—mirroring the moment when suppressed emotions finally break through the surface.
The song’s title carries weight beyond its simplicity. For four generations, the women in Number One’s family carried variations of the name Mary—a tradition that bound them together while also symbolizing inherited patterns of pain and expectation. She’s among the first to break that cycle—a quiet rebellion that echoes through the song’s sparse lyrics and crushing instrumental passages. The name itself becomes a vessel for all the unspoken struggles passed down through mothers and daughters, the weight of family legacy, and the courage it takes to step outside predetermined roles.
“Some feelings are too big for words,” says Number One. “We needed the music to carry what language couldn’t hold.”
The companion track hits harder and more direct. “There’s a rapist in the White House” rumbles to life with menacing basslines before Number One’s commanding vocals cut through with unflinching clarity. Drawing inspiration from an arsenal of protest music legends from Neil Young to Kendrick Lamar, the song fuses folk and hip-hop sensibilities into something urgently relevant.
The lowercase spelling is intentional—a deliberate choice to strip away any sense of glorification. “We refuse to make it sound like an honorific title,” Number One explains. “Sexual violence is banal, it’s horrifyingly normal. When somewhere between one in four and one in three North American women survive sexual assault, we’re not treating this like some distinguished position. It’s lowercase because it should never be dignified.”
Written before the recent cross-border tariff drama, the track’s fury feels even more prescient now. For Number One—who carries both Canadian and US citizenship and counts Trump supporters among her relatives—the song becomes a pressure valve for all the rage and heartbreak of watching a country betray itself.
“We wrote these lyrics before the tariff chaos, but that’s the thing about speaking truth—it doesn’t expire,” Number One reflects. “When you’re holding dual citizenship and watching family members vote against your values, the anger becomes something you have to transform into sound or it’ll eat you alive.”
This is what Nameless Friends does best: turning political and personal devastation into glittering, heavy rock that hits like a freight train. Self-described as “modern glam, prog punk, metal-adjacent, hysterical pussy shit,” they channel Queen’s theatricality, PUP’s raw energy, and Rage Against The Machine’s revolutionary fire.
Hailing from London, Ontario, the band features Number One on lead vocals and production (plus primary songwriting duties), Number Three on guitar, Number Five on bass, and Number Seven on drums. Touring keyboardist Number Six rounds out their live lineup. Onstage, they’re unmistakable—drenched in glitter, wearing bleach-stained band shirts, creating an atmosphere where righteous anger meets pure joy.
Their 2023 debut Blasphemy launched them into the spotlight with millions of social media views and a very public battle with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe over transgender youth rights. They’ve sold out venues like Toronto’s legendary Horseshoe Tavern—including an entire Queen tribute set that proved they have the musical firepower to back up their ambitions. They’ve written about menstrual justice, climate collapse, and economic violence, all while keeping their music dangerously fun. Tour after tour across Canada, the UK, and Ireland, they’ve made it a priority to share the stage with other femme and queer artists.
“Mary” and “There’s a rapist in the White House” arrive on all streaming platforms November 19th, 2025
“Known for their powerful yet freeing rock musicality, Nameless Friends present themselves in their most authentic and unfiltered form”
EARMILK
“Spite-fuelled chaotic do-gooders with electric guitars”
NEXT WAVE
“Bringing back more of that bold and grizzled alt-rock aesthetic they have become synonymous for”
RETURN OF ROCK
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