Lioness Battle Previous Group's Ghost

While it hasn't been advertised as an official band mandate, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that newly formed dance-rock trio Lioness are on a single-minded mission: to prove that Controller.Controller's parts were better than their sum.

Critics, hipsters and indie kids alike let out a collective groan in 2006 when singer Nirmala Basnayake announced she was leaving Toronto's Controller.Controller. Her departure spelled the unequivocal demise of the quintet, but it didn't take bassist Ronnie Morris and drummer Jeff Scheven long to pick up the pieces. By the winter of 2007, they'd enlisted the pipes of ex-No Dynamics singer Vanessa Fischer, and Lioness were out of the starting blocks.

"Jeff is my boyfriend," Fischer explains. "We met at a show.

"We've always wanted to be in a band together. I used to be in another band and he would go on tour and then I would go on tour. We would always miss each other... their band broke up and it was a logical step."

With a rhythm section that's virtually unchanged, the difficult task for Lioness won't be to demonstrate that they're better than Controller.Controller. It'll be to prove that they're different.

"People like to draw comparisons for anything," says Fischer. "But I think that if you actually listen to us, sure [Morris and Scheven] might have a bit of a background, but that's who they are and that's what they do.

"I think we all just wanted it to be something fun, something dancey and something that would best show what we can do."

Fischer may be the newcomer in this equation, but she certainly isn't hiding in the shadows. In addition to her singing duties, she also writes all the lyrics.

"I think a lot of my inspiration comes from my dreams," she says. "I'm a very visual dreamer, and I'll remember the craziest things and tell such lengthy stories.

"I have a friend who has night terrors... I find that really interesting. So I think a lot of my ideas are like that — mysticism and magic."

Lioness are laying the groundwork for a debut full-length, and they already have a self-titled EP on store shelves.

"We've started writing," says Fischer of the next record. "We're just waiting for the right producer."

Here's where you can catch Lioness:

Oct. 28 Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar
Oct. 31 Vancouver, BC @ The Sweatshop w/Glass Candy
Nov. 1 Edmonton, AB @ Pawn Shop
Nov. 7 Montreal, QC @ Zoobizarre w/Holy Hail
Nov. 8 Laval, QC @ Maison Des Arts De Laval w/HeartsRevolution
Nov. 14 Toronto, ON @ Wrongbar w/Stop Die Resuscitate, DJ Jaime Sin and DJ Mikey Apples