Dollhouse builds a dark, dreamy sound in Montreal’s indie scene
The quartet blends unlikely influences into a sound of their own
Dollhouse is an emerging Montreal-based band making their mark on the city’s music scene with their ethereal classical vocals layered over grungy instrumentals.
The seeds of the band were planted in the summer of 2024.
“I was feeling a little sad and lonely, and it was the summer," says the band's drummer, Emilio Leto. "So I was like, you know what? I’ll play drums to feel less sad and lonely."
Leto soon found guitarist Radin Minouchehr through the Montreal musicians’ network on Facebook. The two jammed together a few times before deciding they wanted to start a band.
The lineup expanded when Leto met Sacha Suadiyeli at a McGill University club fair. Though Suadiyeli is primarily a guitarist, he plays bass in Dollhouse.
“I was like, if the guitarist doesn’t play as well as I play the guitar, I’m not going to join the band. But you got one of the best Montreal guitarists,” Suadiyeli says, referring to Minouchehr.
Once the three began playing together, they realized the band needed a singer. They eventually discovered Nikita Riou on BandMix.
“We were blown away by Nikita’s BandMix covers,” Leto says.
The band initially struggled to reach Riou, even going as far as messaging her family members in an attempt to contact her, but their messages went unanswered.
“Most of the time we don’t like each other’s music, but when we play together we like what we make.” — Radin Minouchehr
After they began looking at other options, Riou eventually heard about the band through her sister and connected with them.
Leto and Minouchehr were immediately impressed by Riou’s freestyle vocals, but Suadiyeli was a bit skeptical about adding her to the mix at first. She quickly came around during the second practice the four of them had together.
“It just felt like [Riou] was not only a singer,” said Suadiyeli. “It felt like it was a singer in the band.”
The band’s name draws inspiration from the same novel that inspired Joy Division’s band name, House of Dolls.
Though their influences differ widely, those differences shape Dollhouse’s sound. Riou is a classical music major, while Suadiyeli listens to a lot of jazz and brings those elements into his playing. Minouchehr gravitates toward metal and punk, and Leto is more into rock.
“Most of the time we don’t like each other’s music, but when we play together we like what we make,” Minouchehr says.
The mix of influences gives the band its unique sound. Riou describes their sound as dark and atmospheric, while Minouchehr calls it dreamy alternative rock. Leto says listeners often compare them to Evanescence.
Alasdair Schreyer-King, a frequent attendee of the band’s shows, highlighted Riou’s contributions to the band.
“I think Nikita’s operatic vocals are the most outstanding element of their sound, mostly because of how rare it is to see the product of such specific training in the local scene,” Schreyer-King says.
The band’s songwriting process is highly collaborative.
Minouchehr will often come in with a guitar riff, and the rest of the group builds around it. Suadiyeli sometimes restructures songs into sections more typical of jazz compositions, while vocals usually come last. Though Minouchehr frequently brings in the initial ideas, the process is rarely one-directional.
They aim to create timeless music.
“My personal biggest goal for every song is that, no matter how many times you listen to it, you can still listen to it one more time,” Minouchehr says.
Suadiyeli sees this timelessness a bit differently. He likes to think about how well a song will age.
“It’s very much about being able to find something that does not only work because it was made right now,” Suadiyeli says.
According to Minouchehr, the band has played 33 shows together so far. In their earlier days, they focused on performing as often as possible to establish themselves in the scene. Now, Minouchehr says that they are most proud of their more recent shows.
“Their songs are really well paced, with intuitive buildups and transitions and all that, which helps tons with live performances,” Schreyer-King says.
That sense of structure carries into the band’s writing process. Lyrically, Dollhouse explores a wide range of themes, from philosophical reflections to politics and mental health. Riou often writes the lyrics, though the other members contribute ideas.
“Emilio (Leto) is actually quite a poetic man, and he sends me paragraphs worth of stuff,” Riou says.
Her process usually begins by listening to a track repeatedly and reflecting on whatever has been occupying her mind that week.
“My life just very much influences the writing process for me, so that’s just kind of been my natural approach to it,” Riou says.
As the band continues to play across the city, certain venues have become standouts. One of their favourites is L’Escogriffe Bar.
Leto says the venue stands out for how it treats performers, citing its good sound, easy booking process, welcoming greenroom and plenty of drink tickets.
For frequent showgoers like Schreyer-King, it’s in spaces like these that Dollhouse’s sound leaves its strongest impression.
“Their sound is unique enough to distinguish from other bands in our scene as well as from all around the world,” he says.
There are some international elements to the band’s sound. One song’s intro is all in Russian, a nod to Riou’s roots. There is also a riff that Minouchehr mentioned is very inspired by Persian music, specifically in the incorporation of microtones.
These are distinct parts of their music, but Minouchehr emphasizes that these elements are not what make up their sound. He describes it as “a colour on the palette for a song that we’re trying to make.”
Though each band member is unique both in personality and music taste, all these varying elements come together to form a cohesive whole.
Dollhouse has switched bassists since the writing of this article. Their new bassist is Anthony Filice.
