Part of growing up is learning to disentangle yourself from people and situations that no longer serve your best interests. Singing sisters Celia and Annie Siriopoulos—collectively known as Caardia—share the wisdom of that lesson on their new single, “Simple Is Better,” which finds them leaving behind the sounds and preoccupations of their child-pop past to enter a Renaissance of indie-alternative maturity.
Both musically and philosophically, the track proves that these Markham-born, Toronto-based tunesmiths are right where they should be for 19 and 21. If anything, they’re already wise beyond their years.
“‘Simple is Better’ is about letting go of toxic relationships, friendships and any other connections that are causing more harm than good,” the duo explains. They call it a song of “overcoming and achieving”—one that talks about perseverance and “following the toxic cycle of ‘forgive and forget’ until you cannot do that any longer.”
That characterization is more than borne out by even a cursory listen to the song’s ruminative lyrics, which have a whole lot to say about the transformative moment when you realize that you’ve not only developed adult boundaries, but that they’ve become a metaphorical moat:
I’ve given up on the past for the future that I know it won’t last
And it’s always the same Losing friends is a shame
But it never worked out anyways
But still I couldn’t bother, I couldn’t bother with you anymore
It’s just another, it’s just another day to ignore
If the sentiment is an adult one, the sound of the track is doubly so. Miles from kiddie fodder, it has an almost samba feel that benefits from the pivotal contributions of guitarist Alex Matthew and multi-platinum producer Roy Hamilton III (who co-wrote and -produced Joe’s #1 single “Stutter”). Most important, the Siriopoulos’ shared vocal moves from husky to soaring with a persuasiveness that’s anything but waif-like.
The song ably previews the thrust of Caardia’s forthcoming EP, which balances a host of emotionally weighty concerns. The acoustic “Take Me Back (To This Moment),” for example, has Celia questioning the wisdom of rekindling an old relationship, while “Is Till It Isn’t” bemoans unhealthy habits and associations that go unrecognized until it’s too late, a thought that weighed heavily on their minds at a time when they were listening to a lot of Nirvana.
“With this project, we wanted to put forward music that was truly us,” Celia says. “Not just our vocals, but our lyrics, our melodies and our sound. We had a lot of thoughts frozen in time, and if we couldn’t translate those into music, we couldn’t progress. We had to create this as the foundation for our future music and what we hope Caardia becomes.”
That kind of work takes time, which explains why it’s been a full six years since the pair’s debut EP, The Deep End, and five since their single “Walking Away.”
“It was truly a long process of trying to be the most raw, relatable and genuine we could be, while trying to communicate and find the authentic ‘Caardia sound’ in the process,” Celia admits.
In the interim, they certainly haven’t fallen off anyone’s radar. After becoming FACTOR Artist Development Grant Recipients in 2019, they were named one of CBC Searchlight’s Top 10 Teens to Watch in 2020. The following year, they were selected to showcase during Canadian Music Week, and they performed at the Wintersong Music Festival in 2022 and 2023. April of this year brought some of their biggest shows to date, accompanying world-renowned Greek-Canadian guitarist Pavlo as guest performers on part of the Canadian leg of his tour.
In their spare time, the sisters co-host their own radio program, The Caardia Show, on Agape Greek Radio. They’re also annual hosts and performers at the Greek International Film Festival Tour of Canada.
To circumvent the age restrictions venues place on performers, Annie and Celia co-founded Youth Jam, the annual festival of young people’s music that’s sponsored by the City of Toronto. That was in 2018, when they were mere babes themselves. It’s become an ongoing affair since then, even as the Siriopouloses have been following their own muse into a new era of adulthood. Embracing the growth process while maintaining a tradition that benefits those who’ve come after you? It’s the kind of growing up everybody should learn to do.
