Listening to "Goon" through a pair of studio-grade monitors, the first thing that hits you isn't the melody. It is the friction. There is a specific, jagged texture to the low end that feels like it was dragged across a gravel driveway in East Vancouver. This is the new calling card for Dear Rouge, the JUNO Award-winning duo who seem tired of playing nice with the polished tropes of Canadian indie-pop.
The track is a roaring, stroppy and energetic piece of work that comes crashing into the ears with a certain level of calculated aggression. It captures the visceral frustration of dealing with those unwanted individuals who keep resurfacing in your life like a bad penny or a recurring nightmare. Released earlier this year via Pheromone Recordings and Cadence Music Group, the single benefited from the steady hand of producer Gus van Go. He is the same architect behind the sharp sounds of The Beaches, Metric and Sam Roberts Band.
But the song almost had a completely different identity. We sat down with Danielle McTaggart, the powerhouse half of the duo, to dissect how a simple linguistic shift changed the entire trajectory of the track.
“It was pretty cool. When I was writing the lyrics for it, I was like, ‘We should call the song Go On.’ And Drew was like, ‘Why don’t we just put it together and call it Goon?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, that’s perfect,’” Danielle says.
The origin story of the track is less about studio magic and more about the lived reality of being a woman navigating public spaces. It started with a trip to Europe that was supposed to be a standard getaway.
“I got the idea from a trip I went on with a friend. We went to Europe and did a bunch of amazing stops there. We went to Paris, and in Paris we were zipping around. You could rent these little scooters through Uber and you could rip around the city,” she says.
And while the imagery of zipping through Parisian streets sounds like a dream, the reality of the nightlife was more claustrophobic. Danielle found herself in a pub with two men who refused to acknowledge the word "no." It is a universal experience for women, but Danielle turned that specific irritation into a creative spark.
“It was kind of freaky, actually. We were like, ‘Go away.’ I had to stand my ground and be like, ‘We’re married. We don’t want it.’ We kind of just stood up for ourselves. And then the light bulb of creativity went on, and I was like, ‘Okay, this is kind of a cool song idea,’ just based on how many times in our lives we’re in situations where we could just get that thing out of our way - a person, an ex, a way of thinking, some of the monsters in our minds - and they keep popping up wherever you go,” she says.
The brilliance of "Goon" lies in its metaphorical flexibility. It isn't just about a pest in a bar. It is about the mental baggage that refuses to stay packed. Dear Rouge has always had a knack for this kind of relatability, but here they sharpen the edges.
Since they burst onto the scene in 2012, the Vancouver natives have been a fixture on the charts. Their debut album *Black To Gold* (2015) set the stage, followed by *PHASES* in 2018 and *Spirit* in 2022. They have locked down eight Top 10 singles, five Top 5 singles and two #1 hits. With 25 million streams in the bank, they are heavy hitters in a mid-sized pond.
But even with a JUNO for Breakthrough Group of the Year (2016) and a Group Of The Year win at the 2022 CMW Jim Beam Indie Awards, they aren't resting on their laurels. "Goon" feels like a pivot toward something more honest.
“I think it’s more just learning to have good boundaries in your life. Maybe that’s a thing. I don’t know if I’m trying to teach anybody anything or I’m just trying to express an experience that I’ve had. But I think it’s very relatable that we all kind of have these toxic things, not even just a person. I even said to somebody, ‘Sometimes I can be the goon.’ We’re not exempt from being that kind of person also in seasons of our lives,” Danielle says.
I feel like the one area for sure that I struggled with is being a woman and knowing boundaries in the music industry and who to believe. I had mentorship in writing and things like that, but I didn’t have a lot of guidance in the wisdom of where to spend money and things like that. I just wanted to do music, period. And I just threw myself into it no matter what. ...trust your gut and get guidance from other women who have done it. There are more women now, for sure, but I do feel like finding someone to help guide you is really important.
This admission of being the "goon" themselves adds a layer of maturity often missing from rock anthems. It is easy to point fingers; it is harder to look in the mirror.
The sound of this new era is intentionally less "shiny." Dear Rouge has historically occupied the space between synth-pop and rock, but "Goon" leans heavily into the latter. It is a necessary shift for a band that could easily have drifted into the background of adult-alternative radio.
“This record is way more leaning into... I always say Dear Rouge sort of straddles the alternative pop thing. We can’t get away from catchy pop kind of centric things, but we also can’t get away from wanting to rock out hard. We’re always kind of straddling that a little bit as a sound. And I think with this record, we’ve leaned more into the gritty alternative side of Dear Rouge. It’s a lot more fun, sort of punk, edgy, gritty kind of vibes throughout this record, but you still get Dear Rouge. It sounds like us, which is, again, leaning into hooks and singable moments and very live minded,” she says.
And that "live minded" energy was hard-won in the studio. Working with Gus van Go meant stripping away the "peppy" layers that Danielle initially brought to the table. The transition from a demo to a finished product was a battle of tones.
“This song kind of had a very peppy... How do I explain it? It was just a little too fun sounding when I brought the demo to Drew and when I brought the demo to Gus van Go. The turn of trying to get the sound more into kind of a grittier, less fun, poppy, kind of upbeat song into more of a grimy sound was tough, actually. We had to kind of dig in the corners for the right tones and the way to kind of have my vocals come through in a grimier way. And I think that was challenging. But in the end, we got there, so I’m really happy with the result,” she says.
The technical challenge here is interesting. Often, bands try to make things sound "bigger" or "cleaner." Dear Rouge went the opposite way, looking for the grime in the corners of the mix. It gives the track a sense of urgency that matches the lyrical frustration.
Behind the scenes, Danielle and Drew McTaggart are navigating the rarest of dynamics: a successful creative partnership that is also a marriage. It is a high-wire act that requires more than just talent. It requires a level of emotional intelligence that most bands lack.
“Drew and I, we’ve just spent so much time working on our relationship. Before we got married, we did a ton of prep to almost learn from each other. Being in a band, it’s very similar. You have to use those same tactics to communicate properly. I almost feel like we’ve kind of got a bonus in that we’ve learned so much about our communication style and can use it to write music together,” Danielle says.
That communication allows them to be vulnerable in their songwriting, a trait Danielle admires in her own heroes.
“I think it takes a lot of courage to be vulnerable, and we’re continuing to build that courage, that bravery, to use our own stories to highlight the human experience. All my favorite artists are very open with their life and with their sound,” she says.
But being a woman in this industry isn't just about vulnerability. It is about survival. Danielle is candid about the lack of female mentorship she experienced in her early days. It is a systemic issue that leaves many young artists vulnerable to bad deals and worse advice.
“I feel like the one area for sure that I struggled with is being a woman and knowing boundaries in the music industry and who to believe. I had mentorship in writing and things like that, but I didn’t have a lot of guidance in the wisdom of where to spend money and things like that. I just wanted to do music, period. And I just threw myself into it no matter what,” she says.
Her advice now is practical and rooted in the reality of the business. She urges new artists to “trust your gut and get guidance from other women who have done it. There are more women now, for sure, but I do feel like finding someone to help guide you is really important.”
And where does Dear Rouge go from here? The ambitions remain massive. They aren't content with just being Canadian radio darlings.
“We would love to play Coachella. We would love to play SNL. We’d love to win a Grammy. Why not just shoot for the stars? You never know what can happen. I think we’ve always just wanted to achieve bigger, and it’d be so sweet to play some of the festivals we’ve already played again. We love that experience, but just shooting for the stars and always hoping,” Danielle says.
And then there is the new reality of parenthood. Balancing a baby with a touring schedule is the ultimate logistics puzzle, but the McTaggarts are approaching it as a team.
“We’re just getting into it, so I guess I’ll see how it goes. But I feel like so many women have done it now, and I have some great examples that it can completely work. And one thing that I’ve loved about this scenario is that Drew and I are doing it together, so I don’t feel like I’m stuck at home. We share the duties, and it’s been awesome that way because I’ll go out and do an artist day and writing day, and Drew will stay back and vice versa,” she says.
It is a refreshingly modern take on the "rock star" lifestyle. There is no ego here, just a commitment to the craft and the family.
As the interview winds down, Danielle reflects on the core of why they do this. Despite the charts, the awards and the business hurdles, it comes back to the stage.
“Playing in front of thousands of people is such a rush,” she says.
And with "Goon" leading the charge, Dear Rouge is poised to stay in that rush for a long time. They have found a way to turn annoyance into art and grit into gold. It is an electrifying chapter for a band that refuses to be ignored.
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