Wall of Sound PR

Iceland-based Canadian alt-folk newcomer SPOUSES (aka songwriter, musician, and producer Joel Durksen) is pleased to reveal his new single ‘Saint Christopher’ released 30th June 2026.

The track is the latest to be taken from his debut album, I Could Be Your Dog, which is out now on new independent label Kalfholt Records.

Alongside the new single, Spouses is delighted to announce he will be appearing at Iceland Airwaves 2026, having been booked after playing only 2 shows in his home nation of Iceland.

The new track is a touching tribute to Durksen’s contemporaries and friends in Liverpool band Her’s, the pop duo consisting of Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading who tragically passed away in a car accident in 2019 whilst on tour in the US.

Commenting on ‘Saint Christopher’, Durksen says: “‘Saint Christopher’ is a character study about a car crash and a subsequent near-death experience, not exactly a true story but inspired by a real crash that caused the passing of a family member, and another that took some friends who were musicians.”

‘Saint Christopher’ is the latest track to be taken from Spouses’ debut album, which was released earlier this year and preceded by advance singles ‘Beth’,‘Splinter’ and ‘Choke’, picking up early international media support from The Line of Best Fit, For The Rabbits, New Sounds Union, Turn & Work, BIRP! FM, and Exclaim! Magazine, plus Spotify Canada editorial playlists, and Icelandic national broadcasters RÚV English and Rás 2.

Canadian born musician Spouses (aka Joel Durksen) moved away from the UK music scene intending to reset his relationship with music. After years immersed in touring and recording—including time performing with Brad stank and two blinks, i love you—he found himself questioning not only where music was taking him, but why he was making it at all. A move to rural Iceland, far from the noise and expectations of city life, became an opportunity to start over and rediscover his artistic voice.

What followed was Spouses. Based out of a horse-breeding farm in the south of Iceland, Durksen began writing and recording his debut album, I Could Be Your Dog, in isolation, building a new body of work from the ground up. The project took shape in a converted stable (Kálfholt Studios), where, with minimal gear available, he wrote and recorded the majority of the tracks himself.

Mixed by Finn Howells at Alan Moulder’s A.M.C. Studios, I Could Be Your Dog spans from the angular, guitar-driven world of The Bends-era Radiohead into more intimate folk textures and subtle folktronica influences.