Date Signed: June 2026
Label: Hand Drawn Dracula
Type of Music: Bedroom-Pop
Management: Jesse Northey
Publicity: Nathan Walker
A&R: James Mejia
Web: facebook.com/boyh00d
Boyhood is the bedroom-pop project of Caylie Runciman of rural Ontario. She recently signed on with Toronto-based independent record label Hand Drawn Dracula, and the I’ll Dream InStead album is out in October. That’s preceded by the single, “Loner.”
The album points to a big year for Boyhood. It’s all been building since Runciman first played in Bellville, Ontario. “I remember being so nervous I could barely sing—it sucked,” she says. “I used to record using the USB microphone from the video game Rock Band. I’d sing into it, hang it over my little guitar amp, would often play guitar and pitch it down in the program Audacity to make it sound like a bass if I was too lazy to grab my dad’s bass guitar. And for drums, I’d just clip the USB mic to the top of the kick drum. Honestly, it was a great sound!”
Runciman says that her sound has evolved as she’s evolved as an artist and person. “It started out very scrappy, and I went through phases of trying to have a more polished recording sound—but I’ve definitely found myself again with this record,” she says. “It’s listenable, but also scrappy. A lot of my friends who’ve heard it have told me it reminds them of my early recordings, and I like that. I do feel like I’ve been experiencing a rebirth in making this record and, as it rolls out, it’s nice to think I’m still in touch with my weirdo roots. Maybe more so than ever.”
As it turns out, Hand Drawn Dracula is the perfect home for Boyhood. “I’ve had a lot of respect for Hand Drawn Dracula for a long time,” Runciman says. “I thought they were so cool when I was a kid. Obviously still do. Jesse Northey of Victory Pool, who has been a huge supporter of my music for the last couple of years, suggested we all work together on this release—so stoked to be working with such lovely people.”
“’Loner’ is a song I wrote a bunch of years ago just having lots of fun with my 8-track in my living room,” she shares. “I’d been meaning to re-record it for a long time and found it fitting to get into again with this record. I recorded guitar, bass, vocals and mellotron synth on my bed, and recorded the drums in studio at Port William Sound all by my lonesome. The smudgy spoken audio clip in the bridge is the saddest part in A Streetcar Named Desire, the 1951 movie, where Mitch is yelling at Blanche to turn on the light, trying to expose her, and she yells, ‘Don’t turn the light on!’ I saw it for the first time this past year and really connected with the character of Blanche. It is an upsetting clip; I did wonder if it was a bit too heavy for the song. But it works and is pretty abstracted.”
Expect plenty of Boyhood shows, as Runciman plans lots of touring this year. “I would love a booking agent,” she says. “And I’m starting another record this month.”
Photo by Monika Kraska
