Brian Borcherdt and Leon Taheny debut new song at NXNE

Dusted played a free afternoon gig at Urban Outfitters as part of NXNE. (Photo: Tom Beedham)

Following a slew of performances from bands mostly double their size, Toronto lo-fi duo Dusted spent comparably longer putting their modest guitar, drum and keyboard setup together at the Urban Outfitters popup stage on June 14, 2013.

But they had a good excuse.

After apologizing for the late start, Dusted guitarist/vocalist Brian Borcherdt (Holy Fuck) explained to those gathered at the clothing store’s Queen Street West location that, after spending so much time off of the road holed up in the studio to record the follow-up to their 2012 debut, Total Dust, the frontman and percussionist Leon Taheny were a little rusty when it came down to arranging their gear.

The set wasn’t all apologies, though. The two made up for their late start by debuting a new track they’ve been honing in preparation for their new album in the middle of a set that was otherwise comprised solely of Total Dust tracks like “Property Lines,” “(Into the” Atmosphere,” and “All Comes Down.”

The delivery didn’t come without some hesitation (Borcherdt could be heard asking Taheny “How’s it go again?” before they ripped into it), but the band’s generous offering – especially for an outfit counting award-winning producer Taheny (Final Fantasy, Ohbijou, the Wooden Sky) amongst its two members –of something fairly unpolished shouldn’t go without acknowledgment.

Dusted served the track up to the crowd without a title, but after the gig, Taheny confirmed it was called “Backwoods Ritual” and that it would release with the new album “Hopefully this fall.”