“Sometimes I think I like the pain”, the opening line from Soul Filter’s debut single Armor hits like an “Aha” moment from the psyche to the soul.  The emerging four piece Alt-Rock/Pop band's often nostalgic 90s vibe derives inspiration from artists such as Alanis Morissette, The Cranberries & Sheryl Crow.  Lead singer/songwriter Karen Penton writes with intention to find the silver linings in adversity and put it in a catchy melody.

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The Summerside PEI band recently released their latest single as part of Music PEI's 2022 Golden Ticket program. "The City Knows" was produced by John Angus MacDonald of The Trews and is a high energy dark & edgy fairy tale about the sobering realization of self doubt. It's best described as Fleetwood Mac meets Florence & The Machine.​ "I wrote it about the time I had just graduated from University.  22, broke in debt I moved to Halifax to start my life and crashed on a friend's couch hoping to make the city my home. But it did not go as I had intended and just brought back all of the self-doubt that I had tried to run away from." says Karen.  John Angus as producer wanted to enhance on the lyrical story of the song, so he brought in brother and lead singer of The Trews Colin MacDonald and Halifax producer and singer / song-writer Chris Kirby to collaborate.  The City Knows is best described as the introspective confessional of Fleetwood Mac meets the anthemic intensity of Florence & The Machine. 

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Since releasing their debut album A Minor Conspiracy in January 2019, Soul Filter has attracted attention with their catchy, soulful music and impassioned performances. They’ve had internet, CBC & mainstream radio play with singles “Armor”, “Like Water”, “How Do I Forget You”, “Illogical Heart”, & “On My Own”.  In 2019 they reached the Top 100 in CBC’s Searchlight, opened for one of Canada’s biggest rock bands Big Wreck at one of Atlantic Canada’s largest music festivals Rock The Boat, and received a nomination for Music PEI’s 2020 Rock Recording of the year.  Their Facebook “Live At Home” performance hosted by Rock The Boat garnered one of the largest online audiences in the series with over 12.5k views. 

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When founding members, husband & wife duo Karen & Mike Penton, first met in 2001, she didn't know he was a performing musician and he didn't know she had a secret life long desire to be one.  To Karen’s delight, their second date consisted of 2 bottles of wine and an acoustic guitar – the deal was sealed.  After a few years of singing Beatles’ covers (and other classics) together at home, Mike decided it was finally time to coax Karen into the spotlight.  The two went on to create several popular cover bands (Junkmale, Pretty Tragic,  No Doubt & Alanis Morissette tribute show, Karen & Mike acoustic duo), performing all over PEI before forming Soul Filter in 2017.

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With themes of self-discovery, adversity, love and loss, A Minor Conspiracy infuses pop, blues and folk into a soulful rock sound.  Acoustic rhythm serves as the backbone to melodically sweet electric guitar riffs and punchy choruses.    Dynamically weaving between soft falsetto and soulful powerful vocals, Karen embraces vulnerability and delivers empowering, emotive lyrics through alluringly catchy melodies. To bring the album to life on stage, Karen & Mike brought in longtime friends and former cover band mates Ronnie Arsenault on bass guitar and Marc Robichaud on drums. 

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The band plans to hit the studio this fall to record their next album.

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