We Speak Music

Roil Steps Into The Light With ‘Living Outside the Closet’

Published

5 months ago

June 11, 2026

ROIL’s Living Outside the Closet arrives as a vibrant exploration of identity, vulnerability, and personal liberation. The Belgium-based artist approaches difficult themes with refreshing openness, crafting an album that navigates queer experience through indie-pop melodies, alternative flourishes, and an unfiltered sense of self. Rich in emotional detail yet consistently approachable, the record captures the complexities of growing into authenticity.

Behind the project is Ryo Sakai, a half-Thai, half-Japanese songwriter whose life experiences shape the emotional core of the album. Raised in Asia during the 2000s, Sakai draws from memories of social pressures, family expectations, and the often difficult process of self-acceptance. Those experiences are translated into songs that feel diaristic without becoming insular, offering reflections that resonate well beyond their autobiographical origins.

The album thrives on contrast. Moments of melancholy sit comfortably alongside flashes of humour and self-awareness, creating a dynamic listening experience that mirrors the contradictions of everyday life. “manhood” stands out as a particularly sharp examination of masculinity, balancing introspection with wit, while “Straight Guy” and “Outside the Closet” tackle longing and identity with disarming sincerity. Throughout, ROIL demonstrates a keen understanding of how personal storytelling can become universal.

Musically, Living Outside the Closet blends atmospheric production with a strong focus on lyricism and vocal expression. Contemporary indie-pop influences can be heard throughout, yet the project is equally informed by Sakai’s diverse musical upbringing, which ranges from classical training to Thai rock, jazz, and British alternative music. This combination gives the album a distinctive character that feels both modern and deeply rooted in personal history.

Ultimately, Living Outside the Closet succeeds because of its emotional honesty. Rather than presenting identity as a destination, ROIL portrays it as an ongoing process marked by uncertainty, heartbreak, growth, and resilience. The result is a thoughtful and engaging body of work that speaks to the power of authenticity, offering comfort and recognition to anyone learning how to take up space as their truest self.

“With Living Outside the Closet, ROIL delivers a deeply personal yet universally relatable debut; fearless, emotional, and unapologetically honest. His ability to blend vulnerability, humour, and alternative pop sensibilities makes this record feel both intimate and timely,” shares music publicist Danielle Holian, Decent Music PR.

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Doja Cat Brings the Tour Ma Vie World Tour to Scotiabank Arena on November 25

Published

4 hours ago

November 2, 2026

Leo Bodei

Portrait of Doja Cat with long blonde hair against a dark background.

Doja Cat. Photo courtesy of Doja Cat on Instagram.

Doja Cat brings her Tour Ma Vie World Tour to Toronto on Wednesday, November 25, with a 7:30 p.m. show at Scotiabank Arena. It is one of the last stops on the biggest headlining run of her career, and it lands in the middle of a heavy week for the building.

The tour supports Vie, her fifth studio album, released in September 2025. The record is an 1980s inspired turn back toward pop, led by the singles “Jealous Type” and “Gorgeous,” and the live show has been built as a full scale arena production. Latto joins the bill as special guest for the entire North American leg, which runs 31 dates from the October 1 opener in Detroit to the December 1 finale at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Toronto gets the show near the end of the run, with Boston on November 23 before it and Montreal on November 27 after it. By the time she reaches Scotiabank Arena, the production will have played more than twenty North American arenas, on top of earlier legs across Oceania, Asia, Latin America and Europe. Earlier in November the tour also plays Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Atlanta.

Fans have been getting a look inside the tour straight from Doja Cat herself. She has been filming the run on Ray-Ban Meta glasses, posting point of view footage from backstage, soundchecks and life on the road, so the Toronto crowd will see a show that has been documented almost night by night. Tickets for November 25 are on sale through Ticketmaster. With the Garden shows in New York closing the tour one week later, the Toronto date is one of the final chances to see this production before the run wraps.