‘Knowing that this work has resonated with audiences, and now with CION through these nominations, means a great deal. It tells us the messages in the album are meaningful to others and perhaps offer a sense of empowerment as well,’ Tignanelli said
North Bay’s perennial punks, Peach Pact, continue to ride the wave of Die Hydrated, as the band has been nominated for four awards at this year’s Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards (NOMFA).
Peach Pact formed in 2018 with Holly Cunningham on drums and Linds Sullivan on guitar. Bassist and vocalist Vanessa Tignanelli rounds out the power trio. They released their first album Die Hydrated in June 2025, with help from a grand from the Ontario Arts Council.
Upon release, the band described the record as “an unapologetic salvo of empowerment—a rapid-fire collection of brash and poignant songs, poised to become a 21-century punk rock manifesto.”
That sonic “manifesto” continues to attract listeners and earn industry recognition.
See: North Bay all-femme punk band Peach Pact drops debut single
“We are honoured to see Die Hydrated recognized in the Outstanding Album, Vocal Performance, Music Video, and Engineering categories at this year’s NOMFA Awards,” Tignanelli told BayToday. “The album represents the culmination of eight years of playing music together while navigating the pandemic, personal life challenges, and witnessing the changing political climate for women and queer communities across North America.”
“Knowing that this work has resonated with audiences, and now with CION through these nominations, means a great deal. It tells us the messages in the album are meaningful to others and perhaps offer a sense of empowerment as well,” Tignanelli continued. CION—Cultural Industries Ontario North—is the Sudbury-based arts organization that produces the NOMFAs.
Die Hydrated was recorded in Sudbury at Deadpan Studios with producer Mather Wievel. Andrew Sowka in North Bay mixed and mastered the recording for release. The album has nine tracks, including fan favourites “Funny Ghost,” “Woman Now,” and “Die Hydrated.”
Another standout track, “A.ajax,” opens the record, and the video for the song has been nominated for a NOMFA as well. The video is about three and half minutes long, and features a narrative brought to live with claymation—think animation but with clay, with each scene brought to live one frame at a time.
Adrian Venti animated the video, with Peach Pact directing the action. It was a long-distance collaboration, as Venti is based in Mexico City. Tignanelli explained, “The band knew early on that we did not want to be front and centre in a music video. Instead, we wanted the narrative within the lyrics to take precedence. Claymation has a rich and playful history in storytelling, and it felt like a natural way to bring our visual ideas to life.”
She continued, “We collaborated with claymation artist Adrian Venti from Mexico City, whom we discovered through the platform Fiverr. From November 2024 through March 2025 we worked closely together as he designed the characters and animated the scenes, while Peach Pact helped guide the direction and editing throughout the process.”
The video was released in April, 2025, to promote the album. Tignanelli explained the video was inspired by a roadside attraction the band had seen in the desert near Palm Springs, California. The attraction was called the Cabazon Dinosaurs.
“The title ‘A.ajax’ loosely translates to deceptive lizard,” Tignanelli explained. “In the video, a dinosaur becomes swept up in the glamour of attention, losing friends and eventually their own identity before being consumed by ego.”
She continued, “It is a warning about being fake vs real. As the lyrics say, ‘Attention! Attention! Another roadside attraction, seduced by distraction.’ Using clay figures and these extinct creatures to tell that story felt like a fitting metaphor.”
The record is doing well, and the band has submitted Die Hydrated throughout the National Campus and Community Radio Association. Spotify has also helped attract new listeners, and Bandcamp has also increased the band’s visibility.
Tignanelli explained that she recently moved to Prince Edward Island. She’s following artistic pursuits, working on documentary films and visual art. The distance makes it difficult to maintain the band, but more music could be on the horizon.
“For the moment this may remain a one album project, but we are incredibly proud of what we created together,” Tignanelli said. “We did it for ourselves and for those who did not always feel they had a place in the music scene in Northern Ontario. Hopefully someone else picks up that torch and keeps it going. And who knows, maybe we will be back on stage together again one day.”
Until that day arrives, the band will appear at the NOMFA awards this June.
Die Hydrated received a very limited vinyl pressing, and Autumn Records or Talbot’s Throwbacks in North Bay may still have some copies of the 12”. The album is also available digitally on Bandcamp for $14.99 and can be streamed on all the major platforms.