Motorists: "Phone Booth in the Desert of the Mind" Preview and purchase at Bandcamp Toronto power-pop trio Motorists returns in May with Touched by the Stuff, their sophomore LP. You can preview the set through the lead single "Phone Booth in the Desert of the Mind," a kinetic track that finds guitarist Craig Fahner and bassist Matt Learoyd singing in unison. This is the fullest Motorists have sounded by a mile, with their love of 90s alt-rock worn on their sleeves. On the tune, Fahner comments: "This song continues a lyrical theme from Surrounded - of simultaneously wanting to leave society ..read more

Sham Family: "Modern Myth" Watch on YouTube - Preview and purchase at Bandcamp Toronto punk quartet Sham Family cuts a stark profile on "Modern Myth," colouring their driving social commentary shades of Joy Division, the angular Dischord sound, and modern curiosities like Protomartyr. The track takes a grim view of society's preference for self-affirming narratives over objective fact, as the band explained in a statement: "'Modern Myth' takes on our society's obsession with creating and recreating stories rather than truths. From National Enquirer alien babies to modern election interference ..read more

Jon Mckiel: "Hex" Preview and purchase at Bandcamp Surrealist East Coast indie hero Jon Mckiel returns this spring with Hex, the follow-up to 2020's spellbinding Bobby Joe Hope. You can preview the ten-song set through the album-opening title track, a layered and haunting psychedelic number. On the song, the Baie Verte, New Brunswick artist commented: "'Hex' is a song that came about from sampling my voice and guitar. Lyrically it wonders what darknesses might be at at play, personally or collectively. Sometimes observing systems and people on the brink of collapse, it feels as though there i ..read more

Daniel Romano's Outfit: "Field of Ruins" Watch on YouTube - Preview and purchase at Bandcamp Following several personnel changes in the off-season, Welland artist Daniel Romano's returned with a new iteration of The Outfit. This year's model finds the chameleonic songsmith and his brother Ian Romano writing and recording as a duo, joined in their Camera Varda studio by longtime engineer Kenneth Roy Meehan. That's a significant reduction in the cast, with Julianna Riolino and Roddy Rossetti branching off to support the former's burgeoning solo career. The Outfit's new live lineup features the b ..read more

Rick White: Music Box Preview and purchase at Bandcamp Rick White's home recording hot streak had one last surprise in store for 2023. In the waning days of December, he delivered a new collection dubbed Music Box, featuring twelve quirky songs with a minimalist new wave bent. While a far cry from White's hallmark of dense, grungy psychedelia, his skill as a composer's proven remarkably adaptable. The Eric's Trip legend commented on the project at Bandcamp: "The title of my last release [November's De-Evolution] may have referred to the philosophies of a fave band of mine called DEVO, but the ..read more

Ivan Rivers: "Formed in the Snow" Preview and purchase at Bandcamp In his solo guise as Ivan Rivers, Toronto's Ivan Raczycki has a melancholic new holiday song perfect for a downbeat season. Last week the oft-esoteric songwriter, known in louder circles for his part in the punk act Stuck Out Here, shared "Formed in the Snow." I'm usually hesitant to mention Christmas music in the newsletter, as most of it feels insufferably cheesy and, outside of a narrow context, unlistenable, but this I like. Perhaps that's due to the somewhat atypical lyrical content, as the alt-folk artist revealed: "It's ..read more

Excited To Die: This Is A Life? Watch "XXX" on YouTube - Preview and purchase at Bandcamp Dartmouth hardcore act Excited To Die kicked off the month with their first full-length. This Is A Life? churns through twenty songs in twenty-one minutes, offering a lively spin on old-school hardcore that feels almost inexplicably fresh. That's a testament to the quality of the players, veterans from a raft of cool Maritime bands. The set's available on Bandcamp and through a limited cassette run on No Norms Records. A decidedly nerve-racking video for the 30-second single "XXX" can be seen on YouTube ..read more

Annie-Claude Deschênes: "Menace Minimale" Watch on YouTube - Preview and purchase at Bandcamp Annie-Claude Deschênes, lead vocalist of now-dormant Montreal synth-punk act Duchess Says, has a solo single out. You can see "Menace Minimale" visualized on YouTube or pick the song up at Bandcamp. It's our first preview of the artist's upcoming work for Bonsound and Italians Do It Better, which so far sounds like a spiritual successor to Duchess Says' distinct electro stomp. As the title seems to reference, it falls on the poppier side of that equation - an evolution of the band's idiosyncratic sens ..read more

Penny Diving: "Female Hide" Watch on YouTube - Preview and purchase at Bandcamp Montreal post-punk act Penny Diving unleashed a new EP this week. The compelling Dirty Pets follows the band's 2020 Hands and Moment full-length Big Inhale, and I'm thrilled to help debut the video for the lead single, "Female Hide." The group worked with PRIORS' Alan Hildebrandt of Studio Del Scorpio on the stylish short (we've seen his work before for bands like Taxi Girls, FRVITS, and NOBRO). You can check it out on YouTube. The video's swirl of dreamlike surrealism and spooky effects made it rather ideally suit ..read more

The American Devices: "The Game We Never Win" / "Interlarding" Watch on YouTube - Preview and purchase at Bandcamp Veteran Montreal post-punk act The American Devices are back with a new 7" single for Celluloid Lunch. The set showcases the wistful, Rob Labelle-penned "The Game We Never Win" and Rick Trembles' comparatively oblique "Interlarding." Their label celebrated the group's return (and their stubbornly enduring obscurity) with a self-deprecating note: "...These two new tunes are the Devices in top form, widdled by time to the essential 4-part unit. Both songwriters deliver in their res ..read more