JOVM’s William Ruben Helms chats with Midtopia and Elsewhere Fest’s Jessie Hartke.
Tag: Toronto ON
New Video: Wine Lips Share Breakneck Ripper “Stimulation”
Toronto-based outfit Wine Lips started back in 2015 as a part-time project between its founding members Cam Hilborn (vocals, guitar) and Aurora Evans (drums). But with the release of 2017’s self-titled debut, the band quickly amassed international attention, which resulted in tours across North America, followed by an unexpected tour of Hong Kong and China in 2018.
2019’s sophomore album Stressor was released to critical praise. Multiple album tracks charted on North American and European radio, with several being featured in broadcast and Netflix series. Building upon a growing profile, the Canadian outfit embarked on some rather relentless touring.
Much like everyone else, the COVID-19 pandemic threw a monkey wrench into the band’s plans and aspirations. The Canadian band used the enforced downtime to fully dedicate themselves to crating and writing their third album 2021’s Mushroom Death Sex Bummer Party, which was released to widespread critical praise across 35 countries. The album has amassed over 20 million streams on Spotify — and the vinyl release is currently in its seventh pressing with nine different color variants. The album’s lead track “Eyes” was licensed to a bevy of films, series and video games, including ABC’s The Rookie, Hockey Night in Canada (I guess stereotypes are true) Population 11 and a lengthy list of others. Much more relentless touring to support the album ensued, and the venues were the largest they ever played — and mostly sold-out.
The Toronto-based outfit’s latest album Super Mega Ultra was recorded by Simon Larochette at Ontario-based studio, The Sugar Shack. Super Mega Ultra is the band’s most ambitious album to date, and it sees the band exploring new thematic territory while firmly cementing a sound and approach that meshes psych rock, garage rock and punk rock.
“It’s tough writing a new record when you’re always on tour,” Wine Lips’ Cam Hilborn says in press notes. “The previous album seemed to be doing really well and at times I felt like I was hitting a wall creatively. Long story short, I think this album turned out great. Simon always brings a good vibe at the Sugar Shack and we were able to try some new ideas and capture the energy without straying too far from our roots. Excited to see where these songs take us in the future.”
Super Mega Ultra‘s latest single is a breakneck ripper anchored around scorching riffage, enormous mosh pit friendly hooks and choruses paired with punchily delivered vocals. Play loud, headbang with your friends — or better yet, open up that pit, y’all!
“I started writing ‘Stimulation’ during our break in 2020,” the band’s Cam Hilborn explains..”I might have put it on the shelf for a bit but one day the chorus just poured out of me and the rest of the song started to make more sense and came more naturally. It was the first song I demoed for the new record and it kind of became the benchmark.”
Direted by Ciarán Downes, the accompanying video for “Stimulation” starts with the band desperately seeking out a tambourine player. The first few tambourine players just don’t seem to work out for the band. They initially dismiss the third one they meet, but when he turns into a mix of The Incredible Hulk and Firestarter, inspired by the rejection and mockery of his closest ones, the band relents, partially out of fear — and partially because that fire thing is pretty fucking cool.
New Audio: Population II Shares Woozy and Fiery “Comme tu le souhaites (Ding Dong)”
Acclaimed Montréal-based psych rock outfit Population II — Pierre-Luc Gratton (vocals, drums), Tristan Lacombe (guitar, keys) and Sébastien Provençal (bass) — can trace their origin back a long way and are inextricably linked to their teenage memories. After years of jamming to the point of developing a unique sense of telepathy, the trio began recording independently releasing material that caught the attention of Castle Face Records head and The Oh Sees‘ frontman John Dwyer, who released the band’s full-length debut, 2020’s À la Ô Terre, an album that saw the band displaying their mastery of improvised and sophisticated composition.
The Montréal-based psych outfit then spent the better part of the next two years touring to support their full-length debut, which included stops at SXSW, Pop Montréal, Toronto, NYC, and Québec City.
Population II signed with Bonsound‘s label, booking and publishing arms. Bonsound released the French Canadian trio’s l Èthier-produced sophomore album Èlectrons libres du québec late last year. Èlectrons libres du québec is much more straightforward than its predecessor and showcases their remarkably adept musicianship and furthers their unique take on heavy psych rock, which features feverish punk rhythms, early punk energy bursts, hints of jazz philosophy and al love of minor scales informed by heavy metal’s early roots.
Èlectrons libres du québec received praise on both sides of the Atlantic from the like son Rock & Folk, Exclaim!, La Presse, Le Devoir and long list of others. And adding to a breakthrough year for the Montréal-based outfit, they also won a Breakthrough of the Year Award at last year’s GAMIQ ceremonies.
Building upon a breakthrough 2023, the French Canadian JOVM mainstays will be releasing Èlectrons libres du québec‘s highly-anticipated follow-up Serpent Échelle EP. Slated for a Friday release through Bonsound, the EP, which will be released on a limited-edition cassette tape and on all digital platforms, sees the band crafting crating material that stands out from their previously released work: Shifting between orchestrated passages and lysergic riffage without warning, the EP’s material is wilder, more adventurous and heavier. Rooted in their remarkable compositional skills, the material displays a newfound commitment to songwriting.
Thematically, the material touches upon the desperate urgency of life in the age of global doom while still enjoying life’s small pleasures — love, friendship, wine, good tunes and the like.
The album also features violin from their acclaimed friend and producer Emmanuel Éthier.
In the lead up to the EP’s release later this week, I wrote about the previous released single “R.B.” Beginning with a gorgeous string intro and an angular and propulsive bass line paired with a rapid paced hi-hat driven bit of percussion, the song quickly explodes into scorching riffage around the 35-45 second mark. Throughout the song’s run, it alternates between breathtaking beauty and scorching power chords. Gratton’s plaintive croon darts in and out of a lysergic and deceptively anachronistic arrangement that sounds as though it could have been released sometime between 1967-1973.
The EP’s latest single “Comme tu le souhaites (Ding Dong)” was written on the spur of the moment, right before its recording and was recorded during the Electrons libres du québec sessions. Reportedly one of the most self-referential tracks of their growing catalog, the song’s lyrics allude to a number of anecdotes and tales of events that they experienced in the stood while paying loving tribute to their dedicated sound engineer, Trevor Turple.
Much like its immediate predecessor, “Comme tu le soulhaites” is anchored around a mind-bending and woozy arrangement held together by a propulsive rhythm section that draw some inspiration from Miles Davis’ On the Corner Sessions paired with some prog rock-like keys and some forceful, scorching riffage. Throughout Gratton’s vocal alternates between singing and cooing.
New Video: JOVM Mainstays METZ Share Woozy and Anthemic “Superior Mirage”
Toronto-based JOVM mainstays METZ‘s fifth studio album Up On Gravity Hill is slated for a Friday release on Dine Alone Records in Canada and on Sub Pop for the rest of the world. The album, which is the JOVM mainstays’ first album in four years was engineered by Seth Manchester and features guest appearances from Black Mountain‘s Amber Webber and string arrangements by composer Owen Pallett.
Long known for blowing out eardrums with explosively loud songs of joyous rage, the Canadian JOVM mainstays — Alex Edkins (vocals, guitar), Chris Slorach (bass) and Hayden Menzies (drums) — have, over the course of their past couple of albums have begun exploring ways of turning abrasiveness into atmospherics. The evolution of their sound is not only a reflection of the band’s maturity as humans and as musicians, but also a changed world that demands much more nuance and compassion to comprehend and survive. Up On Gravity Hill reportedly finds the band continuing to bend the raw power of rock music to its most delicate, intricate ends. The album’s material may arguably be their deepest, detailed and unyieldingly personal batch of songs — and their most beautiful to date.
In the lead up to the album’s release later this week, I’ve written about three of its singles. The band specifically spotlighted the evolution of their sound and approach through the release of its first two contrasting singles:
“99,” a stomping and noisy motorik chug of a song built around their long-held penchant for shout along worthy, mosh pit friendly hooks choruses that sounds subtly informed by Edkins’ work with Noble Rot. “Entwined (Street Light Buzz),” a woozy and swooning song that sees the trio retaining their penchant for power chord-driven, enormous, shout along friendly hooks and choruses with a gorgeous and meditative shoegazer-like bridge.
“These two songs couldn’t be more stylistically and thematically dissimilar,” METZ’s Alex Edkins says. “‘Entwined (Street Light Buzz)’ is a song about the deep connection humans can foster with one another and how we carry people with us forever, even after death. ‘99’ is about the scourge of corporate greed and bottom-line thinking that runs rampant in modern society. Anything for a buck is the message being sent to younger generations.”
“Light Your Way Home,” a slow-burning shoegazer-like ballad built around the band’s long-held penchant for feedback-driven power chords, thunderous drums, enormous raise-your-beer-in-the-air-and-shout-along worthy anthemic choruses serving as a dramatic and stormy vehicle for Edkins’ achingly yearning delivery and backing vocals from Black Mountain‘s and Lighting Dust’s Amber Webber. “Light Your Way Home” finds the Toronto-based outfit at their most forcefully earnest with hearts worn proudly on their sleeves, expressing the understandably deep longing for your loved ones — presumably while living the rock n’ roll live on the road. Sonically, the track is a subtle departure from their established sound that sees the band proverbially stretching themselves upward.
“’Light Your Way Home’ is definitely one of our favorites from Up On Gravity Hill. I was listening to lots of Jesu and Low (as I do most winters) when writing this one,” the band’s Alex Edkins says in press notes. “Lyrically, it’s about missing your loved ones to the point of losing your grip on reality. We distorted and added a mechanical slap back to the drums to create a wild and huge sound. I love how big we got the production on this one. It’s like nothing we’ve ever made before, sonically or lyrically. Amber Webber (Black Mountain, Lightning Dust) was so great to work with, and her voice just takes this song to another stratosphere. I think the video by Colin Medley perfectly captures the vibe and intent of the song.”
Up On Gravity Hill’s fourth and latest single, “Superior Mirage” sees the acclaimed Canadian JOVM mainstays pushing their sound into a bold new direction. Anchored around a propulsive boom bap-like beat, reverb soaked bursts of angular guitar and glistening synth oscillations, “Superior Mirage” is a woozy track that sees the band seamlessly blending post-punk, shoegazer textures with their long-held penchant for enormous, rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses. The result is a song that’s still mosh pit friendly yet but arguably one of the more melodic and dreamier songs of their catalog.
“It’s definitely new territory for us, and I really love the sounds we were able to achieve. We blended a Linn Drum with some homemade samples and made this ad-hoc junkyard drum sound that propels the song along,” METZ’s Alex Edkins says of the new single. “We really tried to make the backbeat the defining trait of the song. The lift on the chorus is pretty huge, too. We wanted the wall of guitars to knock you sideways.”
Directed by John Andrews, the animated video for “Superior Mirage” follows two devils speeding through the desert. After stopping to party, they come across a portal to another dimension, where they encounter the members of METZ ripping hard. Evil hasn’t been this childlike or this fun in a while, y’all!
New Video: METZ Teams Up with Amber Webber on Slow-Burning and Stormy “Light Your Way Home”
Toronto-based JOVM mainstays METZ‘s fifth studio album Up on Gravity Hill is slated for an April 12, 2024 release on Dine Alone Records in Canada and on Sub Pop for the rest of the world. The album, which is the JOVM mainstays’ first album in four years was engineered by Seth Manchester and features guest appearances from Black Mountain‘s Amber Webber and string arrangements by composer Owen Pallett.
Long known for blowing out eardrums with explosively loud songs of joyous rage, the Canadian JOVM mainstays — Alex Edkins (vocals, guitar), Chris Slorach (bass) and Hayden Menzies (drums) — have, over the course of their past couple of albums have begun exploring ways of turning abrasiveness into atmospherics. The evolution of their sound is not only a reflection of the band’s maturity as humans and as musicians, but also a changed world that demands much more nuance and compassion to comprehend and survive. Up On Gravity Hill reportedly finds the band continuing to bend the raw power of rock music to its most delicate, intricate ends. The album’s material may arguably be their deepest, detailed and unyieldingly personal batch of songs — and their most beautiful to date.
Last month, the Canadian JOVM mainstays spotlighted the evolution in their sound and approach through the release of two contrasting singles:
“99,” a stomping and noisy motorik chug of a song built around their long-held penchant for shout along worthy, mosh pit friendly hooks choruses that sounds subtly informed by Edkins’ work with Noble Rot. “Entwined (Street Light Buzz),” a woozy and swooning song that sees the trio retaining their penchant for power chord-driven, enormous, shout along friendly hooks and choruses with a gorgeous and meditative shoegazer-like bridge.
“These two songs couldn’t be more stylistically and thematically dissimilar,” METZ’s Alex Edkins says. “‘Entwined (Street Light Buzz)’ is a song about the deep connection humans can foster with one another and how we carry people with us forever, even after death. ‘99’ is about the scourge of corporate greed and bottom-line thinking that runs rampant in modern society. Anything for a buck is the message being sent to younger generations.”
Up On Gravity Hill‘s third and latest single “Light Your Way Home” is a slow-burning shoegazer-like ballad built around the band’s long-held penchant for feedback-driven power chords, thunderous drums, enormous raise-your-beer-in-the-air-and-shout-along worthy anthemic choruses serving as a dramatic and stormy vehicle for Edkins’ achingly yearning delivery and backing vocals from Black Mountain‘s and Lighting Dust’s Amber Webber. “Light Your Way Home” finds the Toronto-based outfit at their most forcefully earnest with hearts worn proudly on their sleeves, expressing the understandably deep longing for your loved ones — presumably while living the rock n’ roll live on the road. Sonically, the track is a subtle departure from their established sound that sees the band proverbially stretching themselves upward.
“’Light Your Way Home’ is definitely one of our favorites from Up On Gravity Hill. I was listening to lots of Jesu and Low (as I do most winters) when writing this one,” the band’s Alex Edkins says in press notes. “Lyrically, it’s about missing your loved ones to the point of losing your grip on reality. We distorted and added a mechanical slap back to the drums to create a wild and huge sound. I love how big we got the production on this one. It’s like nothing we’ve ever made before, sonically or lyrically. Amber Webber (Black Mountain, Lightning Dust) was so great to work with, and her voice just takes this song to another stratosphere. I think the video by Colin Medley perfectly captures the vibe and intent of the song.”
New Video/New Audio: JOVM Mainstays METZ Share Two from Highly-Anticipated New Album
Toronto-based JOVM mainstays METZ‘s fifth studio album Up on Gravity Hill is slated for an April 12, 2024 release on Dine Alone Records in Canada and on Sub Pop for the rest of the world. The album, which is the JOVM mainstays’ first album in four years was engineered by Seth Manchester and features guest appearances from Black Mountain‘s Amber Webber and string arrangements by composer Owen Pallett.
Long known for blowing out eardrums with explosively loud songs of joyous rage, the Canadian JOVM mainstays — Alex Edkins (vocals, guitar), Chris Slorach (bass) and Hayden Menzies (drums) — have, over the course of their past couple of albums have begun exploring ways of turning abrasiveness into atmospherics. The evolution of their sound is not only a reflection of the band’s maturity as humans and as musicians, but also a changed world that demands much more nuance and compassion to comprehend and survive. Up On Gravity Hill reportedly finds the band continuing to bend the raw power of rock music to its most delicate, intricate ends. The album’s material may arguably be their deepest, detailed and unyieldingly personal batch of songs — and their most beautiful to date.
To spotlight this evolution in their sound and approach, the Toronto-based outfit has shared two contrasting singles:
“99,” a stomping and noisy motorik chug of a song built around their long-held penchant for shout along worthy, mosh pit friendly hooks choruses that sounds subtly informed by Edkins’ work with Noble Rot. Directed by John Smith, the accompanying video features the members of the trio performing the song in hazy and scorching VHS fuzz and computer generated 3D renderings. The single and its accompanying video are incisive commentary and criticism on our consumerist hellscape.
“Entwined (Street Light Buzz)” is a woozy and swooning song that sees the trio retaining their penchant for power chord-driven, enormous, shout along friendly hooks and choruses with a gorgeous and meditative shoegazer-like bridge.
“These two songs couldn’t be more stylistically and thematically dissimilar,” METZ’s Alex Edkins says. “‘Entwined (Street Light Buzz)’ is a song about the deep connection humans can foster with one another and how we carry people with us forever, even after death. ‘99’ is about the scourge of corporate greed and bottom-line thinking that runs rampant in modern society. Anything for a buck is the message being sent to younger generations.”
New Video: Toronto’s Mawzy Shares Hazy and Introspective “Better Man”
Toronto-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Matthew Cooke is the creative mastermind behind the emerging indie pop project Mawzy. And with the project’s debut EP Escapism and full-length debut, last year’s Long View, Cooke quickly developed an approach that sees him penning lyrics that capture the “unnavigability” of life and romance in his hometown paired with lush synths and crafted melodies.
Formed back in 2010, the acclaimed Toronto-based outfit BADBADNOTGOOD — currently Alexander Sowinski (drums), Chester Hansen (bass) and Leland Whitty (guitar, woodwinds) — can trace their origins back to when its founding members met while attending Humber College‘s jazz program. Since then, whether with three or four members — and more currently with three — the Toronto-based outfit has firmly centered a reputation for consistently crossing and blending genres and genre boundaries. Although jazz trained, they first gained attention for drawing from hip-hop and other contemporary genres to create a unique, difficult to pigeonhole sound.
Besides their own critically applauded releases, the members of BADBADNOTGOOD have collaborated with a eclectic array of internationally renowned artists across hip-hop, neo-soul, dance music and more, including Ghostface Killah, Kaytranada, Little Dragon, and Kendrick Lamar.
Back in 2021, the acclaimed Canadian trio signed to XL Recordings, who released their critically applauded fifth album Talk Memory. The album’s material saw the trio collaborating with an array of internationally renowned and acclaimed multi-instrumentalists including Arthur Verocai, Laraaji, Terrace Martin, Brandee Younger, and Karriem Riggins, and was inspired by their live shows. They’ve supported Talk Memory with some extensive touring with stops at some of the world’s best venues and festivals.
Since the release of Talk Memory, they’ve released an EP with Turnstile and a standalone single “Open Channels.”
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past handful of years, you might already be familiar with acclaimed JOVM mainstay and frequent BADBADNOTGOOD collaborator Charlotte Day Wilson. Throughout her career, Day Wilson has developed a sound that draws from and features elements of folk, gospel and Quiet Storm R&B.
Her critically applauded sophomore album, 2021’s ALPHA served as a metaphorical coming out, that found her openly and honestly tapping into her queerness for the first time as a storyteller/songwriter. A few months after the album’s release, Drake sampled the Babyface co-written “Mountains” on the chart-topping hit “Fair Trade” featuring Travis Scott. Adding to a growing profile, she received praise for the supergroup remix of “Take Care Of You” featuring Syd, King Princess, Amaarae and the legendary and incomparable Meshell Ndegeocello.
Recently she collaborated SG Lewis and Channel Tres on “Fever Dreamer.” And back in August, Day Wilson signed with XL Recordings, who released “Forever,” featuring Snoh Aalegra, which was released to praise from The Fader, The Line of Best Fit and others.
The frequent collaborators joined forces yet again for their latest collaboration “Sleeper.” Recorded at legendary Los Angeles-based Valentine Recording Studios on analog tape, “Sleeper” pairs Day Wilson’s dreamy and effortlessly soulful delivery with a lush and breezy 70s AM rock-meets-soul arrangement that sounds inspired by Carole King’s legendary Tapestry and 70s Motown soul. The song evokes someone dreamily going through their life, avoiding conflict and upset — and never quite getting anywhere or anything that they desired.
“Sleeper wrote itself…we were in the studio just messing around and the guys came up with the colorful instrumental while I freestyled the lyrics,” the JOVM mainstay says of the new single. “The song portrays someone who chooses the path of least resistance and finds themselves in a lifeless, loveless relationship.”
New Video: Toronto’s Hot Garbage Shares Bombastic and Malevolent “Snooze You Lose”
Back in early 2020, following the release of 2017’s Max Blonda EP and 2019’s Coco Paradise, the members of Toronto-based psych outfit Hot Garbage — Alex Carlevaris (lead vocals, guitar), Juliana Carlevaris (bass, vocals), Dylan Gamble (keys, synths) and Mark Henin (drums) — went into the studio with Juno-nominated producer and Holy Fuck‘s Graham Walsh to cut a selection of tracks live and off-the-floor. The result was the blazing standalone single “Easy Believer,” and their full-length debut, 2021’s RIDE, which was released through Mothland.
RIDE quickly made its way into SiriusXM rotation through CBC Radio 3 and The Verge while also climbing to #3 on the Earshot Top 50 and #82 on the NACC Top 200. The album also received praise from internationally renowned outlets like Aquarium Drunkard and Louder Than War.
The Canadian psych outfit has also toured extensively across Canada, the United Staes, Europe and United Kingdom, playing sets at festivals like LEVITATION, SXSW, Treefort Music Fest, Freakout Fest, Sled Island, Sappyfest, FME, M for Montréal, Pop Montréal, and opening for L.A. Witch and Frankie and The Witch Fingers. They’ve also shared the stage with Osees, Ty Segall, JJUUJJUU, Mdou Moctar, Wand, Kikagaku Moyo and Dead Meadow.
Hot Garbage’s highly anticipated sophomore album, Precious Dream is slated for a January 19, 2024 release through Mothland here in the States and Canada and Exag’ Records across the UK and European Union. Written during pandemic-related isolation, Precious Dream was recorded late last year and sees them continuing their ongoing collaboration with acclaimed producer Graham Walsh. The album’s sprawling material reportedly sees the band retaining the signature tinge of moody, psychedelia that has won them attention both nationally and internationally but while careening into darker, searing post-punk inspired riffage.
Thematically, the material grapples with and touches upon dread, loss, the resilience of the human spirit and the highs and lows of solitude. The result is an album that will offer a new breath into the worlds of post-punk and modern psychedelia and a listening experience that’s equally introspective and cathartic.
“Snooze You Lose,” Precious Dream‘s breakneck first single sees the band meshing elements of seething post punk, relentless motorik krautrock and swirling shoegaze to create a bruising, nasty and downright malevolent ripper that’s face-melting and bombastic. Underpinning all of that is a song that’s features some of the most sardonic lyrics I’ve heard in some time. “The song is about how time passes when you stand still. Sometimes all you can do is laugh,” the band says.
Directed by the band’s Alex Carlevaris, the accompanying video for “Snooze You Lose” is frantic and decidedly lo-fi visual that’s playful, absurd and yet somehow menacing and uneasy. “Here Hot Garbage can be seen playing completely real instruments in their day-to-day attire. Seen in the video is: a live performance, a swing set, and a candid perspective of the daily grind,” Hot Garbage’s Carlevaris explains. “The video, with a budget of under $50 (mostly spent on fake blood), was shot on a cheap plastic toy camera and uses homemade props and movements from the camera and lights, resulting in a frantic, lo-fi presentation that is playful yet intense.”