by Nash Bussieres

I’ve seen Animal Faces more times than I have fingers to count on and, if I’m being quite honest, recent shows have left me wanting something different from them. That’s why I’m so excited about their split with Solids that came out yesterday. Their first song on the release, “Give In,” is an instrumental piece that revolves around an electric guitar melody drowning in verb and chorus atop heavily resonant synth and minimal drums. The most incredible thing about the track is the fact that there are sleigh bells in it but it doesn’t sound wintery. What is this black magic? I didn’t know that was possible. The second track, “Hold On,” sounds a lot more like Stalwart Sons or Daylight playing in an empty stadium: emotive, energetic and with an impossible feeling of distance.

This was my first listen to Solids. Their contribution to the split is a great companion piece to the two AF tracks. It is as energetic as “Hold On” but also incorporates a lot of the emptiness felt in “Give In” simultaneously. I’m a fan. Will listen to more.

Animal Faces seems to get a lot of credit just for being Animal Faces, but it is definitely well earned on this new split.

by Tiana Feng

Metz have released this strange video for “Wasted”. Some parts seem like they were on more than just alcohol.

by Tiana Feng

London, Ontario punk rockers Single Mothers recently signed to Dine Alone Records. They’ll debut a full length some time this year but for now here is their latest single Christian Girls.

And the accompanying video:

by Tiana Feng

Watch some dance crew do their thing in Fucked Up’s video for Inside A Frame from David Comes To Life.

by Nash Bussieres

Stalwart Sons is one of my favourite Canadian acts at the moment. Their entire label is pretty fantastic and you’d be doing yourself a massive disservice by not acknowledging the existence of one of the hardest working and consistently spectacular mini-labels Canada has to offer.

The easiest way to describe Stalwart Sons is Canada’s answer to early Hot Water Music. The vocal similarities and bass tone between their new release and HWM’s “Fuel For the Hate Game” are unmistakeable, but that by no means is a bad thing. This is not one of the myriad bands trying to copy HWM and doing things that were relevant only a decade ago, this is a band that is 100% comfortable with their sound and just happen to sound similar to another band. Nothing sounds half-assed; everything on the album is a fully flushed out song with its own life and personality. Stalwart Sons play second fiddle to no one.

by Tiana Feng

Finally, NXNE is over and I have some time to post! My first stop of the week was the Of a Kind party. I managed to catch Toronto’s Braves. A two-piece that played some hardcore electronic rock stuff that was a little like DFA. I wanted to post you a track, but I can’t seem to find them on the web.

by Nash Bussieres

I think we can all agree that that picture is awesome. Scab Smoker and this song are pretty awesome too. Vocally, it’s equal parts Iron Age and The Sweet with a Phil Collins-esque level of reverb. I never thought that’s a sentence I’d ever write. I’m still not 100% sure what it means.

An extremely long and subdued (relative to the rest of the song, at least) middle section breaks up a pseudo-thrash intro and outro and works even though it shouldn’t. Definitely one of the more interesting songs I’ve heard in the last few months.
Scab Smoker- Butcher of Daemons
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