Les Olympiques
Some Party is a newsletter sharing the latest in independent Canadian rock'n'roll, curated more-or-less weekly by Adam White. Each edition explores punk, garage, psych, and otherwise uncategorizable indie rock, drawing lines from proto to post and taking some weird diversions along the way.
A request before we get started...
It's August, and just like last year, I'll be participating in the Great Cycle Challenge throughout the month to fight kids' cancer.
Last year, with your generous help, I raised $2,400 and rode around 480km (on a busted old mountain bike, no less). My equipment's marginally improved, so while I'm keeping the dollar target, my ride goal is now 800km before August 31. All funds raised go to the SickKids Foundation, and donations are tax-deductible. You can find more here if you'd like to donate or mock my progress. Thanks to everyone who's already contributed.
Bozo: Too?
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Irreverent Toronto garage-punk act Bozo recently issued Too?, an eight-song cassette and the band's sophomore full-length. The set follows their 2022 debut Clowns All Over the World.
Bozo's the product of several Calgary expats, lead by vocalist Nick Sawchuk. He's joined on stage by Noelle, Mike, and Craig. While I've yet to ID everyone, the latter's Craig Fahner, best known these days from the power-pop trio Motorists. Collectively, the quartet has roots in bands like Chlorinator, Leather Jacuzzi, and Gawker. Outside the core group, Eli Spiegel from Merc & The Montclairs contributes the record's sole credited guest appearance, playing sax on the song "Sun."
Sawchuk's blown-out vocals are often utterly unintelligible, but they're a perfect fit atop the band's lo-fi production and frantic pace. Gleefully delivered punk'n'roll nonsense like "Whoville" deserves nothing less. It's delightful how much traction Nick gets by stuffing an extra syllable into the word "burglar" on the sone of the same name. I'm wary of overemphasizing the band's humorous trappings, as they're worlds more muscular and competent than the circus clown shtick implies.
Booji Boys: Demo Promo 2024 !!??
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The lo-fi punk group Booji Boys are back from their painfully lengthy hibernation with a new set of demos, a three-song tape issued through Don't Wanna Talk Records. The audio surfaced as an unbroken six minute track at Bandcamp, picking up the Haligonian band's oft-shambling yet deceptively hooky attack where they left it in 2019.
The new material is presumably due for the band's fourth LP, still reported as a work in progress. Booji Boys last issued Tube Reducer in 2019 through Drunken Sailor Records and most recently appeared on Sewercide's landmark Maritime punk compilation Seaside Sickness in 2020.
Booji Boys features vocalist Alex Mitchell, guitarists Cody Googoo and Steve Earle, bassist Adam LeDrew, and drummer Justin Crowe. While the mothership's remained largely inactive in recent years, the personnel have remained busy in various combinations and related subgenres. Those outlets include Misanthropic Minds, Heavenly Blue, Fragment, Wet Pleather, Mutated Void, Gemstones, and LeDrew, Luke & Crowe.
DVTR: "Les Olympiques"
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Montreal synth-punk duo DVTR hit at just the right moment with "Les Olympiques," their savagely dismissive new single. They punctuate the frenetic track in an over-the-top video from director Jean-Vital Joliat. In it, you'll find the pair thumbing their nose at this summer's bout of flag worship, with Jean Divorce cavorting around as an RCMP officer and Demi Lune assuming the mantle of Miss Canada. The single arrives through Lisbon Lux Records.
The new single follows the band's 2023 debut EP Bonjour and a pair of digital singles issued in the spring ("Les Flics (sont des sacs à merde)" and "Ron coca MD"). DVTR's booked for a string of Quebec festival appearances through the summer, with overseas trips to Asia planned for the fall. Look for a homecoming gig at Montreal's Foufounes Électrique on December 5 to cap it off.
Demi Lune (Laurence G-Do) and Jean Divorce (JC Tellier) previously played with the Montreal electropop act Le Couleur. Tellier also has roots in the Chicoutimi rock group Gazoline.
Les Hay Babies: "Soyer fiers"
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This week, Acadian folk-rock trio Les Hay Babies unveiled "Soyer fiers," the latest single from their upcoming album for Simone Records. The track followed up "Entre le chien et le loup" in previewing the band's fourth record; as we've come to expect, it's an absolute earworm.
The group remarked on the song's celebration of Acadian identity in an Instagram post:
"Ça nous a pris longtemps à mettre en mots ce qui nous amarre icitte! On dirait qu'on est assez éloigné de tout, qu'on peut faire le temps s'arrêter. On parle toute croche, but on se comprend aussi tant. On se reconnaît en parlant de nos grand-parents. Nos amis fêtent parmi nos familles, toujours avec d'la musique, des taquineries pis dequoi à manger. On se lamente pas, on vit avec ce qu'on a! C'est ça que c'est, être acadien."
The track coincidentally landed alongside a Bandcamp spotlight on how the Acadian chiac dialect has become increasingly visible in the Canadian music landscape.
Les Hay Babies features Katrine Noël on bass and vocals, Vivianne Roy on acoustic guitar and vocals, and Julie Aubé on electric guitar and lead vocals. Mico Roy of Les Hôtesses d'Hilaire plays guitar on the track, as well. The band self-produced their new material, with Léandre Bourgeois and Mico Roy recording at La Grosse Rose studio in Tintramar, NB. Patrick Meese mixed, with Chris Colbert mastering.
The new album, due in the fall, follows the Moncton group's 2020 LP Boîte aux lettres and Julie Aubé's recent English-language country EP Boiling Over.
Tess Parks: "Koalas"
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Toronto-born, London-based psych-pop artist Tess Parks recently unveiled "Koalas," the lead single from her upcoming full-length Pomegranate. The album, Parks' third solo outing, arrives October 25 through Fuzz Club and Hand Drawn Dracula.
English multi-instrumentalist Ruari Meehan produced the nine-song set, collaborating closely with Parks on the project (they play nearly a dozen roles on the album). Mikko Gordon (The Smile, Gaz Coombes, Arcade Fire) mixed, with Noah Mintz mastering at Lacquer Channel. The record finds Parks backed by a core band featuring Francesco Perini on keys and Marco Ninni on drums, with several guest players contributing throughout. "Koalas" notably pairs Parks' compellingly husky vocals with some subtle whistling from LA's Molly Lewis.
The press release celebrates Parks' expanded sonic pallet:
"...this time the canvas is bigger, with Meehan's arrangements stretching all the way to the horizon. This is the most ambitious and cinematic Parks' music has ever sounded. Drawing on psychedelic elements in a way that sounds decidedly fresh, the dreamlike atmospheres feel oddly nostalgic and modern at the same time. "
Director Benjamin Wearing showcases the song in a cinematic black and white video.
The new record follows Tess Parks' 2022 sophomore outing And Those Who Were Seen Dancing. That record arrived after a run of albums paired with Anton Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre (I Declare Nothing in 2015 and the self-titled Tess Parks & Anton Newcombe in 2018).
Cuff The Duke: "Leaving It All Behind"
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Rekindled Ontario roots rockers Cuff The Duke are readying their comeback album Breaking Dawn for a September 6 release. Last week, the group issued the third pre-release preview of the record. You can stream "Leaving It All Behind" everywhere or see it captured in a new video from director Boy Wonder.
Band lead Wayne Petti reflected on the song, which grapples with the extended time out of the spotlight. The album offers an exploration of the artist's struggles with anxiety and other mental health hurdles:
"I felt like I failed because music would no longer be my sole focus. The line 'I bought the lie that I told myself, now it's coming back to haunt me' reflects how young musicians can become overconfident, believing their success will never end. But every artist faces ups and downs, and when Reality hits, it can be a nightmare. Saying, 'I'm getting ahead of it by leaving it all behind,' was the headspace I needed to be in, to move forward as one chapter ended and another began."
Breaking Dawn finds Petti backed by Paul Lowman, Andrew Johnson, François Turenne, and Thom Hammerton. The album launches Cardinal Records, the group's new label. Emerging from Oshawa, Ontario in the early 2000s as part of the seminal Three Gut Records roster, Cuff The Duke last issued Union in 2012.
Subscriber Perk: Win Tickets to the Polaris Prize Gala
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The Polaris Music Prize shortlist went live earlier in the summer, with ten sonically diverse Canadian artists vying for the $50,000 award. Some Party subscribers can score a pair of tickets to the Polaris Music Prize Gala at Toronto's iconic Massey Hall on September 17. Enter today for your chance to win.
If you'd like to hedge your bets and buy tickets, use the code POLARIS25 at checkout for 25% off.
Ivan Rivers: "Sad Around Me"
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Toronto-based, Huron County-raised singer-songwriter Ivan Rivers recently shared "Sad Around Me," a "beating heart ballad" and the second single from their upcoming EP I GIVE. The four-song set, due August 22, alternates themes of perseverance and resignation through the lens of modern Americana and alt-country. The artist offers "haunted saloon pop," "ghost folk," and "divorced cowboy emo" as possible genre descriptors.
Pkew Pkew Pkew's Emmett O'Reilly, Rivers' bandmate from the punk act Stuck Out Here, produced the new EP from their Quarry Court studio. The record features a cast of Rivers' regular collaborators, including Devin Staple of The Old Salts, guitarist Michael Boyd, drummer Nick McKinlay, and bassist Patrick Grant (Rogue Tenant). On the songs, you'll hear backing vocals from Gillian Grant and Kara Lea Manovich.
Speaking on the new track, Rivers commented:
"Beyond stoked to share this tune. I wrote it on my notes app, trunks dunked in a landlord's pool before a SLUG show at the Houndstooth, nursing a tallpal of Old Style, a tallpal of Bubly, and a tall order of hurting. Emmett and the band built this one bursting for the heartbreak babies among us but dang don't it ring out with hope."
The new material follows up on Rivers' December single "Formed in the Snow."
We Are Wolves: "Super Normal"
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Earlier this month, Montreal indie veterans We Are Wolves shared "Super Normal," the synth-heavy band's second single of the summer - and one sung entirely in Spanish. The buoyant track arrived alongside a dizzying new video.
The band recorded "Super Normal" between several Montreal studios, with Joseph Donovan and Adrian Popovich engineering at Mountain City and Wolfgang Studio. The song features Alexander Ortiz on guitar, vocals, and synth, with Vincent Levesque contributing synths, drum programming, vocoder, and vocals. Paupière's Pierre-Luc Bégin appears on live drums. Popovich mixed the track with Oliver Ackermann of A Place to Bury Strangers mastering.
The new single follows June's "Transition," which broke the group's nearly four-year silence. Both songs preview a forthcoming full-length, the band's sixth overall and allegedly their last. That record's due in the fall through Simone Records. We Are Wolves last issued the La Main de Dieu EP in 2019.
Carson McHone: ODES
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Welland-based Texan-transplant Carson McHone recently issued ODES, a covers EP offering clever reinterpretations of classics from Conway Twitty, Arthur Russell, Margo Guryan, and the MC5. The set's available digitally and as a self-released 7".
McHone recorded ODES with her partner Daniel Romano, backed by members of The Outfit. That cast includes Ian Romano, Tommy Major (Tommy and the Commies, Young Guv), and Shannon McGrath.
In a social post on the release day, McHone commented:
"In this info age where we are constantly inundated with the good, the bad, the ugly, the atrocious, the beautiful, the horrendous, the laughable, the despicable, etc, if you take time to turn your ears towards these tunes I hope they bring you some joy, a laugh, or some form of catharsis as they have for me. Making this EP was great fun but these songs also challenged me in a way that was truly liberating and I'm ever grateful to the artists who gave us these magnificent tunes..."
The new EP follows 2022's Still Life, McHone's latest full-length for Merge Records, and this year's Outfit LP Too Hot To Sleep. That one arrived in March through You've Changed Records.
The Stoves: "Cynic's Bitterness"
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Hamilton garage rockers The Stoves are back with "Cynic's Bitterness," a propulsive new single that showcases Drew Thomson's sharp tongue in a compelling call-and-response format.
The Stoves bring together a cast of recognizable players from the southern Ontario punk scene. While they've performed as a five-piece, this recording finds Single Mothers vocalist Drew Thomson and drummer Peter Landi with ex-Dirty Nil bassist Ross Miller on both guitar and bass. Miller's frequent studio partner Vince Soliveri engineered, mixed, and mastered the track at Ego Palace.
The new song follows the band's self-titled debut EP, issued last summer.
Matty Grace: "I May Be A Bad Influence But At Least I'm Not A Fascist Cuck"
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The ever-restless Matty Grace has a new one-off single out. The aggressively titled "I May Be A Bad Influence But At Least I'm Not A Fascist Cuck" arrived in late July, and as you can probably guess, it minces few words.
Grace has deep roots in the Halifax punk scene, with Future Girls and Cluttered as their main outlets alongside a string side-projects and solo folk-punk efforts. Grace relocated to Ottawa after the pandemic, where she's often performed in the trio Crisis Party.
The new single is Grace's first solo release since 2023's The Breakdown Of Progress. Earlier this year, she appeared on Crisis Party's Live In Victora recordings.
Gulfer: Lights Out
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Montreal emo revivalists Gulfer called it a career with the July release of Lights Out. In a statement, the band reflected on their 13 year run:
"This is one of our favourite releases as a band. 5 years ago it wouldn't have been possible for Gulfer to put out songs like these but this is where we're at now. This band has always been about having a creative outlet and to be able to channel our influences through our creative process and so it makes sense to end this journey by putting out this batch of songs that we are very proud to have made together. Hope y'all enjoy this last offering."
Gulfer last issued Third Wind in February through Topshelf Records and Royal Mountain. The quartet bows out with the lineup of guitarist/vocalists Vincent Ford and Joe Therriault, bassist David Mitchell, and drummer Julien Daoust.
Part-Time Cool: Yearning After Our Desires
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Guelph pop-punk act Part-Time Cool recently issued Yearning After Our Desires, a new four-song EP. The set arrived July 24 through Life Makes Life Suck Records. It's the band's first new set since 2021's Stand Up and Take Witness.
While it predated the lockdowns, Part-Time Cool really took flight during the pandemic as a time-killing home recording project for singer-songwriter Innes Wilson. During that span, Wilson issued four EPs, each credited to a trio of anonymous Mulroney-surnamed artists who may or may not exist. These new tracks stem from June sessions at the Brick Loft.
Outside of his punk diversions, Wilson's kept busy touring and recording with his namesake Americana project, Freightliner. Earlier this year, he issued the single "Let It Run" with the trio. That group features Wilson on lead vocals and tenor guitar, backed by R.P. McMurphy on guitar and bass, and drummer Joshua Osmond.
Over It: Garden Style
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St. Catharines hardcore act Over It issued Garden Style in July, a relentless five-song EP that follows up on their self-titled 2023 debut. The group features vocalist Austin Baker, guitarists Dawson Chamberlain and Mike Charkowy, bassist Evan Wiens, and drummer Devan Burton. Andy Dmytryshyn of fellow Niagara heavies Reality Denied recorded and mixed the set, with Jamie King mastering.
Mike Trask: "Go Only Backwards"
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Memramcook singer-songwriter Mike Trask recently shared "Go Only Backwards," the third single from his upcoming album BEET. The eclectic maritime artist channels Tom Waits' oddball growl throughout the track, which he's called his heaviest in years.
The recording finds Trask backed by Papal Visit's Adam Mowery on bass and Matt Gallant on drums. The group recorded live off the floor at Never Nuthin Studio with Janowskii's Keith Hallett engineering.
The single arrived alongside a lo-fi, self-produced video shot at Trask's childhood home in Nova Scotia. The upcoming album follows a recent string of digital singles from the artist's studio archives and follows 2021's full-length TV Dinner.
Nap Eyes: "Passageway"
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The endearingly bookish Halifax indie rockers Nap Eyes recently announced their fifth full-length. The Neon Gate arrives October 18, 2024, through Paradise of Bachelors and Paper Bag Records. The nine-song collection gathers material recorded in the four years since 2020's Snapshot of a Beginner, including adaptations of poems by Alexander Pushkin and W. B. Yeats.
The announcement arrived alongside "Passageway," the latest single from the record following "Demons," "Ice Grass Underpass," and "Feline Wave Race." On the new track, vocalist/guitarist Nigel Chapman revealed:
"I had the last verse of this song written for a long time, along with a bunch of earlier verses that I didn't like as much that I eventually discarded. Eventually one quiet day when I was not doing too much of anything, I started to come up with the lyrics of the earlier verses—just in my head without an instrument or speaking them out loud, which is unusual for me. So the song was generated by this out-of-the-ordinary writing method, but I think this resulted in a song that is pretty different from anything else I've written to date. During the live tracking at our friend René Wilson's home and studio, Brad was playing acoustic guitar in the stairwell, Josh and Seamus were playing in the main room, while I sang in an adjacent bedroom."
Nap Eyes released Snapshot of a Beginner in early 2020 through Royal Mountain, Jagjaguwar, and Paradise of Bachelors. They followed it with 2021's When I Come Around EP, which notably found Chapman lending his pensive drawl to a Green Day classic.
Nap Eyes features Nigel Chapman on vocals and guitar, Brad Loughead on guitar, Josh Salter on bass, and Seamus Dalton drumming.
