Outta My Head
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.
You know, I always assumed the Dominion would outlast this newsletter but a lot can change in a week. I'll endeavour to keep publishing as long as we remain a viable nation, but if they need my help manning the old batteries at Queenston, I happen to know the Heights like the back of my hand. Expect delays in that case.
Push on, brave York volunteers.
The Boojums"Don't Wanna Love" / "Outta My Head"
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Perhaps I've been at this for too long, but I rarely stumble across a band that so thoroughly grabs my attention that I drop whatever I'm doing and dive frantically into research. I'm almost ashamed to admit I mindlessly scrolled into The Boojums on Instagram. You never want to credit the stinkin' algorithm with a legitimate find - particularly as a writer. It doesn't help sell the relevance of my dying medium to give that credit where it's due, but I'm honest to a fault.
Promoting their first two singles, the band shared a few performance videos showcasing segments of "Don't Wanna Love" and "Outta My Head." The clips find the trio crammed awkwardly in the viewport as if performing in a closet. Willie Stratton glances uncomfortably into the camera with a vague sense of menace while the group crashes through their over-driven power-pop gems. Through deft planning or a fortuitous low-budget, the band introduces themselves with a lo-fi veneer that feels refreshingly, arrestingly real. If that's all a put-on, some faux-amateurism, then so be it. It's working for them, and it's working for me.
Hailing from Port Hawkesbury in Cape Breton Island, The Boojums haven't been around for more than a year, but their roster boasts lengthy discographies. Guitarist/vocalist Willie Stratton is a fixture of the Halifax scene, recording a mix of folk, rockabilly, and lovesick blues over several records, most recently 2022's Drugstore Dreamin'. He's also played in the surf-rock act Beach Bait, among others. Bassist/vocalist Sara Eve is a member of the gritty garage/punk quartet Skunk Motel and Toronto instrumental act The Surfrajettes. Mabou-based drummer Peter MacInnis boasts a solo career to rival Stratton's. He last released the quirky indie-folk record Late Night Blues Vibe and plays regularly with the Inverness garage-folk quartet Beech Hill. You may have also seen him on the YouTube comedy series Cape Breton Chats.
Their vast social reach notwithstanding, the Boojums have remained relatively confined to the Maritimes. That changes on March 25 with an appearance at Toronto's Longboat Hall as part of We Are Busy Bodies' 20th anniversary celebrations. They'll play alongside Toronto bummer-pop favourites No Frills and Welsh indie rockers The Bug Club.
Washing MachineSilver Tongue
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Halifax post-punk trio Washing Machine have a new full-length on deck. Silver Tongue arrives on April 18, building on the college rock revival of their early work to arrive somewhere lush and moody. While R.E.M. remains a touchpoint, this time out, Washing Machine cites the influence of lavish 80s sophisti-pop groups like Prefab Sprout. The pensive pre-release singles "Worn Apparition" and "Vivian's Way" showcase that evolution.
The band shared some insight on the 8-track album's lyrical approach, stating:
"Thematically, Silver Tongue is misled by a host of zealous and tragic protagonists. Unreliable narrators lose the plot in a crisis of communication while searching for the upper hand and the right words."
Washing Machine's current lineup features Noel Macdonald (Moon) on guitar and vocals, Glen Leck (Working Titles) on bass, guitar, and keys, and Justin Crowe (Booji Boys, Heavenly Blue) on drums. Another Booji Boy, Adam Ledrew, makes a guest appearance on organ and synth. The band recorded over two sessions at Dartmouth's Fang studio with engineers Thomas Stajcer (Safeword, Daveband) and Alex Burris, with additional tracking by Leck and Ledrew. Noel Macdonald mixed the record at Rotary Club, with Carl Saff mastering.
Washing Machine has a string of Maritime dates lined up to support the record, including stops in Moncton and Charlottetown before their April 19 release show at Halifax's Propeller Arcade.
The new album follows Washing Machine's 2022 sophomore LP Cheat the Pattern.
Edgar Breau"Cornpone the King of Jive"
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Edgar Breau, founder of the cult Hamilton proto-punk group Simply Saucer, is back with a rollicking new single. "Cornpone the King of Jive" layers the artist's trademark psych grit atop a playful bed southern rock, crafting a lively, sardonic commentary on "populist leaders, lovable outlaws, and the morally duplicitous figures who hold the public's fascination." We could name a few.
Breau wrote and recorded the track at Dany Laj's Montreal studio, the La La Pop Shoppe. Laj likewise brought his band, The Looks, to back Breau on the track, with Laj contributing guitar, Jeanette Dowling on bass, and Alex Pauzé drumming. The Hamilton legend spoke about the contributions of his newfound collaborators:
"The song started out as a simple fingerstyle acoustic tune, but in the studio, it became a monster stomping rocker. Dany's lead guitar playing really brought it to life, and I'm proud of how the arrangement turned out."
Last summer, Dany Laj and the Looks shared "Meet Me On The Floor," a one-off power-pop single that marked their return to action following the pandemic. Edgar Breau last issued a self-titled solo record in 2020 and a reissue of Shadows of Ecstasy, his first post-Saucer solo album recorded in 1991.
Cult Crime"Desperation"
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Toronto's Cult Crime have their debut full-length on deck through Ugly Pop Records. Due March 3, the nine-song LP promises a potent blend of early punk influences. The label took the courtesy of listing the big names, so I didn't have to:
"...snarling, hard-nosed punk that recalls 1981 hardcore on both sides of the Atlantic, seasoning classic LA a la Adolescents/TSOL/pre-Henry Flag with a dash of primo Blitz. No mere genre exercise, these are tough but memorable songs delivered with hooks and skill."
Those hooks and skills come, in part, from Matt Menard, veteran of a laundry list of killer Windsor and Toronto bands. That includes the lo-fi punk act No Fix, psych-punks Psychic Void, and the hardcore group Brain Itch. Cult Crime recorded with Jimmy Vapid of veteran Burlington goons The Vapids. Josh Kaiser mastered the set.
You can crash through the lead single "Desperation" now, delivering equal parts speed and snot in just under two minutes.
Outtacontroller"Cheap Pop"
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Halifax punk quartet Outtacontroller kicked off the year with "Cheap Pop," another in their reliably strong series of fuzzed-out power-pop gems. As with past efforts, the band said little about the track outside of the usual promise of more to come. I remain delightfully baffled at how consistently great this band sounds. Their nonchalant ability to craft Buzzcocks-quality hooks time after time feels entirely underappreciated.
Outtacontroller features vocalist/guitarists Terry A'hearn and James O'Toole, bassist AJ Boutilier, and drummer Sean Parsons. Late last year, the band convened in their Bunker studio to start work on the full-length follow-up to their 2022 LP Come Alive. There's no word yet on their release plans.
Last year saw a few one-off singles from the group, including "Gimme Nothin'" and "I Got Mine." They issued the Just a Scratch EP in 2023 through Madrid's Jarama 45RPM Recs.
Doctor Mother Father"Break the Same"
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Saint John power trio Doctor Mother Father recently shared "Break the Same," the crunchy first single from their upcoming EP It All Depends On How You Wanna Hurt. The band's teasing "an energizing soundtrack to hard times in the maritimes in the midst of a crashing economy." You'll have to wait until June to hear that in full, but this track certainly delivers on that promise.
Corey Bonnevie (Little You, Little Me) wrote and recorded the EP at his Monopolized Records studio, backed by bassist Kortni Nicols (Lionsault) and drummer Colin Ferris (Sheik, Cool Dudes Fighting, Butcher). The new material follows Doctor Mother Father's 2024 full-length Feelin' Fine.
Living MadUngreatful Fucks
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I know it's been a good week if I can pepper a column with multiple references to Booji Boys personnel.
Living Mad is a scrappy new hardcore side-project from frequent collaborators Cody Googoo and Luke Mumford. The duo issued the three-song Ungrateful Fucks tape through the former's cassette label Don't Wanna Talk Records. It's loud, fast, and says all it needs to in under four minutes.
Cody's everywhere these days, performing on recent records from Gemstones, Heavenly Blue, and Mutated Void, in styles ranging from throwback garage rock to nigh-unlistenable skate thrash. Mumford surfaces more often in a production capacity but has a list of credits that's just as long. That includes stints with Negative Rage, Genetic Angry, The Mark Vodka Group, and LeDrew, Luke & Crowe.
The new tape landed the same week that Sewercide Records finally issued the long-awaited split between Googoo's searing Misanthropic Minds and the Finnish hardcore band Häpeä. You'll hear three new tracks from each band on the 7", which is shipping now.
Yesterday's ManYesterday's Man
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
To date, and without intent, I somehow overlooked every update regarding the Vancouver duo Yesterday's Man. I'll see if I correct that and can get us up to speed. If you're of the right age, I suspect you'll find the band's deft revival of early-2000s indie pop downright calming.
The group features Gal Av-Gay of the slacker-punks Dumb paired with their spouse Alie Lynch (Supermoon, Movieland, Kidnap Kids). The couple's played together for years, touring North America a few times with TV Ugly and Megamall. Both also appeared as members of DJ On's Non La act.
The 12-song self-titled Yesterday's Man arrived on New Year's Day through the Mono Tapes label, delivering what the band describes as "classic indie rock," the product of years of under-the-radar collaboration (filtered, as all things are, through the trials of the pandemic). The duo self-produced the record, with Dominick Civiero mixing and Greg Mindorff mastering. In the label's words:
"The songs are meant to sound comforting and familiar, while the lyrics evoke the dark inner turmoil and consequential warm relief that comes from isolation."
Writer Alex Hudson commented on "Fleetwood Mac," the album's first single, noting that it "throws back to the golden age of blog-rock without sounding nostalgic." I couldn't agree more, and if early-2000s Mint Records holds a place in your heart, you'll be right at home here. It's a delight.
