Street Cents
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.
This Friday will see the release of Future Girls' first full length, Motivation Problems. The record's been long in the works, with early versions of several of these songs showing up on digital comps or EPs over the past few years. Portland's Dirt Cult Records, the U.S. home of Canadian bands like Chiller, New Swears, Chain Whip, and Needles//Pins (among many others) is handling the release, with cassettes shipping now and everything online by the end of the week.
You can preview the record now, streaming at New Noise.
The Halifax punk group was started in 2015 by guitarist/vocalist Matty Grace, who's done time in Haligonian pop-punk groups like the Fat Stupids, Weekend Dads, and Outtacontroller. She's joined on this record by Heather Grant (who fronts Crossed Wires) on guitar and vocals, Dewayne Shanks (Crossed Wires, Botfly) on drums, and Coleman Johnston (The Scoop Outs) on bass. The band's live lineup these days swaps Johnston for bassist Eric Diolola (Maximata).
I'm a big fan of songs like "Gottigen Street" in which Grace and Grant share vocal duties. As much as the band bills themselves as "bummer punk," there's something I find pretty uplifting in Future Girls' sound. It harkens back to any number of early-2000s No Idea bands that I've still got a lot of fondness for.
Future Girls will play the Ottawa Explosion Weekend this June.
Listen: Future Girls - Motivation Problems @ New Noise
Regina's Surf Dads are getting ready to release a four-song EP on June 15 via Grind Central Records, titled Long Weekend. I premiered a track from the set at Punknews this past week, the sunny power-pop anthem "All My Friends." You can find it below.
Surf Dads is a songwriting duo featuring Gage McGuire and Chris Dimas. Long Weekend is following up the band's 2017 full length All Day Breakfast.
Listen: Surf Dads - "All My Friends" @ Punknews.org
If we're talking about Regina I'd be remiss if I didn't shout out to Nick Faye & The Deputies. The band released their third record, Stumbling Distance, in April. It's a rootsy pop-rock concept album produced by Michael Wojewoda. While Wojewoda recently produced Buffy Sainte-Marie's Polaris-winning Power in the Blood, it's perhaps his sizable resume of popular 90s alt-rock records that makes him such a good fit here. There's a strong Hip vibe to the Deputies' songs, and having a producer with Rheostatics and the Barenaked Ladies credits can't help but bring that forward.
The band released a video in the spring for the single "Hold Me Back," which they filmed at an arena in Creelman, Saskatchewan. It lays on the Canadiana pretty thick, but hey, this is Some Party so it's right on brand for this newsletter.
Watch: Nick Faye & The Deputies - "Hold Me Back" @ YouTube
Montreal three-piece Heathers released a new full length this weekend titled Midnight is a Place. The band plays dark and moody post-punk wrapped in a heavy fog of grunge distortion with cool little diversions into shoegaze and metal. Their new record was recorded and mixed by Patrick McDowall at the Sound Hole.
Midnight is a Place follows up the band's 2016 Strange Allies EP. Heathers will play the aforementioned Ottawa Explosion Weekend this year, sharing the stage with Lonely Parade and Ziibiwan.
Listen: Heathers - "Dog's Eyes" @ Bandcamp
Speaking of Montreal (and blatant Canadiana), I know absolutely nothing about the scuzzy hardcore punk act Body Break, but I was sold on the name alone.
The band (which features Kelsie Hjorleifson, formerly of Calgary's Hag Face) recently unleashed two cuts from an upcoming eight-song cassette the band's planning to release later this year. The songs "Protection" and "Street ₵ents" can be streamed below. The Street Cents themed track has "It's fit for the pit" as a chorus. This is next level.
Listen: Body Break - "Protection" / "Street ₵ents" @ Bandcamp
Pleasence Records will release Goosebump by Goosebump on July 6. It's the new record from Paul Erlichman and Neil Rankin, the songwriting team that formerly played as Germaphobes.
Last week New Noise premiered a new song from the art-pop band, a groovy little track titled "She Don't Say Goodbye." Rankin gave the magazine some history on the song:
"'She Don’t Say Goodbye' began as a lo-fi demo for my alter ego Bert Sugar (of the band Body Butter) and found its way into the glorious Goosebump band’s catalogue instead. Lyrically it’s a meditation on saying goodbye to someone despite them being right in front of you and them not really saying anything. A light bit of disco for you to groove to."
Goosebump will play Feel Alright's upcoming record release show on June 14 at the Owls Club in TO.
Listen: Goosebump - "She Don't Say Goodbye" @ SoundCloud
Last week I mentioned that Toronto hardcore act S.H.I.T. was releasing a new LP this summer titled What Do You Stand For?. I neglected, however, to include the fact that it would a second album would be simultaneously released. That record, titled Complete S.H.I.T., will collect and compiles the band's other studio recordings. Both arrive on June 1.
Last week Richard Trapunski interviewed guitarist Greg Benedetto for NOW Toronto. His article is well worth your time and touches on the struggles and hypocrisies a politically-minded band like S.H.I.T. has to grapple with to maintain DIY values in today's digital reality. It's a remarkably compelling piece.
Listen: S.H.I.T. - Complete S.H.I.T. @ Bandcamp
Dundas, Ontario's The Dirty Nil recorded the follow up to 2016's Higher Power back in January at Toronto's Union Sound Company, but we're still waiting to hear what they've come up with.
To bridge that gap the three-piece rock band's thrown fans a new cover song to hold them over. Last week the Nil unveiled their take on Cheap Trick's 1978 anthem "Surrender." You can find it on your streaming services of choice.
Listen: The Dirty Nil - "Surrender" @ Bandcamp
The nominees for the 2018 edition of the fan-voted SOCAN Songwriting Prize have been announced. This year the English side of the competition will see Alvvays, Weaves, Partner, and Casper Skulls among the 10 acts vying for 10 grand and other prizes.
Songs in both languages were nominated by two panels of Canadian music scene experts (these folks) and narrowed down in voting on to result in the public's list. You can vote daily for the next couple of weeks.
Watch: Partner - "Play The Field" @ YouTube
This is the 52nd edition of Some Party, with an allowance for a few weeks I took off in December, it's been a year. Are you still digging this? Is this format at all useful to you? Shoot me an email at adam@someparty.ca. I've love to hear your feedback.
