Neverdie
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.
Saskatoon's Shirley & The Pyramids recently returned with a new EP dubbed A New American Classic. The Aron Zacharias-lead unit previewed the record with a reverb-heavy, guitar-driven epic titled "Neverdie." You can (and should) stream the busy new single below.
It should be noted that while The Pyramids play live as a five-piece, Zacharias writes and records the band's material as a solo project. This five-song set follows the Saskatchewan band's 2018 Grey Records full-length Pure Pain. It arrives digitally on November 22.
Zacharias premiered the track during an appearance on a recent episode of the Cups N Cakes podcast. That discussion was recorded following Shirley & The Pyramids' appearance at Calgary's Sled Island festival earlier this year.
Listen: Shirley & The Pyramids - "Neverdie" @ Bandcamp
While I've regularly reported on both the solo indie rock act Navet Confit and the Montreal garage-punk group Nüshu, I didn't put it together until last week that the former was a member of the latter. You'd think that after writing this newsletter for the past few years I'd be a little more attuned to these connective details, but I'm nothing if not tragically detached (don't ask how long it took me to grasp the obvious kinship between The White Wires and the Peach Kelli Pop, because that's downright embarrassing).
If you rewind a week, you'll recall that the prolific, gleefully anarchic Navet Confit had a new EP out titled EP8 / il fait très (très) froid. It followed up the project's recent weed-fueled full-length Navet Confit présente le Justin Trudeau Kinda Party. Nüshu, which features Confit (née Jean-Philippe Fréchette) on guitar and synths, launches their new LP this week.
Nüshu first appeared on my radar through their part in a four-way split a with Toronto's sardonic WLMRT, the noise-duo Deathsticks, and the gothy Haligonian Nightbummerz. Since then, the group hasn't been incredibly active, but that all looks to be changing (that said, they were active in dropping out of Ottawa's Side By Side Weekend this year, much to my disappointment, but that doesn't quite count).
The band will formally release their full-length Sexe étranger at a Wednesday, November 13 show at Montreal's L'Esco. You can stream the full 12-song set from your digital platform of choice right now, and I highly suggest you do. Language aside, this is a thrilling, dynamic addition to Canada's noise-punk world, slotting in perfectly alongside the aforementioned WLMRT and Quebecois art-punk acts like VICTIME and Crabe. Nüshu features vocals and bass from Jessica Pion, percussion from Lydia Champagne, guitars from Jerry Lee Boucher, and Confit on guitar, keyboard, and synths. This has fast become one of my favourite records of the year.
Listen: Nüshu - Sexe Étranger @ Bandcamp
Speaking of my old pals Deathsticks, the Whitby-bred noise-punk duo is back with a new EP titled Soon the Troubles Will Be Over. It's a home recording showcasing 5 more cuts of buzzing, shouty garage rock from guitarist Matt Post and drummer Laura Klinduch. The band's billing it cryptically as "old songs from a rough time," and the grim, frustrated lyrics certainly seem to back that up.
After a period in Ottawa, Deathsticks are currently operating out of Toronto. The band last released the single "In The Motors" in September of 2018, preceded by their Deathsnacks EP earlier that year.
Listen: Deathsticks - Soon The Troubles Will Be Over @ Bandcamp
Toronto bubblegum-punk group PONY are set to return in 2020 with their first full-length, the long-awaited follow-up to the band's 2017 Buzz Records EP, Do You. The group, lead by Sam Bielanski, recently premiered the single "Limerence" at Indie 88. Speaking to the station, Bielanski commented on the song:
"The song is inspired by the all consuming/crushing feeling you get hen you initially feel drawn to another person. It feels like there are butterflies in your stomach made of razor blades. It's simultaneously amazing and awful when you feel powerful yet vulnerable, and wondering if your feelings are reciprocated can be actual torture.
'Limerence' is truly about getting crushed by your crush, and the feelings that coincide with that. We wanted to tell a story about how exciting it is to feel like you are falling in love, juxtaposed by feeling terrified that the other person might not be falling as hard as you. Lust is a double edged sword."
Bielanski, Lilly Mehari, and Matty Morand all share direction credits on the clip. PONY recently completed a tour alongside Morand's power-pop act Pretty Matty, with both outfits sharing members on the road. "Limerence" was recorded with Ian Gomes (Teenanger, FRIGS, Odonis Odonis).
Watch: PONY - "Limerence" @ YouTube
The bombastic punk trio Losers are set to release a split EP with the gritty Toronto hardcore group Wrot. Titled Out Of Bounds, the set drops November 30, with the bands booked to launch the record that same day with a basement show at 254 Lansdowne. They'll play that gig alongside a pair of visiting London, Ontario hardcore groups: MVLL CRIMES and Jock.
Losers are following up their recent debut cassette Welcome To Help, while Wrot is supporting their March-released EP Pigs.
Listen: Losers - "I Always Lose" @ Bandcamp
Deliluh's Beneath the Floors arrives this Friday from Telephone Explosion and Tin Angel Records. It's the second release from the Slint-influenced Toronto art-punk outfit this year, following the Oath of Intent EP in May. The band recently premiered a video for the title track over at The 405. It's a striking, mostly spoken narrative that leads to a crescendo of eerie synths in its final third. You can find it linked below.
Band lead Kyle Knapp spoke to The 405 regarding the song:
"The title track of the record is about a haunting. The song catches up with the storyline of the protagonist from the album's opener, far away from the home and life he earlier opted to abandon. I wrote the story on the GO Train, on my way to visit family in the countryside outside of Toronto."
The video features an intricate animated collage, contrasting black and white imagery against a distinctive violet-and-green colour palette. Toronto visual artist Gart Darley produced the clip.
Watch: Deliluh - "Beneath The Floors" @ YouTube
Punknews recently premiered the first material from Enrico Pallazzo: a radiant, electronically-tinged power-pop tune titled "Comment Maquiller Une Scène De Crime Enregistré." The project comes courtesy of Oliver Thériault, who you may know from the Montreal pop-punk group Lost Love. The recorded, mixed, and mastered by Julien Henry-Leblanc, and looks to the first in a series of one-off experiments from Thériault.
Lost Love last released the EP Glenn Spaghetti Legs on Germany's Uncle M Records. It followed the band's recent Stomp Records LP, Good Luck Rassco.
Listen: Enrico Pallazzo - "Comment Maquiller Une Scène De Crime Enregistré" @ Bandcamp
Toronto's laid-back alt-pop quintet Nutrients have a video up, the third single from their upcoming self-titled LP. You can check out the chill "Hyperbole" now on YouTube. It follows the earlier-released "Such Slime" and "Hide & Seek" in previewing the record. Look for Nutrients to arrive in full on November 29.
Nutrients debuted as a Montreal-based bedroom-pop project from vocalist Taylor Teeple. Since relocating to Toronto, Teepe's built the unit into a full band featuring guitarist Will Hunter, drummer Turner Wigginton, bassist Sean McKee, and keyboardist Iulia Ciobanu.
Watch: Nutrients - "Hyperbole" @ YouTube
Ottawa punk mainstays The Steve Adamyk Band have one last track from their recent album sessions to share. Titled "Die Trying," the song appears on the recent double LP compilation Dead Wax, released by Rad Girlfriend Records. It's a cover of a 1979 song from the Rochester, New York group New Math.
The Adamyk Band recorded 18 tracks during the 2018 sessions that resulted in their recent Dirtnap-released LP Paradise. 12 songs ended up on that record, with another 5 collected on a self-titled 7" (also released on Rad Girlfriend).
While you're checking that out, keep an eye out for 35 seconds of gloriously obnoxious punk on the Dead Wax tracklist from Toronto trio School Damage. Their contribution to the project's titled "Fuckin' Eh Rights."
Listen: The Steve Adamyk Band - "Die Trying" @ Bandcamp
So Woolworm's new full-length is out, and the collective-opinion of the band-folk I follow on Twitter seems to be overwhelmingly positive. I'm quite fond of Awe myself, and the group's performance a month ago in the basement of TO comic shop The Beguiling really sealed it for me.
Here's a taste of the moody Vancouver band's live show, as shot by Lost Opus at Woolworm's recent Pop Montreal appearance. In this clip, filmed live at Quai Des Brumes on September 26, the band performs the Awe track "Dogman."
Mint-family regular Jay Arner recorded and mixed the new 12-song album. It follows the group's 2017 LP Deserve to Die. Awe arrived on November 8 from Mint Records.
Watch: Woolworm - "Dogman" (live) @ YouTube
The Mountain Man, Spencer Burton's delightful collection of children's songs, is now available from Dine Alone Records. The album's title track was recently treated to a video from Justis Krar's IMMV Productions. If you watched Canadian TV at all in the 80s, expect flashbacks to those old Hinterland Who's Who vignettes. You can check out "The Mountain Man" below.
Currently living the farm life in rural Niagara, the recognizably bearded Burton was a member of the much-loved Welland pop-punk band Attack In Black. His last release (ostensibly for adults) was Songs Of, which was recently revisited as a set of acoustic demos.
