Barstool Blooze
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.
Thine Retail Simps: Strike Gold, Strike Back, Strike Out
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Last week, with no prior warning, Montreal's ramshackle Retail Simps dropped a new full-length, returning to the fray with Strike Gold, Strike Back, Strike Out. As per tradition, a new record finds the group again swapping the definite article in their name, opting for the regal thine this time. The new record, their third, and at 16 tracks their longest, follows 2023's Live On Cool Street (an album that handily lived up to its title).
While Strike Gold certainly delivers the shambling lo-fi we've come to expect, it's surprisingly the friendliest the Simps have sounded. Strike Gold absolutely swings, revelling in raucous boogies like the harmonica-driven "O.B. on the Move." Past Simps records rarely shied at using Joe Chamandy's vocals as a bludgeon, recorded at such fuck-you peaks that they served as a shibboleth. You either got it or got out of the way. While that Joe remains in play, he's employed more gingerly. The band's unapologetic pursuit of their anachronistic garage vibes leads them to some unexpectedly quiet places this round, with the record's middle third taking some surprisingly calm detours. That dynamism works wonders, and when Joe comes squelching back to the fore, like on the frantic cover of Neil Young's "Barstool Blues," he sounds nothing less than triumphant.
The record's the Simps' third for Total Punk Records. In a recent interview with Paperface Zine, the band's Thomas Molander commented on the shift in approach between their three platters:
"Each time we made a record, my idea of the band changed during the process. The first one felt really exploratory, like an experiment or something just for fun that might never see the light of day. For the second one, there were tons of collaborators, like [backing vocalists] the Simpettes and [horn section] the Horny Boys, and we were more ambitious. This third record is the most collaborative. It involved the most trying stuff out together, improvising, and switching roles, and it felt the most like a real band record, which makes me like it the most."
Videos for "O.B. on the Move" and "I Was Watering a Plant" are playing in the usual places. The audio's now streaming everywhere and available on vinyl through Total Punk.
Thine Retail Simps features Joe Chamandy (Protruders, Itchy Self), Thomas Molander (Feeling Figures), Chris Burns (Terminal Sunglasses, American Devices), Zakary Slax (Feeling Figures, Astral Gunk), and Obediah Anderson.
Vypers: "Sweet Change"
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Toronto psych rock outfit Vypers recently unveiled "Sweet Change," the lead single from their upcoming self-titled LP, due November 8. It follows the "gutter glam" band's 2019 singles "Mr Teeth"/ "Mr Glue" and February's demo collection Welcome to the Gutter. What that compilation dropped, the band hinted that this studio effort would be a "massive hi-fi record." The sneering, full-throttle "Sweet Change" certainly delivers on that promise.
The band recorded with engineer Crispin Day at Union Sound Studios and Patrick Lefler (the omnipresent ROY) at Tin Hat, with Kristian Montano mastering. Vypers features Nic Waterman, Liam Cosby, Damien Florio, and Mischa O'Hoski.
In a bittersweet twist, the group announced that the album release show for this record would be their final performance. Look for Vypers to take the stage one last time on Saturday, November 16, at Toronto's Expo 1978. The gig, promoted by local legend Dan Burke, will feature support from the like-minded psych rockers Kali Horse and Low Animal, with visuals by arts collective The Oscillitarium.
We've heard from Liam Cosby in recent years as one-half of the swaggering synth-punk duo The Fuckin Astronauts and as a member of the Hamilton garage act Dark Trip.
Pressure Pin: Polyurethane
Watch on YouTube - Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Kenny Smith's high-strung Pressure Pin outlet is back with Polyurethane, a new four-song EP issued through Mothland. The set follows up on the art-punk project's 2022 debut Superficial Feature, ratcheting up the artist's spin on the frenetic, post-Devo sound we've all come to love ("egg punk" if you're too online). You can stream the entire set now, with the title track captured in a new video from Dirt and Daydream.
Smith, better known as the drummer of Montreal's La Sécurité, toiled over these songs for two years, calling the work "the most laborious thing I've created up until now." He revealed:
"Typically, I would just sit down in my bedroom with a guitar and a basic 4-channel mixer. I used these to record 10-15 second 'blocks' of song structures, then I edited them together how I saw fit. I have a pretty short attention span, and I find it hard to write entire songs in one sitting. Overdubs of other instruments came after. At the very end, I came up with lyrics and cadences to go over the final versions.
...Hopefully, this record energizes its audience and inspires feelings of youthful vigor and confidence."
Smith produced the EP alongside Félix Bélisle, his La Sécurité bandmate also known as Standard Emmanuel. Choses Sauvages' Marc-Antoine Barbier appears on saxophone. If the EP's artwork looks familiar, it's the product of Robbie Brake from the similarly hyperactive London synthpunks Mononegatives.
La Sécurité issued Stay Safe! in 2023.
Night Court: $hit Machine
Watch "Captain Caveperson" on YouTube - Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Buoyant Vancouver power trio Night Court are gearing up for the release of $hit Machine, their fourth full-length and first for the legendary Californian punk label Recess Records. Look for it on November 1. As expected, the prolific group is again delivering a high track count of brisk songs. You can hear the prerelease singles "Captain Caveperson" and "Mistakes Become You," now. They're two of 17 songs expected on the record.
"Captain Caveperson" arrived alongside a video from Tyler McLeod (it includes outtake footage from a recent video shot for McLeod's band Sensitive Beings). Night Court drummer/vocalist Emilor Jane commented to Punknews on the shoot:
"I knew we were shooting some stuff after practice that day but nothing could have prepared me for what was to come (except for maybe some snacks and better shoes...)."
At the premiere of "Mistakes Become You" at New Noise Magazine, guitarist/vocalist Dave-O waxed philosophical on the song's meaning:
"Evolution is a series of mutations that make some living things slightly better at living. If you are alive, then you are the result of countless anomalies—mistakes quite literally become you. On the much smaller scale of a person's life, I think it's sorta similar—We're shaped by the millions of mistakes that we make ourselves and that others make for us. As a recovering perfectionist, I'm trying to live in a world where mistakes can be worn openly ... perhaps even becomingly."
Night Court features bassist/vocalist Jiffy Marx (Autogramm), guitarist/vocalist Dave-O (Jiffy Marker, Blood Meridian), and drummer/vocalist Emilor Jane (Synchromantics, Pet Blessings). $hit Machine follows their 2023 LP Humans!, the Frater Set EP, and a split with Oregon's The Dumpies.
Bonnie Trash: My Love Remains The Same
Watch "Kisses Goodbye" on YouTube - Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Guelph, Ontario drone-rock/post-punk project Bonnie Trash returned last month with My Love Remains The Same, a new three-song EP for Hand Drawn Dracula. The set follows up on 2023's commanding Malocchio full-length and the subsequent Hail, Hale! EP. The set features two new tracks that straddle the line between shoegaze and gothy new wave, alongside a cover of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' "Red Right Hand."
Twin sisters Emmalia and Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor continue to lead the group, now expanded to a quartet with the addition of bassist Emma Howarth-Withers and drummer Dana Bellamy. The band recorded with Josh Korody (Breeze, Beliefs) engineering and mixing at Candle Recording Studio. Noah Mintz mastered at Lacquer Channel.
Sarafina directed the stark black and white performance video for the anthemic single "Kisses Goodbye." On that track, she comments:
"'Kisses Goodbye' reminds us to not be afraid to say farewell, to hold our loved ones close to our hearts, and to remember our most precious moments here in this life are the times we share with our loved ones. After all, my love remains the same."
The new material's circulating as the band tours Ontario and Quebec, performing alongside bands like Burner and Dermabrasion; this includes a November 22 showcase at M for Montreal.
