Guitar
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 week's update is shorter than most, but you have new full-lengths to absorb today from both Botfly and Julie Doiron. The latter's I Thought Of You finds the East Cost indie legend revitalized by a full band featuring Dany Placard and the Outfit brothers Daniel and Ian Romano. It's out through You've Changed Records, closing the all-too-long gap since So Many Days. Meanwhile, Botfly's Lower Than Love lands today via No Funeral, promising new horizons for the grim Halifax quartet. The album showcases a newfound dynamism without sacrificing the caustic fire and crushing riffs of their earlier work.
Lemongrab: "Guitar"
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Lemongrab surfaced in Montreal a few years ago, delivering a crackling mix of sharp-edged pop-punk and slacker irreverence on their 2019 LP It Doesn't Sound Good But It Feels Awesome. Of course, since then, the world went a little sideways, and 2021 finds the group half a world away - reconstructed and operating out of Berlin, Germany. Founding guitarist/vocalist Léonie Dishaw and vocalist Gaëlle Cordeau now lead a five-piece, with their first work of the new era landing this week as The Wet Album. You can now hear the six-song EP streaming at the usual places or pick up the thrillingly irreverent lo-fi single "Guitar" at Bandcamp.
Last fall, Léonie spoke with Groovy Tunes Magazine about the relocation, her visual art, and the culture shock of uprooting for Berlin. If you're looking for some continuity from the Feels Awesome era to now, you'll find it here. The new EP likewise features a fresh take on that LP's "Too Many Bitches" single, further bridging that gap.
Fragment: "At What Cost?"/"Wraith"/"Gears"
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Halifax D-beat crust punks Fragment have a new 7" out next month through Minneapolis' Desolate Records. You can hear the pummeling A-side of Mind Convulsion in its entirety online now, featuring three unrelenting noisescapes in four minutes twenty seconds. The five-song EP features screen-printed covers and a fold-out poster designed by Zygome's Adam Kindred (aka Archaic Filth).
Fragment last released the Serial Mass Destruction EP through Sewercide Records in early 2020, also appearing on that label's landmark Seaside Sickness comp of east coast punk. The group features Booji Boys members Steve Earle and Cody Googoo on guitar and bass, respectively, with Unreal Thought's Ben Radford on drums and blown-out vocals from Mark Hughes.
Night Court: "Fractions"
Watch on YouTube - Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
The full-length debut from Vancouver punk trio Night Court is nearly upon us. This week the group issued "Fractions," their second single from the high-strung set. Guitarist Dave Soul commented on the mathematically-themed track, revealing:
"Musically, Fractions was originally two songs that never really worked. Reducing them to one brought out the best of both. Do the math(s)!"
Bassist/vocalist Jiffy Marx added:
"A lot of our lyrics are just totally random, off the cuff, how-about-this, Google Wikipedia type ideas, but this one is a love song for my wife. I mean, you can't write 30 songs without at least one love song, right?"
The track arrived alongside an animated video helmed by drummer Emilor Jayne, the result of "a few hours of inhaling marker fumes with questionable posture." You can see the results now on YouTube. The song's one of 13 slated for Nervous Birds! One, due on cassette December 3 through Calgary's Debt Offensive Records and Denver's Snappy Little Numbers.
Jiffy and Dave have a long history playing together in BC groups like Jiffy Marker and Blood Meridian, with the former also making noise these days in the new wave trio Autogramm. Jayne splits her time playing bass for Jeffrey McCloy's Synchromantics and singing lead in the punk group Pet Blessings.
Future Star: all of these songs are about you (none of these songs are about me)
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Stripped-down Victoria indie-pop act Future Star returned with a touching 8-song set this week. all of these songs are about you (none of these songs are about me) collects an intimate cycle of love songs Celina Kay wrote for her partner over the last year.
The new set follows Future Star's February album for the Kingfisher Bluez label, a Valentine's Day release dubbed When Will The DJ Of Luv Grant Me My 1 Request.
Century Egg: "Mirror"
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
You can now hear both sides of Mirror, the new double A-side single from Halifax rockers Century Egg. The crunchy title track's sung entirely in Mandarin and, like the earlier-previewed "Moving On," grapples with trauma and mental health issues. The band commented:
"This song is about the struggle of depression and how dark things can feel even when there are bright sides."
The new songs arrive via the Forward Music Group as the initial follow-ups to the Little Piece of Hair EP. Century Egg features vocalist Shane Keyu Song, guitarist Robert Drisdelle (Lido Pimienta), bassist Matty Grace (Future Girls, Cluttered), and drummer Meg Yoshida (Not You, Dog Day). Grace and Drisdelle recorded these songs, with Will Killingsworth mixing and mastering.
Part-Time Cool: Stand Up and Take Witness
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Innes Wilson's scrappy pandemic alter-ego Part-Time Cool returned last week with Stand Up and Take Witness, the fourth and final EP in a series. In a brief statement on Instagram, Wilson commented:
"This EP is a little less punk and a little more old school emo. Lots to say and done quick and lofi the way it should be"
Wilson recorded these four between March and May of 2020 from his home base in Guelph, Ontario, with Pillea's Micah Brown mixing and editing from Montreal earlier this year.
The set follows three earlier EPs released in May, July, and September of this year (Fell In Love at The Punk Show, Five Four Three Two One, and No Free Rides). We'll have to wait and see if the singer-songwriter takes this material out on the road or if they'll return to more folky endeavours. On that front, Wilson last released The Heart That Holds This Up in 2019.
Mononegatives: Frequencies Rotating Clockwise
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Restless synth-punk trio Mononegatives have a new two-song single out through LA's Dowd Records. Frequencies Rotating Clockwise features "Terminal Voices" and "My Enemy," the latter a cover of the now-defunct London, Ontario noise-rock group Curb. The set's available digitally and as a limited lathe cut 7".
Outside of their label activity, Dowd builds effect pedals and dabbles in all sorts of electronic whimsy. Mononegatives appear to be taking full advantage of that by field-testing their own signature version of Dowd's Fuzz Crusher pedal. This one's designed explicitly for synth and bass use. You can see a few photos of it on the label's website.
The new songs follow a busy year for the group, arriving on the heels of a split cassette with Lima, Ohio's Brainspots and a limited tape issued through Italy's Mimetics Zine. Mononegatives last proper full-length arrived in 2020, with Apparatus Division, available through Big Neck and No Front Teeth. The group features the prolific Robbie Brake (Isölation Party) on guitar and synth, Jon on bass, and David drumming.
Confusionaires: Jerk Reaction Volume 2
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
This week Edmonton's high-energy, rockabilly-rooted Confusionaires share the second volume of their COVID-era Jerk Reaction series. This set features three new songs written in remote collaboration during the lockdowns. Adam Stark put the material to tape Edmontone Studio, with Lorrie Matheson mixing and Clay Francis mastering. The first edition in the series landed in September.
The Jerk series follows the trio's 13-song 2020 full-length From The Headache To The Heartache. Confusionaires features guitarist/vocalist Fat Dave Johnston, Jayson Aschenmeier on the upright bass and vocals, and drummer Adam Stark.
