Welcome to the Planet of Silence
Some Party is a newsletter sharing the latest in independent Canadian rock'n'roll, curated 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.
Only God ForgivesExtra Strength
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Toronto art-punk unit Only God Forgives closed the year by quietly releasing Extra Strength, their sophomore full-length. While their earlier efforts toyed with prominent synths and scattershot quirkiness, this 11-song set finds Stephen Pitman solidifying the passion project into a conventionally structured four-piece. Shelby Wilson's mostly traded the livewire mania of her WLMRT era for a well-worn slacker deadpan, but despite the lower gear, her vocals remain utterly distinctive and cleverly wry. While I'd not have made the connection with their earlier work, one could draw a convincing through-line from Extra Strength to early post-punk from The Raincoats and the Flying Nun roster.
The band's said little about the record through official channels, so I reached out to Shelby for some background. She revealed:
"We recorded the album just over two years ago with Cameron Fraser at Pie in the Sky. Some of the songs Stephen and I wrote together in our old apartment on Dupont or when Hobby wasn't using Dining Room Studio, we'd get in there last minute and make "Car Song" (for example) out of a random Stephen Pitman solo song..."
While that track, in particular, may earn a few comparisons to the 2025 breakthrough from Brooklyn's Geese, Wilson notes:
"I do want to say that I wrote lyrics for 'Gun Song' before Cameron Winter ever even thought about having a bomb in his car."
She instead cites Living as an Art Form, the 2019 release from LA's erratic Good Ruin, as a key inspiration for Only God Forgives. The new album features Wilson on vocals, with Pitman on guitar. Erica Young handles bass and Sean Carey drums, with the trio of Pitman, Young, and Carey contributing synth, backing vocals, and other flourishes. Cameron Fraser (Luge/Hobby) engineered and produced the sessions, with Colm Hinds and Pitman mixing. Will Killingsworth mastered from afar, with Tallies' Dylan Frankland stepping in before the delayed final release to give everything a final polish.
It's probably not great for sales, but the band's casual nonchalance regarding Extra Strength feels entirely in line with the record's overall vibe. As an unreformed WLMRT evangelist, though, I'm obligated to shout from the rooftops.
Extra Strength follows the band's 2020 debut Power and Prowess. The record arrives on the heels of the latest from Stephen Pitman's Americana group Hobby. They issued Clear Blue River this past November through Telephone Explosion.
Constant GreetingsGood Sports
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
The Saint John-rooted Constant Greetings closed out the year with Good Sports, their new 10-song LP. The record finds the group, now based in Rothesay, New Brunswick, building on the indie rock foundations of their previous work while layering in Americana and newfound pop sensibilities. They contrast that with slow-burning, highly textural noisescapes that, on more than a few occasions, beg Constantines comparisons. The band recorded again with Corey Bonnevie (Doctor Mother Father, Monopolized Records), who also mixed and mastered the set.
I asked the band to share some thoughts on the road to Good Sports, and guitarist Steve Robinson obliged with a few insights on their recording process and a key inspiration that loomed large over the Good Sports sessions:
"Good Sports is our 3rd album in 3 years (just barely). It's our most collaborative album to date, particularly in terms of songwriting. JP still writes all the lyrics and vocal melodies, but half the songs were ideas brought forward by other members of the band (ie: the chord progression/structure of 'Late Bloomer,' the guitar riff/ambient production of 'Graduation Sunset,' and most notably the chaotic drumming of 'False Spring' transformed it from a simple 3-chord song to something much bigger). Also, 'Graduation Sunset' was the first time we recorded a song completely on our own in James's basement (then mixed and mastered by Corey).
Ultimately, this led to more experimentation and layering of ideas. One of our greatest inspirations for this record was one of my personal favourite albums of all time, A Ghost is Born by Wilco. A Ghost is Born deftly navigates the collision of 'indie rock' songwriting and experimentation to produce an album that is varied yet somehow cohesive. The fact that you can have 'Spiders (Kidsmoke)' and 'Theologians' on the same album and it just works still amazes me. Or how the guitar solo in 'Hell is Chrome' is such a contrast to the rest of the song, but totally completes it. Not that we think we are even remotely close to reaching the heights of that album, it definitely inspired us as we went into the studio and tried experimenting more with our otherwise pretty conventional song structures."
Constant Greetings features JP Lewis on vocals and guitar, Stephen Robinson on guitar (and occasionally lap steel), Jeff Melanson on bass, Peter Wallace on drums, and James Lea on synth, keys, and guitar. The new record follows the group's 2024 LP Showpony and their 2023 debut, Field Trips.
NYSSACursebreaker
Watch "The Tower" on YouTube - Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Now based in the UK, vocal powerhouse NYSSA returns February 20 with Cursebreaker, a seven-song EP that finds the Toronto expat weaving new epics and resurrecting old favourites through a gothic folk lens. The set blurs breakup songs and protest anthems into what Six Shooter Records describes as "a scorched earth mission of mercy, a cautionary tale about the risks of cornering someone who is willing to fight their way out, no matter the cost."
You can preview the EP now through a pair of advance singles, "The Tower" and "The Faultline," each accompanied by glitchy psychedelic video treatments from director Al Robinson. The latter carries particular weight for the celebrated vocalist, written in New York amidst the ruin of an unhealthy relationship. While NYSSA often drapes her work in pagan imagery, with a specific focus on tarot, she took note that this track happened to land on January 6 - the Christian feast of the Epiphany:
"This is probably the most bare and personal song I've written since I was 15. I'm not beating around the bush here. I was severely fucked with for a long time. Maybe you were too. So here's to feasting on epiphany and getting free. Day by day, little by little, we're leaving those leeches behind. Running into the sea, turning that glass house back into sand."
Cursebreaker mixes new material with revamped cuts from NYSSA's live repertoire, integrating her London collaborators into songs first collected on 2020's Girls Like Me. The EP features performances and arrangements by NYSSA, Al Robinson, Henry Nicholson, and Danny Jerome Brooks, with NYSSA and Robinson co-producing. Robinson also mixed the sessions, recorded at Arcus Sounds and NYSSA's home base in South London.
The new EP follows the artist's 2023 full-length Shake Me Where I'm Foolish.
TriplesEvery Good Story
Watch "Be Around" on YouTube - Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Toronto jangle-pop act Triples recently shared "Be Around" and "Gonna Be Good," previewing their upcoming EP Every Good Story. The four-song set arrives January 30 via Bleak Enterprise as a limited cassette. You can see both advance singles showcased in videos directed by Seamus Patterson, the former featuring the artist on the cold shores of Lake Ontario, with the latter set in the neon glow of downtown Toronto.
The tracks feature singer-songwriter Eva Link delivering earnest, guitar-driven indie rock, taking a decidedly brighter approach than the direction of her sister, Madeline, explores with the lo-fi PACKS. The artist cites Guided By Voices, Liz Phair, and Juliana Hatfield among her key influences.
Triples recorded with producer River Radcliffe (of Pleasure Craft), who also mixed the sessions. Seamus Patterson handled vocal engineering. The EP features Link backed by bassist Owen Hooper of Dumb Crush, lead guitarist Kurt Marble (Twist, Hobby), and drummer Lucas Horne.
It's been a long stretch since Triples, which then featured both Link sisters, issued their 2019 debut Big Time through the now-defunct Art of the Uncarved Block. Eva's modern incarnation of the band has a Toronto release show lined up for February 26 at Dina's Tavern, supported by Poolblood and Amelia Maxwell.
Left LettersKick Signal
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Late last fall, Victoria duo Left Letters issued Kick Signal, a compelling three-song EP of angular indie storytelling. The new project pairs Basketball Knees guitarist/vocalist Joel Wheeler with veteran drummer Jentery Sayers, formerly of the Seattle indie folk band Mostly Dimes.
I spoke with Joel about the band's origins and outlook on their debut music:
"This project started as a casual weekly meetup to play music without the pressure to play shows or take it too seriously. That said, around last summer, we realized we had six songs we were happy with, so we recorded them DIY in our practice space. We plan to split them up across two mini-EPs, the Kick Signal EP in November and the Supermoon EP (coming out January 27).
As a duo, we try to write songs with concise arrangements and interesting rhythmic parts to keep things interesting with minimal instrumentation. We recorded guitars and drums together live, though we ended up over-dubbing bass later. Our main inspirations for this were Wire (experimentation with genre and song duration, with short, focused songs), Unwound (specifically Sara Lund's approach to drumming) and Sparklehorse (on the production side of things, especially vocal processing)."
Wheeler handles guitar, bass, and vocals for Left Letters, with Sayers on drums. Wheeler's lo-fi Toronto power-trio Basketball Knees last released the album Garden in 2022. Look online for Kick Signal's companion piece, Supermoon, before the end of the month.
Sam Salmon & the Grand Manan BanditsDown For Life
Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
In late November, New Brunswick weird-indie stalwarts Motherhood and guitar-hero Keith Hallett joined forces on Down For Life, rightfully described as a bare-bones country album. Billed as Sam Salmon & the Grand Manan Bandits, the quartet pairs the core Motherhood trio of bassist Penelope Stevens, guitarist Brydon Crain, and drummer Adam Sipkema with Hallett on lead and console steel guitar. Crain's always sang with a bit of nasal tang, and while that adds an unhinged quality to Motherhood's erratic art-punk, it fits these old-timey stylings to a t.
Sam Salmon recorded their 10-song set with an assist from Mike Trask at Never Nuthin Studio in Fredericton. Nova Scotian labels Forward Music Group and Big Turnip carried the release, with their press release breaking down a few tracks from the satisfyingly languid set:
"Down for Life Features foot-stompin' tracks like 'No One Likes Losing,' a self-depreciating look at being competitive yet never managing to get ahead, 'Waste Your Time,' about the confusion of suddenly losing someone you love, as well as a reflection on familial personality traits, and 'If I Needed You Now,' showcasing country music at its finest- three chords and the truth. Or, in this case, two chords."
The country diversion capped off a banner year for the Motherhood collective. The band issued their fifth LP, Thunder Perfect Mind, in January, followed by the debut of Stevens' surf-rock supergroup Penny & The Pits. They issued Liquid Compactor in the summer. Keith Hallett released his solo album Mezmerize Me last summer, as well. He formally fronted the doom-punk act Janowskii.
Jim's Plumbing and Electrical"All Snake"/"Stress Out"
Watch on YouTube - Preview and purchase at Bandcamp
Ottawa rock'n'roll group Jim's Plumbing and Electrical wrapped the year with a pair of dramatic, high-attitude garage singles. "All Snake" and "Stress Out" arrived in late December, with the former showcased in a new video. The band commented on the material:
"These two songs were written very early on and we are happy to finally have them released as we move on to writing new material for 2026. We hope they convey the deprived anxiety and tension of being a socialite rent paying slug in the modern age. No ladders, all snakes, give it a spin on the hard drive."
Jim's Plumbing and Electrical features members of the late Ottawa party-punk act New Swears alongside Mikey Power (aka Mr. Power), violinist Maude Rioux-Villard of Gatineau's Modevile, and Jeff Lemon of School House. The band tracked drums and bass at Upper Cut Studios, with Alex Jakimczuk engineering. Mikey handled the rest of the recording, mixing, and album art.
The new singles follow the band's 2024 debut EP The Business. Their predecessor act New Swears last released Night Mirror in 2019 through Dine Alone. In the time in between, members of the New Swears leaned into alt-country as Scorpion King, and issued a series of video projects through the Clubhouse Recording Club.
