New Music - March 7

There's old-school punk, new indie, subtle folk, metalcore, Gaga and even some Latin in this week's new music review.

The crazy thing about getting older is that stuff stops working all of a sudden. Last weekend is when that happened for me in the form of a detached retina. Pretty soon after I noticed something was wrong; I went to the hospital, and they were able to work on it right away. [let this be a lesson to you kids, early detection is real, get that shit sorted]. Thanks to the great team at St. Mary’s in Kitchener for literally sticking needles in my eye. While my vision has not returned to normal, it’s only been 6 days, the doctor is optimistic that it will be back to normal eventually.

The fun thing about basically taking a week off from new music is I’m discovering how great a new music week it actually was. So enough about me, my dislike of keeping my head at a 75-degree angle and ignoring that opaque bubble that is floating around and obscuring my vision, let’s get to the music nerds!

I like Lady Gaga. My whole family likes Lady Gaga. Since the start of her career, I have found it difficult to not see similarities to her career and Madonna’s. And with an album like Mayhem, it certainly feels like we are fully in the 2000s dance-phase of Madonna’s. I’m enjoying Mayhem, much like I enjoyed Confessions on a Dance Floor. “How Bad Do U Want Me” is one of the songs that doesn’t remind me of Madonna, maybe it’s because it reminds me of Pink. Either way, a thumbs up for Mayhem from the whole family.

My goodness, there is a new Volbeat song, let’s give it a listen. The Danish rock band has dropped “By a Monster’s Hand” and let me tell you the video is uncomfortably dark. I’m not sure how to feel about it, because I actually believe in monsters and this piece of art feels a little too on-the-nose. That being said, the song is a good hard rock song.

Portland’s Alien Boy sounds like it’s taken directly from 1997 in the best possible way. “Changes” would definitely have been on many of my Now That’s What I Call Style mixed tapes back in the day. Catchy guitar pop – check! The first track from their fourth album is Ace, I’ve now listened to it four straight times. Can’t wait to hear the rest of it in May.

My brother-in-law sent me a note today checking up on me and told me he found this Californian singer that he really likes called Sofia Isella. Her new single “Josephine” is dark and a bit twisted. I should text him back, but to be honest, I’m a bit scared right now. Actually, this is a bit sinister. Perfect for those dinner parties you are going to throw this weekend.

Canadian metal is in full effect with the new Spiritbox album. I was introduced to them at the Korn show last summer, so I’m probably not the guy to write this, so I’m bringing in my resident metalcore expert, Dutch, for his review. “I was excited this morning to see what Spiritbox was up to. And I’m happy to say, the new album is amazing. I do love my metalcore, but it can get pretty one-dimensional very quickly. Tsunami Sea gives the genre such a creative boost due to the strength of Courtney LaPlante’s singing. The album leans into the variety, between songs, but also within songs. A song like “Keep Sweet” ensures you are kept on your toes, as you never know if in the next bar, she's gonna be raising hell with her belting or pouring on the honey with her singing. I just love it.” Thanks Dutch. I try to see the beauty in everything and let me tell you, that Tsunami Sea isn’t just a strong metal album, it’s an excellent album for any genre.

Swedish hard rock band Ghost have dropped a new single “Satanized”. I’ve always liked Ghost, but I’m not sure what to make of this. It seems like it’s a bit of a joke that I’m missing. But it does have some guitar noodling, which is fun.

Oh, I see that Korine have dropped a new single. They have been one of my favourite discoveries this year. Loving the 80s inspired synth pop from this Philly band. With a new album dropping at the end of a month and a cross-country tour on deck, I’m very excited about seeing Korine in Toronto next month. Here’s “Twist the Knife”.

Is Dan Bejar trolling me? After the week I’ve had, I find out that his third single from his band Destroyer’s upcoming album is called “Cataract Time”. The words seem pretty true to me as my whole week has been “Cataract Time” – how am I’m supposed to take this Dan? I’m not going to be ignored DAN! It’s a good thing there is the classic Destroyer horn solo towards the end of the song that we all love so much.

UK-band Hotwax have released their debut album Hot Shock and I’m happy to report that all the hype and teasing of excellent singles have been worth the wait, because the album is really strong. Starting with the previously released She’s Got a Problem, Hot Shock continues to electrify with ten legit bangers. This will be the third time I’ve featured them in half a year, so you can probably tell, I’m a fan. Here’s the significantly more sludgy-sounding “Strange to Be Here”.

Glare are from the Lower Rio Grande region of Texas, but there is no Tex-Mex here, this heavy shoegaze-fare. Think Swervedriver and the like. Their debut album is coming out later this Spring. Here’s another track for you to taste, “Nu Burn”. This actually reminds me of early Ride, lots of guitars and lyrics you can barely decipher.

Here’s the thing: my metal buddy Dutch is actually Dutch. He and his family also saved our sanity during COVID. He and his wife opened up their “bubble” and more importantly their cottage to my family and they basically had to shoehorn us out of there. It was a great summer. Lots of laughs, wine, sitting in the lake and throwing the ball at each other while trying to keep the open beer cans from the lake water. So many great memories. One thing I don’t remember a lot of is Dutch Mustard. Which is interesting because I remember avoiding the Dutch mayo and Dutch ketchup, but I don’t remember seeing any Dutch Mustard. The good news is, you all can enjoy Dutch Mustard and their new single “Dreaming” here.

Washington DC has always been a hotbed for punk rock music. From Bad Brains to Fugazi there is something about youth growing up in the government town that forces them to rebel. Case in point, Teen Mortgage. Their new album Devil Ultrasonic Boom comes out in April and their newest single “Party” is awesome and comes with a superb video.

Nottingham band Divorce is a perfect choice for today’s Ben Folk Corner. Not because anything is wrong with Ben’s relationship, it’s just that Ben finds excellent folk music in the most interesting places. The middle of England isn’t normally what I think of when I think of folk, but here we are. I asked Joey if she liked Divorce when she came out of her last meeting. The conversation didn’t go as well as I thought it would. While I’m not allowed to write that I like Divorce, I am allowed to say that Divorce’s debut album Drive to Goldenhammer is good. Here’s “Old Broken String”, all you married people will appreciate this song.

It’s just dawned on me that this week’s column is a bit on the dark side. Might as well keep that going with Postcards. This darkwave band from Lebanon, is keeping the good waves flowing with their new song “Dust Bunnies”. This song is hypnotic with guitars, drums and the singing and I love the 45 second outro. Good times!

Time for some light indie pop. The new Esme Emerson ep, Applesauce is just that, a nice refreshing helping of youthful memories and sweetness, but not too sweet. This is the Lee sibling’s strongest effort so far. From the opening poppy cords of Too Far Gone to the subtlety that is closing track, “Stay”, Esme Emerson delivers four excellent helpings that will keep you content from beginning to the last spoonful.

I know that many of you will be excited about the new Jason Isbell album, Foxes in the Snow. The album is simple in that it’s just Isbell and an acoustic guitar, but in reality, it is complex as it weaves songs that feel like stories balancing feelings of being happy and sad. If there is a Sunday afternoon album that says put it on and forget about life for the next 40 minutes, Foxes in the Snow is it. Here’s Jason performing “Ride to Robert’s” on The Tonight Show from last week.

My favourite part of Bob Mould’s career is definitely during his Sugar days in the early 90s. I loved the straight-up guitar rock that he was putting out. To me it was distinguished from his Husker Du beginning, and I feel like he never really caught that same excitement with his solo stuff. His new album Here We Go Crazy might change all that. Songs like “When Your Heart is Broken” have that Copper Blue stuff. This is classic Mould, which I can get excited about.

Multi-instrumentalist SASAMI is back with her third album, Blood on the Silver Screen and it certainly seems like she has found a pop-vibe. Gone is most of the dark shoegaze fare from her earlier work and what is left is a collection of danceable delectable delights. “Love Makes You Do Crazy Things” has a fun bit of guitar that is almost hidden as SASAMI’s vocals are at the forefront of the album, which is a big swing for the artist as musically she is so talented. Love does make you do crazy things, the good news, this album isn’t one of them.

I’m disappointed when I miss songs. That’s where friends like my buddy Ben come in. With his nose is to the pulse of the music world, I just got a text with just an Apple Music link. Honestly, sometimes he does the bare minimum, but these are my friends. The link brought me to Toronto artist Baby Nova. In the limited research I found out that she’s originally from Nova Scotia and has given herself the moniker your deadbeat daughter. Which makes me laugh, because my daughter is making cookies right now. They all can’t be winners, kid. Here’s “Killed for Sport”.

A couple members of Colombia's Bomba Estéreo and Venezuela's Rawayana have become ASTROPICAL. The self-titled album blends African, South American and EDM grooves into a wonderful 12 track debut. "Happy (Libra)” combines South American percussion with EDM which produces a wonderful combination. The album on the whole makes you think of warm beaches with cold drinks and that is a very good thing.

Will Stratton reminds me of another Californian, James Taylor. I understand that is crazy talk, but Stratton’s singing nature takes me back to Taylor’s early 70s folk-inspired Americana. Stuff like “Temple Bar” is what the world needs right now.

Over the last month or so I’ve been listening to a lot of UK alternative folk rock that was big in the early 90s – think Wonder Stuff and Levellers. I bring this up because London-based band The Tubs have released their second album Cotton Crown and it immediately brings me back to that time. Don’t believe me, try “Freak Mode” and you’ll start seeing mosh pits forming over fiddle music and more tartan and tams to put a smile on anyone’s face.

50^th anniversary of Young Americans! Doesn’t that seem too soon and also, about right at the same time. It was Bowie’s breakthrough in the US with Fame becoming his first number 1 single. He was trying to distance himself from his glam rock persona and had embraced the Philly soul sound of the early 70s even recording the album in Philadelphia. Here’s a crazy video of Bowie appearing on the Cher Show, they start doing “Young Americans” and then… it goes off the rails. Seriously, what the fuck?

The great David Johansen died on February 28. Truly an innovator with his band the New York Dolls, Johansen had quite a career in music and some wonderful acting roles including a scene-stealing role in Scrooged. Johansen died of cancer in his Staten Island home at the age of 75. Here’s “Personality Crisis”

Sorry for the bloated new music column, but as you can see, there was lots of stuff to share.