Brainwasher – At Least It Beats an Actor

by Stephan Boissonneault

Acid-brained trip hop could be a way to describe ” At Least It Beats an Actor,” the debut single of Brainwasher, a duo project made up of Matthew Duckworth Kirksey and Tommy McKenzie, of The Flaming Lips. Kirksey (vocals, drums, keyboards, sampler) and McKenzie (guitar, bass, keyboards, sampler) create a truly psychedelic atmosphere with in-the-red lead guitar, thundering bass, and a standard drum sample, while Kirksey’s hypnotic vocals slowly pull you closer and closer. This feels like the type of music that plays in the back of your mind right on the come up of an unruly trip.

“At Least It Beats an Actor” is the first single from Brainwasher’s upcoming LP, 39 Lightyears from Heaven (out via Mothalnd on September 9). The album is basically 10 years in the making, as the duo have been working on it in secret while touring with The Flaming Lips. Surrealist art, the American West, David Lynch, Nick Cave, Portishead, and their home state of Oklahoma are Brainwasher’s direct influences.

“At Least It Beats an Actor” also comes with a sporadic, strobe-drenched music video you can check out below.

Indie Rock / Shoegaze

Karma Glider – Love Bleeds

by Stephan Boissonneault

Karma Glider is back with a new single, “Love Bleeds,” a shoegaze pop fever dream featuring sampled vocals, synthesizer swashes, amped up guitars, and much, much feedback. This track sounds like someone fired a glitter cannon during a breakup—sparkly, chaotic, and oddly beautiful. The fuzzy guitars and reverb-soaked vocals swirl together as the vocals float in like a ghost who’s really into dream journals. Every chorus hits like an emotional confetti bomb, leaving you unsure whether to cry, dance, or just lie on the floor. It’s heartbreak you can dance to—if your idea of dancing includes staring at your shoes and feeling all your damn feelings at once.

“Love Bleeds” comes with a cool animated video by Philippe Beauséjour, depicting the face of a shadow man covered by shapes and splotches of colour. The song is also the lead single of Karma Glider’s upcoming debut LP, From the Haze of a Revved Up Youth, out July 11 via Mothland.

Art Rock / soft-rock / Yacht Rock

SAMWOY – Diamond Eyes

by Stephan Boissonneault

If you look back on all of SAMWOY’s music videos, there is always a cinematic thread or through-line to them. He’s a guy who loves films and isn’t afraid to step into a genre, or in the case of his latest, “Diamond Eyes,” fuse two into a transfixing 4-minute video.

To match the luminous, yet crooner-tinged vibe of the latest track, he and director Jefferey Mitchell (who slays on saxophone in SAMWOY’s band and the video) went for a film noir vibe, but the kind of surreal film noir you’d find from Luis Buñuel, Federico Fellini, and of course, David Lynch.

As a subdued artsy yacht rock takes hold, SAMWOY roams the streets of Montreal, donning an eye patch, dwelling on his encounter with the beautiful Kandle Osborne (who comes out a bit more than scarred). The overlay effect of the film adds to the subdued chaos, leading up to the explosive sax solo from Mitchell. Top stuff from SAMWOY as he quickly approaches the release of his album Even Sad Boys Like to Have Fun out at the end of May via Hidden Ship.

Neo-Psychedelia / pop / pop psychédélique

Meggie Lennon – My Best Self

by Stephan Boissonneault

The flower of Montreal’s psychedelic pop scene, Meggie Lennon, is back with her new single, “My Best Self,” a lush and grooving self-reclamation of beauty standards, self-identity and emotional freedom. The track features a cascading piano, vibrant yet subtle rhythm section, some bright saloon-esque guitar, and the star of the track, Meggie’s sweet-as-honey voice.

Honey is featured in the looping music video. As the screen intersects, we have a slow-moving image of Meggie’s arm about to be waxed—the absurdity of beauty standards—and on the other, it is contrasted by a man’s simple joys—oozing honey on a baguette. The two videos eventually meet and flow into each other after an arm writes out the words “My Best Self” in honey and then loops again. By the third time the video loops, it kind of feels like you’re trapped, much you are by societal beauty standards. It’s a simple video, and quite effective.

“My Best Self,” comes from Meggie Lennon’s upcoming sophomore album, Desire Days, out June 20th via Mothland. Meggie will also be playing the album during the Montreal Jazz Fest in early July.

Alternative / Noise Rock / Post-Punk

Model/Actriz – Cinderella

by Stephan Boissonneault

Model/Actriz, a weird post-punk/noise rock group now based in New York, has had a mysterious allure to them since they started getting recognition in 2019. Their music is dark and frenetic and often has heavy undertones of lyrical queerness, really separating them from a pretty hetero-dominated genre. The latest single, “Cinderella,” is quite similar in vibe (think of an evil club) to much of the content on their debut album Dogsbody. Still, the visual narrative video, by Nathan Castiel, puts it in another universe.

Using the fairytale of Cinderella as a metaphor and literal embodiment for a man who, as a child, wished he had a “Cinderella birthday party” gives the whole song a sincere quality. But the video itself is like a modern fever-dream adaptation of the fairytale. Lead vocalist Cole Haden plays the role of Cinderella while going through the many toils of the character before he meets his fairy godmother, and they attend a darkened rave. Taxidermied rats follow the story and some Lynchian-style Prince’s Henchman characters. Is it a happy ending? Who’s to say? “Cinderella” comes before Model/Actriz’s follow-up album, Pirouette, in May.

Alt-Country / Americana / Country

Les Hay Babies – Some People

by Stephan Boissonneault

Acadian folk-rock trio Les Hay Babies released their fourth album, Tintamarre last October under Simone Records and they have now with charted out an extensive Canadian tour running from March to October.

To kick off the upcoming festivities, they’ve released a new music video for the Anglo track of the album “Some People.”

Under a bed of honky tonk country rock, “Some People” addresses those on the go – specifically, people searching for something, whether they’re heading to L.A. to make movies, Brussels or Dublin for a beer, or Nashville to become a star. But as the girls sing, wherever you go, don’t forget where you come from. You can chase fame or stay away from the big city. Either way, your roots follow you wherever you go.

Les Hay Babies I Elizabeth Landry

The music video from Elizabeth Landry feels very 70s-inspired. It features a man (Antoine Bourque) dancing in his Americana basement, picturing a bigger life for himself as his mother (Suzanne Morin) asks what all the racket is. She then promptly joins in the dancing. With references to Alan Jackson and The Buffet, it’s hard to imagine this song coming from ladies from Acadian New Brunswick…

Alternative Rock / psych-punk / Psych-Rock

SAMWOY ft. Virginie B – Simon Says

by Stephan Boissonneault

We’ve been waiting for new SAMWOY since the release of his single “Poison,” back in November of last year, and he has now come out of his cave with a ripper of a new single called “Simon Says.” But this time, he has collaborated with the Quebecoise alt-pop visionary Virginie B. Under a deluge of frenetic in the red guitar, both SAMWOY and Virginie B (who takes the role of an apathetic, scornful lover) sing of nihilistic urges brought to the bottom of the barrel by the malignant Simon.

You see, Simon has been controlling Sam’s life since day one and using him as a catalyst for his own demise, SAMWOY can express the very real problems he’s faced in his own life.

But it doesn’t have to get much more profound than a chaotic psych-punk banger; just try to escape the catchy “da da da das,” and that’s precisely what the music video from Elizabeth Martineau expresses. We get wave after wave of overlayed imagery featuring SAMWOY, the pink-haired Virginie B, (and a quick lead guitar cameo from Ev Bird) in different outfits under an array of sporadic, darkened lighting. It sometimes feels like a B art house horror movie from Kevin Smith, with a plot that makes a bunch of sense after you smoke a few joint cannons.

“Simon Says” also comes with a huge announcement from SAMWOY – the May 30th release date of his sophomore album – Even Sad Boys Like To Have Fun. Out via Hidden Ship Records, Even Sad Boys Like To Have Fun promises a bigger cinematic direction for SAMWOY, crossing genres like sonic chameleon.

Indie Pop / indietronica

Logo – Glass

by Stephan Boissonneault

Can we ever go back to the way things were? Back when one country’s President didn’t threaten to annex another—when war-torn news coverage wasn’t the norm? However far back you want to go, “Glass,” the debut single from Los Angeles’ Logo, drops you into an unfathomably deep and catchy atmosphere.

The track kicks off with a trip-hop-infused drum ‘n’ bass beat, layered with a ‘90s-esque piano line and a catchy R&B-tinged vocal hook: “thinking of running away.” It quickly morphs into a hazy indie pop banger. Jangly, reverb-soaked post-punk guitar trickles in, sometimes even diving into shoegaze—until Logo’s ethereal vocal layering pulls it back. In less than three minutes, the song packs in an incredible amount of texture and movement.

The music video mirrors this nostalgic energy, resembling a ‘90s-era home video. Shaky, spliced memories flash over moving images of beaches and trees. For a split second, we see the creator, Lauren Gold, smiling into the camera in faded black and white. The whole video plays like flipping through a personal photo album at lightning speed.

Gold, already a known presence in LA and New York’s DJ scenes, also hosts a show on KCHUNG Radio in LA. As Logo, they promise even more restless indietronica beats in the future.

mutant-disco / Post-Punk

CDSM – This Is My New Hell

by Stephan Boissonneault

CDSM, the alternative death disco freaks from Atlanta, are back with a fiery and pulsating new single dubbed “This Is My New Hell.” Beginning with a mutating staccato synthesizer line that feels like it is being played in a gothic German disco house, we are plunged into the satirical darkness with no escape in sight. There is then some distorted hi-hat madness and what sounds like a cowbell turned up to 11, before some heavy industrial (think Ministry) guitar kicks in. Adding to CDSM’s diabolical world, we of course are subject to some razor-tooth synthesizer work. It’s exactly the type of sonic carnage where CDSM left us with their 2022 debut EP, Hell Stairs.

CDSM is a juggernaut of a band with multiple singers and instrumentalists, so we hear paranoid lead vocals from half of the band and backing vocals from everyone else. During the song’s outro, everyone eerily chants “This Is My New Hell,” giving the song a scornful finish.

The song stands on its own as a nefarious post-punk banger, but the accompanying video, directed by Slayton Ccinner, needs to be talked about. With the help of a green screen and some early 2000s video game-type animation, we see the members of CDSM plummeting from a delirious basketball game into the pits of their self-constructed hells—as animated demons do what demons do. The animation work feels like a mix of Spy Kids 3D and old-school Doom and adds to the infernal joke atmosphere CDSM is going for. The only ingredient missing from this track is the saxophone; but CDSM definitely has that in store with the upcoming full-length Convertible Hearse—out via Mothland and Exag’ Records in May.

DVTR – Né pour flâner

by Stephan Boissonneault

If you’re somewhat ingrained in the Montreal music scene, or I’d even go as far as to say the Eastern Canada music scene and don’t know who DVTR is yet, you seriously need to hop out from under the rock you’ve been hiding under. This Queb punk rock duo, featuring Demi Lune & Jean Divorce, cleaned up the GAMIQ Awards Gala winning Revelation of the Year, Punk Album/EP of the Year, and Animated Music Video of the Year, not to mention ending their crazy 2024 ride with a soldout 500 capacity show at the legendary venue Les Foufounes Électriques.

Their album, BONJOUR, has been all about the fuck around and find out ethos; attacking the Olympics, corrupt cops, the death industry, and soon the milk industry, and this has taken them all over the world; including Japan. Usually, DVTR songs are all about calling something out as bullshit, but this latest buzzing single “Né pour flâner,” (born to loiter) is more positive and about taking up space. DVTR loves to loiter so they wrote a punk song about it. So the DIY music video is all camcorder footage, following the band’s adventures on their recent tour in Asia. It’s a different spin for DVTR. Are they going to turn into more of a positive punk band and stop calling out injustices… probably not. But “Né pour flâner,” is a nice surprise.

APACALDA – Jealous

by Stephan Boissonneault

Just after her hazy and wonderful set at TAVERNE TOUR, Montreal’s alt indie songwriter, APACALDA, is back, with a laid-back and groove-laden track called “Jealous.” Perfect in time for Valentine’s Day, “Jealous” is about the creeping envy that takes hold and overrides the very fabric of your system, usually spurred by a failed romance.

You give in to the jealousy and make moves that you, in your deepest of hearts, know are wrong, but feel so satisfying. Almost as satisfying as the leading bassline from Misha Stein (TEKE::TEKE, Patrick Watson, FHANG), which feels like a morphine-dripped Tame Impala intro. The groove takes hold and APACALDA’s smokey vocals consume the scenery. The lyric video features a retro, yellow TV, as some animated footage of crumbling lovers is broadcast.

It’s a different and more laid-back vibe from her previous single, “Dead Weight,” which had more of a darkened shock-rock edge. “The single “Jealous” also signals the upcoming release date of the highly anticipated full-length album, There’s a Shadow in My Room And it Isn’t Mine, due in mid-June.

Bedroom Pop / dream pop / Indie Rock / Shoegaze

Alicia Clara – Nothing Dazzled

by Stephan Boissonneault

Montreal’s Alicia Clara has just dropped a heater of a single with “Nothing Dazzled.” The song is drenched in huge shoegaze guitar tones and distortion, a signature of producer Chris Steward (Bodywash), next to Clara’s hypnotic, velvety voice.

The song was written in the thick of the pandemic when the whole world was “on mute,” and sparked by a “semi-lucid dream” about an earthquake that may or may have not happened. There’s a great hippy wanderlust feel to this track, a need to explode back into the world free of restrictions.

The music video, directed, shot on VHS, and edited by Roxane Loumède—paints a picture of Alicia’s day-to-day life and features footage of a live show in Toronto and a trip to New York with her friends. The VHS vibe and home movie feel of the video pairs nicely with the dreamy quality of the music. It feels like a tape you might find buried in a dusty bin at a Blockbuster, one you want to watch over and over.