GGRMS Favourites of 2024 ( in no particular order )
The Wesleys
S/T ( Petit Village Records)
The 9 songs on The Wesleys S/T debut album distills the last 40 years of college rock. No tricks, no gimmicks. All heart.
PYPY
Sacred Times ( Goner Records )
Following up 2014’s Pagan Day, PYPY’s Sacred Times is a sexier, more streamlined proposition, and one that casts a wider range of psych punk hues into a genre that has no issues with recycling itself into infinity. Leave it to PYPY to create new custom colours and sound that are as unique as sonic fingerprints. Let’s not forget, in MTL anyways, these musicians have influenced a generation of bands, have many imitators and more importantly, are worthy ambassadors of the unrelenting creative energy of the Montréal music scene.
The Reds, Pinks & Purples
The World Doesn’t Need Another Band (Self Released) / Adult Art School (Self Released) /
Unwishing Well (Slumberland)
Glenn Donaldson and his Reds, Pinks, & Purples is carrying the torch for all literate heart-on-sleeve indie rock enthusiasts. He’s also the benchmark for what we consider to be prolific in 2024. To be prolific in this digital age is one thing, to maintain a high standard of songwriting is where Donaldson separates himself from the pack. Each release since debut Anxiety Art has been a unique expression and that’s no exception for The World Doesn’t Need Another Band / Adult Art School and Unwishing Well. To be a fan and follower is to constantly be catching up, and rewarded. A treasure trove of songs await the uninitiated, with each one a postcard delivered straight to the heart.
Cindy Lee
Diamond Jubilee (Realistik Studios)
Cindy Lee seems to tap into the intangeable mists of the ether, creating a music so timeless, otherworldly and unique yet familiar, like the most mysterious cases of déja vu.. it’s as though it was dropped here from another parallel dimension. With Diamond Jubilee’s triple album track listing, Cindy Lee delivers a compendium of songs that you can take with you from here to eternity. With many listens under our belt, Diamond Jubilee continues to reveal its secrets with each listen. The roll out for its release with YouTube being your initial first chance to dive in to the album’s 32 tracks, made it so you had to meet the album on it’s own turf. Eschewing the giant streaming services in favour of a more home grown approach to getting the album out (Mp3’s were only available through Cindy Lee’s Bandcamp and website) In some ways that approach to having the consumer to come to the artist, as apposed to a corporate streaming service is as important a statement in 2024 as the music on the album itself. It may be the most punk rock statement this year, and we should all celebrate it with an actual physical copy for the shelf.
The Green Child
Look Familiar (Upset The Rhythm / Hobbies Galore)
With Mikey Young’s (Total Control, Lace Curtain. Eddy Current Supression Ring etc..) mixing talents being applied to an endless stream of underground releases ( From Kelley Stoltz to MTL’s Physical Congas) over the last couple of years, one would assume that his name has become a benchmark of credibility to adorn the liner notes. In nice to see, That Mr. Young and Raven Mahone have also been making their own sounds with their project The Green Child. Look Familiar elevates the foundations put forth on their first two releases, and pushes their sound into three dimensions. Stereolab for a new age.
We Are Wolves
NADA (Simone Records)
Listening to We Are Wolves in 2024 connects a lot of the dots to what’s going on locally in Montréal.
If NADA is indeed the last album from Montrtéal’s We Are Wolves, it’s an ending befitting a band that started out between two friends who just simply wanted to create with agency and have fun doing it. The swan song album from Alex Ortiz and Vincent Lévesque, MTL’s art synth innovators may have close the book on the band’s twenty year plus career, but NADA ensures that they close out with a party. Pairing the duo’s artful experimentation, and pop sensibilities with an infusion of South American rhythms.
Alix Fernz
Bizou (Mothland)
While a running joke among anyone paying attention to the scene that has emerged from Montreal’s premiere punk rock club… might go something like this… If you want your record released, you should start bartending at L’esco. (Pause for laughter).Thankfully for us, Alix Fernz’ work application was not overseen. Fernz’ album Bizou truly feels like it was dropped from somewhere else entirely. It stands out from many of 2024’s entries in that it falls within no category. Glitchy, bombastic, weird punk and melodic spikes. Upon many listens, it feels closer to a pop album than your first listen reveals. This one remains on repeat. Shout out to one of our favourite album covers of 2024 to boot!
The Cure
Songs Of A Lost world (Fiction)
The Cure, are a band that I’ve journeyed with for over 30 years. A band who soundtracked my life moments from high school crushes to the first crushing blow of heartbreak and all joyous matters of the heart in between. The fact that Robert Smith is still releasing music on this level in 2024 is a gift. Songs Of A Lost World elevates the band’s catalog, some would argue it’s their best work in decades. Sad and sinister and streamlined to beauty. Hopefully soundtracking the lives of a new generation of Cure fans.
The Wind-Ups
Live In Oakland (DandyBoy Records)
After two albums of Ramones indebted punk rock,, Chico Ca’s The Wind-Ups decided to drop a live album documenting how fucking awesome this band is. Having had the privilege of seeing The Wind-Ups’… Jake Sprecher as a “one man band” a few years back, as well as a duo with bassist Connor last April at L’esco in support of The Wesleys album launch… I’v been itching to witness The Wind-Ups in full effect…with Live in Oakland we get the four man line up in all it’s glory.
Feeling Figures
Everything Around You (K-RECS / Perennial)
Feeling Figures hits a sweet spot for these ears in 2024. The Montreal band’s latest and greatest Everything Around You out now via K RECS / Perennial , is a reminder of the simple economics of punk rock., a time before every local band had a publicist. Guitar, drums , bass & vocals. Add some gnarly riffs and alternating boy / girl vocals… and the synthetic sheen of what the kids are listening to now gets blown to the side. Like most great albums, this collection of eleven songs could have dropped in any previous decade following the original Olympia Washington magnetic tape drip. of the early 80’s. Zak Slax, Kay Moon, Joe Chamandy and Thomas Molander give you more than enough reason to break out the angora cardigan this winter.
SUUNS
The Breaks (Secret City / Joyful Noise)
After six albums MTL’s Suuns have remained a unique proposition within the experimental music scene. With The Breaks, the band offer a much needed exhale to 2024’s global insanity. Ben Shemmies’, words float seamlessly atop Liam O'Neill & Joseph Yarmush’s post everything bedding. The albums, unique approach to experimental composition ensures that the 8 songs in this cycle glow with warm pop art intensity, and the experience never feels too crowded.
Pete International Airport
It Felt Like The End Of The World
No one would begrudge Peter Hölmstrom of the famed indie band The Dandy Warhols, for getting restless between Dandy albums. Luckily for us, he’s been in the basement setting aside the bits and pieces that for whatever reason weren’t quite “dandy “ enough. Pulling in friends like Jason Atoms (Sun Atoms), Rachel Goswell (Slowdive) and MTL’s Alexander Hackett (Pang Attack, TV Erased) to contribute vocals, lends It Felt Like The End Of The World a more collaborative spirit than the typical “solo’ album. These songs also flex Peter’s prowess to create outside the confines of riffs.
Karma Glider
Ocean Honey Violence EP
MTL’s Karma Glider’s blurry abstract artwork for the Ocean Honey Violence EP looks like it was torn out of a 1991 thumbnail sheet for shoegaze album cover contenders. Karma Glider excels in bottling a ‘spirit’ or a ‘feeling’ of the music of a bygone underground that has clearly influenced their sounds, but their other hand is on the steering wheel, changing lanes and keeping things utterly modern, infinitely catchy and their sounding like their own.
The Dandy Warhols
ROCKMAKER (Sunset Blvd Records)
Portland’s elder statesmen and Dame of art-pop ‘n roll The Dandy Warhols, have managed to not only survive 30 years in the music industry, but have been adapting to the industry and maintaining a constant output of music. Like The Cure, the Dandy’s would feature in our life’s soundtrack and have been with us since the 90’s. Their catalog of music has aged remarkably well and ROCKMAKER sounds unlike any of it. Featuring collaborations with artists as varied as Frank Black (Francis) , Slash and Deborah Harry, ROCKMAKER is a loose and weird celebration of three decades of groovy music from one of Portland’s finest ambassadors of weird.
Being Dead
EELS (Bayonet Records)
Austin’s Being Dead and their album EELS fell upon me out of nowhere landing like a warm weighted blanket. The songs are eclectic and dusty. On EELS the garage doors have been left open and a south-west sunset seeps through. Girl / boy vocals add a playfulness to the proceedings, but Being Dead do manage to conjure some unruly spirts to add to the albums urgent and arty mystique.
Humdrum
Every Heaven (Slumberland)
Chicago’s Humdrum has just released their debut album “Every Heaven” out now via the immaculate Slumberland Records. It seems Slumberland continues to “crush it” with each of the label’s releases keeping pace with the last. With Slumberland releasing notable albums from The Reds, Pinks & Purples to Chime School to The Neutrals, to Lightheaded this year alone… Humdrum is the latest entry to add to your must-haves. It is simply put … a heart on your sleeve, jingle jangle gem.
Every Heaven is a celebration of 80’s and 90’s underground indie guitar and all the “feels” that come with it. I can’t help but listen to Every Heaven as a celebration of indie pop’s heroes past, from New Order, The Cure (at their happiest), Psychedelic Furs to the Pale Saints. Even oughts darlings and Slumberland label mates The Pains of Being Pure Of Heart... get some nods. The obsessive listener can break out their headphones and start connecting the dots to their favourite albums.
The Hard Quartet
S/T (Matador)
The Hard Quartet is 2024’s proposition for “Super Group”. The older we get, the more we appreciate the idea of super groups from indie rocks bygone era. But experience has shown that rarely do these projects have any substance beyond what looks good on paper. Those groups however did not feature Jim White, Matt Sweeney, Emmet Kelley and Stephen Malkmus. What we get is a collaborative album, with members bringing in their own songs and ideas, resulting in a song cycle as curious as it is diverse, and that manages to keep us from asking the unavoidable question…”Will there be a Pavement reunion record?”.
The Fleeting Light Of Love & Grief
S/T (Popop Music)
MTL’s Roy Vucino exercises the experimental muscle with partner Lydia Wener with a new instrumental project, brilliantly titled The Fleeting Light Of Love and Grief. This album was joined among a trio of instrumental albums that have acted as a security blanket of sorts through pangs of insomnia and late night anxiety attacks.. The songs are beautiful meditations, that for this listener acted as portals to an empty mind. Electric & acoustic guitars, bass, bağlama, duduk, midi trumpet, synthesizers, saxophone, theremin, stylophone and processed beats amalgamate into 2024’s best kept secret escape hatches.
Pressure Pin
Polyurethane EP (Mothland)
MTL’s Pressure Pin are revealing themselves to be the contenders of 514 egg punk. Frenetic, fierce and fun, Polyurethane will leave you vibrating long after its sixteen minute runtime. The fact that the band has managed to add 6 minutes to the proceedings within the same amount of songs as debut offering Superficial Feature EP, is a plus! Pressure Pins’ Kenny Smith’s latest release connects the dots between the hyper active ghosts of punk and new wave of old, and a future not yet heard.
Laughing
Because It’s True (Celluloid Lunch / Meritorio)
Laughing’s Because it’s True was one of those undeniable forces that would jangle its way into your heart in 2024. Whether it was the praises of your favourite music blog ( Raven Sings The Blues ), or the album getting over seas attention by the good folks at Meritorio Records or perhaps all your friends who’s taste you trust, all bringing the band’s hyper melodic debut album to your attention. Embedded with the same feel good vibes that demands a perfect summer day or an AM dial, Because It’s True jangles hard and couldn’t be ignored even if you wanted to.
La Luz
News Of The Universe
Line-up changes, babies and health scares were all thrown Shana Cleaveland’s way by the universe. Well Shana and La Luz have news for the universe. Since 2013, La Luz has been carrying the surf- psych torch while most of their class of the 2000-teens have washed up or wiped out. On News For The Universe La Luz builds upon past sonic glories while changing lanes, clearly ignoring a pre-determined route, pushing forever forwards… towards that California sunset.
Cola
The Gloss (Next Door records / Fire Talk Records)
The ironic thing about Cola’s sophmore album The Gloss, is the utter lack of it. The Gloss hit these ears much like some of my formative heroes did, Pavement, Built To Spill, Archers Of Loaf …and all those 90’s DIY indie band’s, that bubbled through the grunge puddle, unrefined, but defined. Cola’s The Gloss locks in, like those albums, something you pull yourself into from beginning to end. With 90’s revivalism a constant shadow on the horizon, Cola has reassured me that it’s going to be ok.
Jim Nothing
Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn (Meritorio)
Grey eyes, Grey Lynn, Jim Nothing’s follow up to 2022’s In The Marigolds was one of our most anticipated releases this year. The album picks up on the same low key pop vibe of the debut album, but injects more sunlight and raucous guitars into the indie mold. The melodies shine and the guitars shimmer while tales of characters and places from Jim Nothing’s native Aukland NZ come to life. If In the Marigiold had you covered on cloudy days, Gery Eyes, Grey Lynn rips off the roof and lets the sun shine in.
Split System
Vol.2 (Goner)
A no-nonsense follow-up to 2022’s Volume 1, Melbourne Australia’s Split System return with Volume 2 and ensures that all the boxes get ticked off. Effortless riffs. Fist pumping sing alongs and more punk rock swagger than we deserve.
Kelley Stoltz
La Fleur (Dandy Boy Records)
Kelley Stoltz, show favourite and the elder statesman of the San Francisco scene returns with another feather in his cap with La Fleur. At this point if you are unaware of Mr. Stoltz and his flawless catalog of music, you might as well start here and work your way backwards. La Fleur brims with Stoltz’s melodic story telling, and as with all his albums, it is timeless. To be played as a whole before being placed in your heart. File between your favourite Kinks records and Echo & The Bunnymen.
The Drin
Elude The Torch (Feel it Records)
You know what they say in the handbook of the performing arts… always leave them hungry for more. The Drin’s 2024 album “Elude The Torch” fulfilled all of our art-punk hunger pangs and yet leaves us hungry for more. Whereas an over saturation of like minded garage bands littered the psych ward in 2012, in 2024 The Drin stand out. The album sounds downright nocturnal, Velvet ghosts and smoke hang in the air throughout Elude The Torch, pulling the listener through shadows. Whether the music is a folk noir freak out or a sinister jangly confessional, there is nothing to elude here.
Qlowski
The Wound (Maple death Records)
With what feels like an endless cycle of post punk revivalism upon us, now five years into the 2020’s, Qlowski sit comfortably and stand out amongst the noise. On The Wound, Qlowski pay hommage to their post punk / gothic heroes of the past, with Michele Tellarini sometime sounding like a young Robert Smith, the juxtaposition of Cecilia Corapi’s vocals make Qlowski a fairly unique proposition in their own right. Pairs nicely with walking in the rain. Don’t forget the eyeliner.
Annie-Claude Deschênes
Les manieres de table (Bonsound)
Les manières de table sees MTL’s Annie-Claude Deschênes untethered from her raucous punk projects, Duchess Says and PYPY. Bubbling and pulsating synths and motorik drums betray the fact that this album was released in 2024 and not 1983. Although more pop centred than Annie-Claude’s other bands, Les manieres de table is equally weird and engaging and will get you on your feet to work on your dance floor moves. Hopefully Annie-Claude delivers a second compendium of table manners in the future for when we are hungry in the night.
Best Bets
The Hollow Husk Of Feeling
New Zealand seems to have an endless supply of jangle at their disposal. Best Bets seem to have been steeped to perfection from that eternal pool joining the underground pop ranks of The Clean , The Chills etc with the release of The Hollow Husk of Feeling. Endless hooks and harmonies. The Hollow Husk of Feeling falls on the right side of familiarity. Like that friend that never lets you down.
Coeur A L’INDEX
Adieu Minette (LA VIDA ES UN MUS)
Belgium’s Coeur A L’Index and their album Adieu Minette came to us from two different recommendations from two different people on the same day. Who are we to mess with that kind over cosmic nudge? It’s good to have good friends who know your taste, and Coaur A L’index is delicious. The album’s jangle pop wears its heart on its duotone sleeve, literally. Could be mistaken for a lost girls in the garage tape.
Love Child
Never Meant To be: 1988-1993
Bless the age we live in and the warriors of the blogosphere like Raven Sings The Blues, that consistantly write about unearthed lost bands from bygone eras. This year we were forever thankful to find NYC’s Love Child. and their compilation Never Meant To Be 1988-1993. We can’t help but wonder about an alternate timeline where Love Child soundtracked our teenage years. Luckily these songs ignite those same “feels” today as they would have in the early 90’s. Is it too late to start a band?
The Retail Simps
Strike Gold Strike Back Strike Out (Total Punk Records)
Garage music. A constant source of life blood pumping through the musical heart of this fine city going back to The Haunted in the 60’s, The Gruesomes and The Nils in the 80’s, Tricky Woo in the 90’s, The Sexareenos and Les Breastfeeders through the 00’s just to name a few. In 2024, amidst a seemingly endless display of drum machines, laptops, electronics and boutique haircuts, The Retail Simps know a thing. or two about keeping it real. It would appear they have an aversion for any modern day trickery or production, resulting in a 16 song cycle as timeless as flipping the bird.
Les Breastfeeders
La ville engloutie (Bonsound)
MTL’s Les Breastfeeders is not only one the city’s Rock n’ Roll institutions, but a crown jewel for Québecois music. Luc Brien and his band have been a staple in the Belle Province’s underground and should be celebrated among the province’s past heroes. The catalog is remarkably consistent and their latest La Ville Engloutie is a high water mark. If any band will make you sweat and dance, and make you forget what year it is..it’s Les Breasfeeders.
Corridor
Mimi (Sub Pop)
MTL’s Corridor have become quite the export throughout their five album run. Mimi, their latest for Sub Pop, cements their reputation as indie rock royalty, while showing us more sides to the band than they have previously shown, further evidence that Corridor are pulling all the right moves and are willing to go the distance.
One must wonder how Steel Saddle manages to get anything done. With members stretched to both sides of the country, you can only assume when all six members are in the same place then some serious shit happens. It’s a good thing then that Austin Boylan, Coleman Canton, Nic Power, Mackenzie Sawyer, Ben Vallee, Charlie Zucchero are dipping from the same cosmic country musical pools that are indebted to all the woes, the trials and tribulations of it’s creators. As though ripped from the archives of muscle shoals, Steel Saddle’s debut might have some listeners wondering which decade this album was in fact recorded, and as students of the bygone sounds from the likes of Townes and Bonnie and Delaney etc.., that’s probably the best compliment you can give. Wipe the dust of that whisky and saddle up!
Jason Kent
Jukebox Boy (Elephants On Parade)
Jason Kent has done his time as journeyman axe man to many of Montreal’s finest institutions, The Dears and Elephant Stone to name a few. With that not being enough , Jason Kent fronts his own band Sunfields, and has also in 2024 released Jukebox Boy under his own name. Bridging the gaps between Lennon/McCartney melodies and Jeff Tweedy’s sun flecked ennui and we start to get the picture of the gems that Jukebox Boy holds.
Tombstones In Their Eyes
Asylum Harbour (Kitten Robot Records)
Ever since John Treanor lifted anchor on the USS TITE in 2015 for the band’s debut, Sleep Forever, he has seemingly been adrift on a boat built for one. Over 5 albums and several EP’s and singles later, Treanor has navigated the tumultuous seas in the preverbial void in search of song. It seems however with Asylum Harbour (out Nov.19 via Kitten Robot Records), Trainer has found himself a willing crew, and for this excursion, the tide is high and the clouds are breaking on the horizon. Produced by long time collaborator Paul Roessler (The Screamers, DC3, Prick), TITE latest is its most rewarding.
Joey Joesph
Little Prince Of Rock ‘n Roll
What a joyous discover to be made with Joey Joesph in 2024. The memory is foggy as to how we stumbled upon The Little Prince of Rock N Roll, but we’ll chalk it up to one of those “algorithm got it right” scenarios. Landing between Jay Reatard and Stevie R. Moore, Joey Joesph is DIY rock n’ roll chameleon further evidenced after going back through his catalog.
Me, You, & MY Metronome
RED PIPES EP (Petit Village Records)
MYAMM’s J.Sakata is a one man recording project who aims to respect and elevate everyday observations with melodies, harmonies, and warmth. The Red Pipes EP reflects on split-second decisions with lasting effects, internal struggles, banal vacation moments, and one’s relationship with household appliances. Lush and surreal.
The Retrospects
S/T
Just when you were starting to ask “What ever happened to Ottawa’s premiere garage band The White Wires?”… the universe offers up the debut album by The Retrospects, the solo project from Ian Manhire. With the Retrospects, the only thing to look back on for Manhire seems to be his knack for hooky melodies and the feeling that he’s right there with in the basement pogoing with you. The guitars are (mostly) swapped out for drum machines and early 00’s synth-pop of the ilk made by indie bands gone Casio, making for a seamless transition from his former band.
Poolgirl
I Can’t Swim EP (self released)
Poolgirl merged onto our radar in 2024 early enough that a certain anticipation had built up prior to the release of their debut I Can’t Swim EP. We are totally down for a fresh injection of Riot Grrrl punk rock into a scene that quite frankly could use some more guitars. Vocalist and front person Randy’s tales of pool parties, the ennui transposed by hanger-ons, feeling insecure & pissed off or bored and eating Cheerios to pass the time, the lyrics paint eternally relatable vignettes, with a sharp tongue. Looking forward to the next Poolgirl party.
FRVITS
The Great Internet EP (Slovenly)
Ever since FRVITS released, Stupid Era in 2021, they’ve questioned if the world has gotten more stupid. It was 6 songs in 6 minutes. Their latest, The Great Internet EP is 5 songs in 6 minutes. 3 languages. Zero fat. Zero fucks. No, the band hasn’t gone full prog with a slightly longer run time per song, each one, now hovering under a minute and a half, so don’t bother sitting down while you drop the needle, use that time to rock out. It would make sense that they would leave a little more room for a raw as fuck solo from MTL underground guitar god Roy Vucino (RED MASS, PYPY, CPC Gangbangs etc…) on FRVITS’ cover of The Stupids’ classic Wipeout. FRVITS leave the truly bizarre for the other 4 and half minutes of face peeling maximum rock n roll that’s mysterious, menacing and hilarious. You know how fleeting, yet utterly satisfying it is to strike a flame from a matchstick and then it’s gone? That’s FRVITS. Burn it down.
Patche
Document
Maybe it was the mushrooms… but my cosmic moment in the corner of a ceiling panelled basement in Ryoun-Noranda for FME just happened to feature PATCHE as the after-party house band. To witness them was to observe a band perfectly locked into sync. The music was mesmerizing, where motorik (mostly) instrumentals sounded like mathematics trapped in sound, horns poke out of the either, as do spoken word snippets, perhaps by robots or cyborgs. Everything is propelled forward with inhuman precision. On some level, that night has imbedded all those sensations back into memory every time I listen to Document, emphasizing the power of music and its connection to the memory muscle. Utterly satisfying for the restless.
Water From Your Eyes
MP3 Player 1 EP (Matador Records)
Having felt like I missed out on Water From Your Eyes initial work, having only clued in to 2023’s Everyone’s Crushed as that year’s year-end lists started to emerge, I made sure to keep an eye on what was to come next. Pleasantly my first personal connection with the band materialized with their cover of one of my favourite bands, Giant Sand… in celebration of Giant Sand’s 40th anniversary. At first a little shocked , it’s now fairly obvious that Water From Their Eyes probably have a good sense of the outsider artists, the outliers of the last 40 years, including the criminally overlooked Howe Gelb and Giant Sand. Gold Star for Water From Their Eyes. Following, the duo released MP3 Player 1, a four song covers EP eschewing obscurities for covers by Chumbawamba, Adele, Al Green, and Third Eye Blind. These choices left us both scratching our heads and found us digging in.
Elephant Stone
Back Into The Dream (Little Cloud Records)
MTL’s Rishi Dhir and his band Elephant Stone have at this point become a well oiled machine, a fixture in the realm of melodic psychedelia, which permeates throughout the band’s catalog. Each Elephant Stone release has seen Rishi bend the band’s sound towards different ends of the spectrum, switching up sounds and instrumentation and approach. Back Into The Dream reaches even further into Dhir’s endless trunk of ideas delivering one of the band’s most consistent and rewarding album’s to date. Ditching some of the psychedelic tropes of the past lends the album a fresh feeling within the band’s stellar run of albums. The arrangements hang in the air all breezy, giving Dhir a place to hang his MCCartney-esque deliveries. Robbie McArthur’s guitar work is nothing short of mesmerizing when untethered. Jason Kent and Miles Dupire-Gagnon keep the low end next level. It wouldn’t be an Elephant Stone album without the tablas and sitar, this time around, joined by a saxophone, those constants meld perfectly with the airy liberty that Back Into The Dream manifest. Breath in. Rock out.