From Blown Speakers

is your heart still fightin'/to get our of your mind?

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 19:39:00 +0000

On Tuesday, I was at the Biltmore for the first time in ages to see Skullcrusher.

They (or maybe "she" is better, cause despite the touring band--openers h. pruz--Helen Ballentine is Skullcrusher) simultaneously sound nothing like their name and also sound exactly like their name.

Ballentine's music is sparse, quiet, and sonically serene. But on another axis, she also writes the heaviest fucking songs imaginable.

"March" is perhaps the best example of that dichotomy and the plunking piano dirge was soft and beautiful sounding live, while the weight of "what do I live for? Who do I live for? I don't know anymore" hit like a Mack truck.

Last night, I made it down to the Commodore for Jeff Tweedy

I haven't seen Tweedy solo for so long, it took til about three songs in that I realized he just plays his own tunes from his solo releases now, which makes sense, since that description covers so many songs now. Also, "solo" is a it inaccurate and the band probably should've tipped me off that it wasn't going to be a fluid mishmash of songs he'd written between Wilco and other projects and oddball covers (although there were a couple of those in the encore).

But while it wasn't what I expected, it's always a treat to see one of earth's greatest living songwriters do his thing.

His backing band features his two sons, Sammy and the very prolific Spencer (who Tweedy half joked about us "seeing with someone back here soon") and three other young'ns. And the non-musical highlight of the night was Jeff beaming with pride when he introduced all of them and talked about the music they do outside of touring with him.

Dad rock at its finest.

Album of the week

Maria Taylor - Story's End

Turns out I really missed 00s Saddle Creek records, because this one sounds like it was plucked directly from that era and I haven't been able to turn it off.

Song of the week

Greg Mendez - Gentle Love

Turns out I also really missed Figure 8 era Elliott Smith.

Classic of the week

all of god's money / a tribute to wilco's yankee hotel foxtrot by Better Yet

Laura Stevenson - Jesus, Etc (Wilco cover)

Seemed like an appropriate week to post this.

There's no topping the original of this for me. But Stevenson might be my favourite singer and the chorus of Laura's swelling up behind the lead vocal on the "our love" part might be my single favourite moment on any version of one of my favourite songs of all time.

More heat

1000 Rabbits - Rubik's Cube

Weird Nightmare - Where I Belong

now playing: Priests - Jesus' Son

my body's a spaceship with the ovaries on hyperdrive/got a whole universe inside that exists in between my thighs

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 06:26:00 +0000

Short one this week.

Album of the week

Robyn - Sexistential

It's amazing that she crammed in every flavour of Robyn and this thing is only 30-minutes long. And that's maybe the only thing you could complain about--this could've been longer. But I'm a big short album advocate and this one's near perfect.

Shout out my friend Lianne for asking "you're coming (to Toronto) to see Robyn with us, right?!" See you in September.

Song of the week

Squirrel Flower feat. Babehoven and Billie Marten - Wheels

Everything is kinda getting lumped into alt-country these days, but Ella O'Connor Williams is really channeling Nashville by way of the East Coast indie scene here, which is coincidentally, my exact wheelhouse.

now playing: Quando Quango - Love Tempo (Fac 79 Remix)

how dare the morning look so peaceful/when it knows your fragile fate

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 08:57:00 +0000

Whenever I see Spiritual Cramp, for an hour or so, I'm convinced that they're the best live band on the planet and that's exactly how I felt on Tuesday at the Wise.

I like their three albums just fine, but there's something special about the six of then rocking out in the flesh.

Album of the week

Gladie - No Need to Be Lonely

I love the other two Gladie records, but I really love this Gladie record.

The songwriting is top notch across all three releases, but this batch of songs has a little more punch. The first two albums are a little more downtempo, a little more singer-songwriter, whereas No Need to Be Lonely fits alongside Joyce Manor and Remember Sports (two of my other favourite 2026 albums) and brings a little more punk to go with the pop. It's that same energy she brought in Cayetana, without sounding like a retread.

I've mentioned it here before, but one of my favourite things about Gladie--and honestly just music in general--is when Augusta Koch is singing so hard that her voice kinda breaks. It sounds like she meant that shit so much that she could barely get it out. That happens all the time on No Need to Be Lonely and it fucking rocks!

There's also so many great individual moments on this album.

On the opener, "Push Me Down," there's the way Koch's vocals go from sounding like they're on the radio in another room before the guitars kick in and she comes booming in full fidelity (shout out Jeff Rosenstock, who produced everything).

There's that quote that's the title of this post that opens track 2 ("Brace Yourself"), maybe the best couplet of 2026 so far.

But my favourite might be on "Future Spring," when a choir of friends that includes the other gals from Cayetana, Rosenstock, and Anika Pyle from Chumped/Katie Ellen join her, not for the chorus, but for the briefest refrain, right in the middle.

The songs on No Need to Be Lonely are about modern life. About happiness and sadness and the people we share it with. And there's just something about the way Koch sings the line by her lonesome at first, before her friends swell up around her that captures the whole album in one line: hey you're invited and we're glad you're here.

Song of the week

Sparkler - Come Today

Uhhh, welcome back MBV, I guess.

now playing: Joyce Manor - Live at Boston Common for Saturdays in the Park

every inch of my earth and sky/you can occupy/cover me entirely

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 03:56:00 +0000

I went down to the Pearl on Saturday to catch the first (hopefully of many) Girls to the Front Fest.

I showed up a little late, but your ticket got you back to back bands from 5:30pm to almost 1am, all of whom were fronted by women or non-binary folx.

Everyone I caught was great, but (now with much more limited knowledge than I had back in the day) have I mentioned that Piss is Vancouver's best band?

Album of the week

ELUCID and Sebb Bash - I Guess You Had To Be There

Apparently Sebb Bash is the Alchemist's favourite producer, which is a much better co-sign than anything I could write here. ELUCID remains one of the best working rappers and that all adds up to create his best solo effort to date.

Song of the week

Iceage - Star

One of my favourite tunes from last year, Neko Case's "Wreck," used space as the backdrop for a love song.

Iceage's first new song in half a decade doesn't share the same sonic space--"Wreck" is giddy and bright with swirling orchestration, while "Star" is driven forward by a propulsive post-punk bassline--but they both use celestial bodies to explain just how powerful love can be. Elias Rønnenfelt's got a lot of lusty lyrics, but he's in full

"Star" finds the--I always want to say "kids" with Iceage, because they were when they started releasing records--guys sounding the most dance-punk that they ever have. The guitars go from funky riff to jangle and back again, before breaking down into sheets of noise at the end that are kinda reminiscent of those early Rapture jams. With respect to all those 00s band (many of whom I loved!), Rønnenfelt's a much more powerful singer and he croons his way through this one.

More heat

Gouge Away - Figurine

Gouge Away recorded this live to tape and managed to capture all the fury of their shows. It's their first release since 2024, their first for new label Run For Cover, and their first with Ovlov/Pet Fox guitarist Theo Hartlett in the fold.

Catch 'em with Wednesday on April 24th where they'll play this at the proper volume (much louder than you are likely willing to play it in your home).

Kevin Morby - Die Young

I'm too old to die young and I'm going to at least try to survive until this record is out on May 15th.

Kacey Musgraves - Dry Spell

Kinda early to call it, but this is easily gonna be 2026's funniest song about not fucking.

Maria Taylor feat. Conor Oberst - Sorry I Was Yours

This one sounds straight off of a 2003 Saddle Creek comp (complimentary).

now playing: Gladie - I Want That For You

cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-champion/you'll get yours

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 08:12:00 +0000

Album of the week

Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds - Mutiny After Midnight

This one got announced as a physical media only release (which is still cool as hell), but last Monday it just showed up on YouTube.

I have never been much of a Sturgill Simpson guy, but I don't mean that as any sort of commentary on the quality of his musical output (which is insanely good).

That said, Sound & Fury is very easily my favourite Sturgill release. And while this doesn't have the exact same sound, it has the same swagger to it.

Song of the week

Juvenile feat. Megan Thee Stallion - BBB

I saw some comment about this song that was something along the lines of "Megan's back on her one note again" and motherfucker do you think that's a bad thing? Megan hits that one note like a 90s Neil Young solo, my guy.

Classic of the week 1

Albini Sessions (Benefit for Letters Charity) by Fugazi

Fugazi - Albini Sessions

There were bootlegs out there, but for whatever reason, even though I have a hard drive full of the most niche remixes, live recordings, alternate versions, etc, I'd never bothered to track this down.

But also, who knows how those mp3s would've sounded. And now we get to hear them in all their perfectly produced glory.

Of course, the thing about the sessions that Fugazi did with Steve in '92, is that the band wasn't particularly thrilled with how they played most of the songs, which is why they scrapped the recordings and re-did everything that would eventually become my personal favourite Fugazi album.

I'm glad they did what they did--the version of In on the Kill Taker that we got was better. But what a treat to hear these songs the way they were put to tape the first time, after all these years.

Some things are notably worse. The version of "Smallpox Champion" falls pretty flat the way it's played (it still fucking rocks though, ofc). But it's got that classic Albini production sound, including the snare drum that sounds like it's being played from the direct centre of your brain. And onthe flip side, the version of "Public Witness Program" absolutely rips.

If you love Fugazi, this is a must listen. And it's exclusively on Bandcamp with all the proceeds going to the Letters Charity that Steve was so involved in, so it's also a must buy.

Classic of the week 2

Fontaines D.C. - Black Boys on Mopeds (Sinead O'Connor Cover)

It was a great week for cover versions, mostly driven by the release of the Help (2) benefit for War Child.

The covers (there are also some originals mixed in there) run the gamut from "fun enough" to "stunners," but in an era when compilations don't even make a ton of sense, it's amazing how essential everything sounds as an album.

The good Irish lads in Fontaines just play it straight on this Sinead O'Connor all timer, but that's really all they had to do. Grian Chatten sounds great and it's lovely to hear the band, who really carry the torch of political activism that Sinead did, do this song by this artist.

Classic of the week 3

Olivia Rodrigo - The Book of Love (Magnetic Fields Cover)

69 Love Songs was much more of a songwriting exercise for Stephen Merritt than any sort of confessional, but that doesn't mean that some of the songs don't sound like they've got someone's entire being buried in them.

This one's been done a lot, but Olivia put together what's arguably the best cover by pinning her heart right to her sleeve and sanding away some of that big pop sheen.

Classic of the week 4

Turnstile - I Wanna Be Adored (Stone Roses Cover)

Turnstile simultaneously keep things very faithful to the original and also make this sound like it's a Turnstile song and sometimes those are the very best covers.

Also, depending on the day of the week, I might tell you that this the best bass riff of all time (on another day of the week, it might be a different Roses one).

More heat

Greg Mendez - I Wanna Feel Pretty

Ronboy - I Am Only Playing

Sprints - Trickle Down

now playing: Ratboys - The World, So Madly

it’s true that I told a lie or two/only once or twice, and just for you

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 07:39:00 +0000

Album of the Week

joyride and friends! by joyride!

joyride! - joyride and friends!

joyride! has a Bandcamp page, but as far as I can tell, no website or Instagram, so I had no idea this was coming out and didn't find out about it until a week after it did.

They put out three LPs in pretty quick succession in the from 2013 - 2016 and two of them were part of the wave of Salinas Records releases from last decade (see also: All Dogs, Swearin', Radiator Hospital) that I absolutely loved. And then they sort of disappeared until 2022's Miracle Question (that I also loved).

And then it was radio silence again until joyride and friends! appeared.

Even though they've got an extended musical family along for the ride, this certainly isn't a reinvention of their sound, which is great. They're doing what they do best and this is another helping of perfect NorCal pop-punk.

Song of the week

Mitski - That White Cat

If you asked me "was that last Mitski album good?," I would universally say yes, but for whatever reason, none of her releases have really grabbed me since Puberty 2, but Nothing's About to Happen to Me might end that streak. This one's my favourite of the bunch.

Classic of the week

Georgia by all dogs

All Dogs - Georgia

Hey, it's one of those bands from Salinas Records' heyday. This one's a loosie that first appeared on The Le Sigh, Vol II, the--as the name would suggest--second compilation from the gone, but fondly remembered music website that lived from 2012-2017.

It's my favourite All Dogs track.

now playing: Sturgill Simpson - Mutiny After Midnight

i'm not sure what i'm afraid of/maybe love is a selfish game

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 06:48:00 +0000

Album of the week

Remember Sports - The Refrigerator

Their best album and maybe the best pop-punk album of the year so far (which is saying a lot, even though we're only a month and a half in).

If you don't already have Wednesday tickets, catch 'em at the Wise on April 24th.

Song of the week

Gladie - Brace Yourself

A contender for 2026 pop-punk album of the year.

Classic of the week

Fugees - The Score

Happy 30th birthday to this perfect record.

More heat

Kevin Morby - Javelin

Cashier - Part From Me

now playing: Pavement - Spit on a Stranger

whiskey in the summertime/the bugs are writing books with their еyes

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 08:08:00 +0000

Album of the week

Ratboys - Singin' to an Empty Chair

Every Ratboys album is a good one, but it really felt like they leveled up on "The Window" and this one seems like another massive step forward for a band that was already great.

I have a pretty wide range of genres and styles of music that I like, but this kinda indie, kinda pop, kinda emo, a little bit country stuff is really my wheelhouse and Singin' to an Empty Chair feels like a canonical entry into that loose catalogue of music.

Pitchfork gave it Best New Music. They also assigned Ivy Nelson to do the review and they basically only give her heavy hitters.

Tom Breihan interviewed Julie Steiner to do a track-by-track breakdown over at Stereogum as well.

Song of the week

Masks by Chat Pile

Chat Pile - Masks

The boys from Oklahoma bringing their absolute best (like, for real, this might be their best song) for this one-off Sub Pop 7" that features a Nirvana cover--of Bleach's closer, "Sifting"--on the b-side.

I didn't get into Cool World nearly as much as God's Country, but this one's an absolute ripper.

More heat

Alexis Taylor - For a Toy

Hot Chip guy, I was unfamiliar with your solo (moving, sad balladry) game.

Weird Nightmare - Might See You There

Alex Edkins (who was one of the dudes in Metz) said he was listening to a lot of Undertones when he wrote this song and that checks the fuck out.

Friko - Seven Degrees

Big Hunky Dory/Ziggy Stardust vibes ("Life On Mars" in particular).

Mandy, Indiana feat. billy woods - Sicko!

BODY SOUND by Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, Macie Stewart

Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, and Macie Stewart - dawn | pulse

Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, and Macie Stewart's forthcoming BODY SOUND features the three multidisciplinary artists on viola, cello, and violin, respectively, while they share wordless (very Julianna Barwick-like) vocal duties.

"dawn | pulse" is the official first single (and lead off track on the album) and follows last year's equally gorgeous "stone | piece" (here's a live version of that).

now playing: Blondie - Call Me

and when I think about your face, there's always something hard to place/the way the light would hit your features when we were hanging by the bleachers

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:54:00 +0000

Album of the week

Joyce Manor - I Used to Go to This Bar

For a long time, I didn't think I liked this band. And then when I started to second guess that, I went back to listen to their really early stuff and I remembered right--I, in fact, did not like them much at all (sorry to anyone who likes that lo-fi shit the best).

But after "All My Friends Are So Depressed" floored me last year, I went a little less far backwards and turns out that I would've loved them if I'd given them a second chance starting from Million Dollars to Kill Me onwards.

I Used to Go to This Bar sees them tinkering around the edges with their sound, sometimes to great success (the aforementioned Smiths tribute "All My Friends...") and sometimes less so ("After All You Put Me Through"), but the low points are buoyed by the high points of classic California pop-punk.

The title track opens with a brief Sum 41 homage of all things, before it shifts into "Blink 182 sings a Craig Finn song" territory (complimentary). And absolute ripper, "I Know Where Mark Chen Lives," simultaneously alludes to Television Personalities and the now enigmatic So-Cal pop punker via the title.

Joyce Manor play the Commodore on May 11th with Militarie Gun, Teen Mortgage, and Combat

Song of the week

Slowlight - Cruel Morning

I feel like the target market for this late-90s/early-00s kinda shoe gazey indie pop stuff, but when it hits, it really hits.

Classic of the week

Danzig - Twist of Cain

A PSA to let you know the first (and easily best) Danzig solo album is back in print on LP.

More heat

Sluice - Beadie

Probably kinda rude to say "I like this because it sounds like Bill Callahan" without posting any of the new Bill Callahan songs, but here we are.

Dutch Interiors - Ground Scores

"It's so silly [listening] to loves songs, while we teeter at that edge."

now playing: Bully - Milkman

you hear the cheers from the rafters/like when vince was on the raptors

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 07:10:00 +0000

Album of the week

Roc Marciano - 656

I don't really know what there is to say at this point. Marci's output has been so consistently great and here he is at his best--when he's doing almost all the rapping and all of the production. Every time I listen, there's another line that jumps out at me as the best one and the beats are unimpeachable.

Song of the week

Mitski - Where's My Phone?

MFW I see a cat on the street doing something cute.

"Where's My Phone?" is the first single from Nothing's About To Happen To Me out February 27th on Dead Ocean

Classic of the week

miracle question by joyride!

Joyride! - Emergency Broadcast System

I'm not sure what made me put on this perfect slice of NorCal pop-punk this week, but I ended up listening to this album about six times in a row.

More heat

Snail Mail - Dead End

All the really good Snail Mail songs sound extremely similar to me (complimentary because I want more of them)

Italian Lightning by True Green

True Green - Italian Lightning

An entry into the canon of modern classic American indie singer-songwriter jams and all the proceeds go to mutual aid operations in the Twin Cities. Fuck ICE.

Lightning Bolt and OO|OO - Cloud Core

The boys from Lighting Bolt and YoshimiO from the Boredoms coming together for an absolute noise-punk masterclass.

Doll Spirit Vessel - Kissing My Cup

I go back and forth between, "this 90s revival thing is out of control" and "hell yes. fuck yeah." This one inspired the latter.

now playing: Califone - All My Friends Are Funeral Singers

i start by holding your hand/and taking advice from the songs I like

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 11:25:00 +0000

Album of the week

Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore - Tragic Magic

Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore have both been making impossibly beautiful, atmospheric music for many, many years. And while they've collaborated in the past both live and in the studio, this is the first time we've been treated to an entire album.

Lattimore's harp keeps everything tethered to the ground, while Barwick's signature, delay soaked vocals, swirl up around everything, like they're reaching up into the heavens.

Nearly every time I get on a plane, I put on Barwick's 2011 masterpiece, The Magic Place. It's not like I'm a nervous flyer (the only mode of transportation I love more than a plane is a train), but there's something so soothing and so fitting about hearing her disembodied voice hanging in the air as you're hurtling through it. I've liked or loved all of her other work, but this is the first one that comes close to capturing that same feeling for me.

I can't wait til the next time I hop on a plane, because I know what I'm putting on.

Song of the week

Remember Sports - Nevermind

How the fuck is it possible that Remember Sports is actually playing here, but it's the same night as Wednesday/Gouge Away?! Why do I have to choose between hearing my second favourite record of 2025 live or hearing what's shaping up to maybe be my favourite record of 2026? The world is more of a tire fire than it's ever been in my (at this point pretty fucking long) lifetime and I didn't need this insult to injury, frankly.

Anyhow, I love this song a lot, but the thing I love the most about it is that "so, I heated pizza for dinner/let the pizza get cold again" couplet and the way it perfectly captures a feeling that--if you've ever felt it--you'll recognize instantaneously.

"Nevermind" is the fourth and final single from The Refrigerator, out on February 13th. Remember Sports play the Wise on April 24th.

Classic of the week

MJ Lenderman - A Long December (Counting Crows cover)

More heat

Ratboys - The World, So Madly

Ok, maybe this one's going to be my favourite record of 2026.

Cashier - Like I Do

Real Dinosaur Jr. hours. Who's up?

Modern Woman - Dashboard Mary

Early contender for album cover of the year and an absolute banger of a lead off single. This one builds and builds until it explodes and when it explodes, it's sublime (uhhh like the verb, not the band--no 3rd wave ska here).

Jody Glenham - Overtime

I'm a simple man: if I hear a new Jody song, I post the new Jody song. This one's my favourite from her forthcoming EP, Still Here (she's still here and I still get those ex-bandmate advance listening privileges), out on April 24th.

now playing: Haybaby - Pig

freight train coming down the track/and it almost gave me a heart attack

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 19:13:00 +0000

Unfortunately, we've emerged from the holiday season and we're in "I have to do that thing 8-hours a day every weekday to live again" part of the year. But! That means that the lull in new music is over and there were too many great songs that came out this week.

Song of the week

Joyce Manor - I Know Where Mark Chen Lives

I didn't think I liked this band--and I went back to their really early stuff and I turns out I was right--but I'm really glad that I've been keeping tabs on the singles for their upcoming LP, because I liked the first one and love "All My Friends Are So Depressed." This one might be my new favourite and goes hard enough that I bought tickets to see them in May (though Militarie Gun opening the show helped that decision too).

I Used to Go to This Bar is out January 30th on Epitaph.

Classic of the week

Songs: Ohia - Two Blue Lights

A PSA to let you know that this record is finally back in print on vinyl. This is very easily my second favourite Jason Molina release (after The Magnolia Electric Co. ofc)

More heat

Robyn - Talk to Me

So far from this record, we've got two Robyn dancefloor bangers and one Robyn weirdo pseudo-rap jam (the album's title track, Sexistential, also out this week), one of which is a Robyn heartbreak number and two of which are Robyn "damn, I'm horny as Hell" tracks. This thing's already tracking to be album of the year (this song is one of the horny as Hell ones).

Gladie - Future Spring

It feels like an affront against me, personally, that Gladie's upcoming tour skips Seattle completely. But maybe I'll go to Toronto at the beginning of May, even though I'm going back to Japan in the middle of May and spend all Summer living like a broke skid as a throwback to the last period of my life when I used to write this thing regularly.

Cave Dwellers - Bitter Branches

Nasty, brutish, and short (complimentary), which is appropriate for the lead off single from an album called Let's Give the Land Back to the Animals.

Angel Du$t - I'm the Outside

Thank you to Angel Du$t for letting me keep my "not-a-hardcore guy who loves hardcore bands that aren't hardcore enough for nerds" thing going into 2026.

Mirah - After the Rain

I liked the dance-y power pop of lead-off single "Catch My Breath," but this is what I think about when I think about Mirah. 25-years(!) after You Think It's Like This, but It's Really Like This, it's amazing to hear something that shows how much she's grown as a songwriter while still being instantaneously recognizable as Mirah.

now playing: Joyce Manor - Think I'm Still in Love With You

want to take your hand as we drive to the store/want to blow your mind, make you beg for more

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 21:53:00 +0000

There still isn't a ton of new music coming out yet, but here's a few albums that I wish I'd spent some more time with in 2025 (and that I will/have been in 2026):

Home Front - Watch It Die

Georgia Maq - God's Favourite EP

Esther Rose - Want

Eliza McLamb - Good Story

Joanna Robertson - Blurrr

Prewn - System

Runo Plum - Patching

now playing: Momma - Cross Your Heart

i'm just sand in an hourglass/i'm weighing down a burden

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 07:18:00 +0000

This year, I listened to more music and went to more shows than I have since before the pandemic started. It felt great.

This year I also switched from Spotify to Apple Music, but made a year-end playlist on all three platforms, so I had to fire up Tidal (which I tried out for a bit) and Spotify again. And it's too bad the Spotify guy deserves to be [REDACTED], because the Apple and Tidal UX make it seem like someone who hates music and wants to actively prevent anyone from having an enjoyable time listening to it designed them. A real Sophie's choice of how to make sure the artists you love don't get paid any money.

Anyways, here's all the albums, songs, and shows that I loved the most in 2025.

And here's a link to all of it on Apple Music, Tidal, and Spotify

Albums:

Snocaps - Snocaps

I didn't have a new Crutchfield sisters' album on my 2025 bingo card. But after a few days of semi-cryptic social media posts, there it was on Halloween. Apparently, they wrote the songs for over the course of a couple of months and then recorded it in a week.

It sounds like an album that was recorded in a week, in the very best way. That's the way Allison and Katie used to make records together and Snocaps manages to capture the same spirit of those albums from 10-15 years ago. It's still got some of the rough edges--that sound of living room shows and church basements. You can almost hear the fun they had when they made it.

But while it throws back to an earlier era of their respective music careers, they're not kids anymore. The wisdom of adulthood comes through in the songwriting. And the playing and singing (two things that I still love on those old Bad Banana and PS Eliot et al songs) just sounds better.

A new collaboration wasn't something I was thinking about at all, but it's everything I would've wished for.

Laura Stevenson - Late Great

Late Great might end up being my favourite Laura Stevenson record, but it also might end up being the one that I listen to the least. It's not like any of her previous records are really bursting with joy (although, there are certainly moments on each of them), but this one's just so fucking sad. And sometimes I feel sad. And when I do, the last thing I could think of listening to is 38-minutes of Laura Stevenson singing about her marriage disintegrating. But it's also her most beautiful sounding record. It's got some of her best songwriting to date. And it ends with the gorgeous, defiant little reprise of track one that feels like it's going to break me every time.

I wish I could've seen her play some of these songs this year, but also I don't like crying in public, so maybe it's for the best.

Wednesday - Bleeds

The other indie rock break up record, although this one only has one song that's about the break up (that one's a real heartbreaker though).

More important than the circumstances surrounding the writing and recording is that it might be the most Wednesday, Wednesday album. They've always kind of sounded like three or four different bands to me. And while you still notice the stylistic leap from "The Way Love Goes" to "Wasp," Bleeds really takes all of the different sides of the band and blends them together in a way that never really happened as often as I wanted it to on their previous records,.

Turnstile - NEVER ENOUGH

I have never been a hardcore guy, which means I don't have to be mad that Turnstile "isn't a hardcore band anymore." On the other side of it, I also don't care that this is "Glow On, part 2." That record was also very good. Give me more Glow On, man!

A true paradox to be a band that simultaneously changed too much and not enough. Maybe that's why they titled the album like they did.

Skullcrusher - And Your Song is Like a Circle

Proof that an album can be heavy as hell without being loud. And Your Song is Like a Circle is beautiful, haunting and feels like what would happen if you could be physically crushed by the weight of a whisper.

Night Shop - The Beloved Returns

I vaguely knew Justin Sullivan as "the guy who drummed in Babies," but even though this is his third Night Shop release, I had no idea he had this in him.

He has his own songwriting voice, but it's wild that Babies was Cassie Ramone songs and Kevin Morby songs when this dude was keeping time back there with equally good 00s indie rock tunes inside him.

Armand Hammer & The Alchemist - Mercy

Maybe one day these guys will make a middling record, but it sure as hell isn't going to be one of the ones they do with the Alchemist.

Samia - Bloodless

If this had come out later in 2025, I don't know if I would've picked it as one of my favourite records of the year, but it came out at the end of April and I've listened to it at least once a week since then.

Madi Diaz - Fatal Optimist

Madi Diaz has a knack for singing things that might sound too simple or even kinda cringey in the wrong hands ("my toxic trait is hanging on/your toxic trait is showing up"), but somehow she makes it work. And she makes it work here with just her voice and an acoustic guitar.

Ethel Cain - Perverts

Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You was the one with mostly songs and less ambient noise and I'll take this one that was mostly ambient noise and less proper songs by a nose. I love the experimental side of this record on its own, but the actual melodies also hit so much harder when they periodically escape from the drone.

Songs:

Wednesday - "Elderberry Wine"

Contrary to what I said about this album and the way it amalgamates all the faces of Wednesday together, this song's pretty straight ahead alt-country/Americana. But what a tune. "Said I wanna have your baby/cause I freckle and you tan" is my favourite lyric of the 2025 too.

Joyce Manor - "All My Friends Are So Depressed"

I have never really got into this band, so somebody tell me if they have more of these Smiths worship songs, because this one fucking rules.

Laura Stevenson - "I Couldn't Sleep"

I think you could argue that "Not Us" or maybe the signing-the-divorce-papers song or maybe a half dozen others were the saddest one off of Late Great, but my vote is for this one that's about being so excited about someone new, but then being kind of happy when it didn't make you feel much of anything in the end--the big relief of knowing that you actually don't have to let go of what's hurting you yet. It's got the best chorus on a record full of great choruses too.

Neko Case - "Wreck"

Anyone can write a love song proclaiming you're their whole world, but not many people can make you believe you're the centre of their entire solar system and vice versa. "Maybe I'm the sun to you/do I place freckles onto your face?/I bet, I bet, I bet I do."

My Wonderful Boyfriend - "I'm Your Man"

I kinda wish I had formatted this "Song Title" - Band Name instead, so this looked like a quote. Helluva song, also.

Snocaps - "Cherry Hard Candy"/"Brand New City"

One each with each twin taking a twirl on lead vocals from my favourite record of the year. "Cherry Hard Candy" has a little twang to it, but it's the first song that jumped off of Snocaps that really screamed "Katie's doing indie rock again." And "Brand New City" sounds like if you tried to re-write a Swearin' song to fit on Out in the Storm.

Suzie True - "Every Dog"

I could not escape this song whose lyrics I lived for many years, many years ago.

Flock of Dimes - "Long After Midnight"

I just wanna say that it's pretty rude that Flock of Dimes played in LA the same night I had Snocaps tickets instead of the night before or after, despite the fact that she made maybe the most beautiful song of the year.

Ethel Cain - "Nettles"

The Berries - "Angelus"

There's no big hook on this song. The chorus is super understated. And even when one of the guitars breaks into a little solo near the end, it's not particularly showy. But it's this pastiche of all the best parts of 80s radio rock (Tom Petty, Bruce, etc) and it grabbed me in the first 5-seconds and never let go.

Turnstile - "Birds"

Maybe the most straight ahead punk song on NEVER ENOUGH and for sure the sickest riff on NEVER ENOUGH. It also gave us one of the best Tiny Desk moments of all time.

Folk Bitch Trio - "Moth Song"

I'm still kinda sore that their winter tour had them go from California to fucking Winnipeg, two shows in Saskatchewan, and then Edmonton, but there was no Vancouver date. But there's the part in this song at around 3:50 when the violin starts swelling up behind the harmonized vocals and I can't be mad at anything in the world anymore until it ends.

Ransom, Boldy James, and Nicholas Craven feat. Young Chris - "Collection Plates"

Boldy and Ransom drop serious bars and Nicholas Cravens (Canada mentioned!) brings perhaps his best beat from amongst the many he made for James this year, which is saying a lot. But then out of nowhere--two decades after the last Young Gunz release--there's a Young Chris verse? And he absolutely kills it, starting off with a Raekwon/Purple Tape reference? My easy pick for rap song of the year.

Robyn - "Dopamine"

It's been seven years since the last Robyn record, so of course the lead off single to the next one was going to be a banger. "Dopamine," like basically every Robyn gem before it, is a dance floor filler, a singalong number, and an in-your-adolescent-feelings masterpiece.

Gladie - "Car Alarm"

I was trying to leave off songs that were singles from albums that we're going to get in 2026. One, cause I'll listen to and talk about them a ton next year. But also because there were just so many songs that I loved this year and I had to find some way to pare things down. But one of my favourite things in music is when Augusta Koch growls out a line so hard that it sounds like her voice is going to break right before she brings things back under control. And that happens on the second line of this song and it might be my favourite 2-seconds of recorded music in 2025.

Momma - "I Want You (Fever)"

Dream pop vocals over Smashing Pumpkins guitars soundtracking a love triangle call to arms: "everybody knows that this is going down/we're the talk of the town/pick up and leave her/I want you. Fever."

Militarie Gun - "B A D I D E A"

Chappell Roan reminded everyone that spelling is fun a couple of years ago and the Gun paired that with their "hardcore guys make a Guided by Voices album" thing to make another perfect pop song.

Editrix - "Flesh Debt"

I'm astounded that someone was able to convincingly make a math rock song sound very horny.

End It - "Life Sublime"

As previously mentioned, I am not a hardcore guy but I listen to this song and for 2-minutes I think that maybe I could be a hardcore guy.

Alexa Rose - "Anywhere, OH"

I'm a real city person. I simply do not get the charm of small towns. I love density and the hustle of a big city. And the idea of having to hop in a car just to get groceries or something sounds like Hell. But by the time this song ends, I'm convinced that, I too, could fall in love with some middle of nowhere place in Ohio after a 30-minute pit stop.

Great Grandpa - "Kid"

I love this song so much that I went backwards and listened to the rest of Great Grandpa's music and nothing's really grabbed me (terrible fucking band name also). But this song? This sprawling, cinematic, goddamn gorgeous 5-minutes of perfect orchestral pop? I've had it on repeat since I heard it.

Clipse feat. Tyler, the Creator - "P.O.V."

Listen, it was monumental to get a new Clipse album in 2025. A blessing to get Push back with Malice and have him drop the "No" and rap about drugs and cars and how you best not cross him again. But my fellow olds really overstated how good the actual album was (very good, but it's not a crime that it didn't make every year end list, grandpa!).

This track though? If this was all we'd got, I still would've been over the moon. You could tell Tyler was, because even though he made an excellent album of his own this year, he saved his best verse of 2025 for this guest spot with a couple of his heroes.

The Waterboys feat. Fiona Apple - "Letter from an Unknown Girlfriend"

This could be a Fiona Apple song. For starters, it's just her on both piano and vocals--no Waterboys in sight. But also "song sung from the perspective of a woman who dated Dennis Hopper" sounds like a Fiona Apple concept. It's the delivery though--she doesn't sing it like it's someone else's song--she sings it like it's escaping directly from her soul in that whisper to roar way that only Fiona Apple can.

Hamilton Leithauser - "Knockin' Heart"

After hearing "The Rat," I have believed that any song where Hamilton Leithauser gets loud is a good song and I have heard no evidence to the contrary since then.

Lucy Dacus - "Ankles"

The spiritual opposite to the Laura Stevenson song. If you've ever experienced the moment when someone you love platonically becomes someone you love romantically and the physical part actually lives up to everything, then you probably also love this song. If you haven't, you should give it a shot. Or, I guess you probably shouldn't if you're partnered up, but if you are and you did, you could live "I Want You (Fever)" too.

Sharp Pins - "I Don't Have the Heart"

Kai Slater put out two albums of perfect bedroom pop this year and this was my favourite song from either of them.

The Armed - "Sharp Teeth"

The Future is Here and Everything Needs to be Destroyed is the first Armed album that I really got and "Sharp Teeth" encapsulates everything that I loved about it.

Jeff Tweedy - "Enough"

How long should an album be in the streaming era? Back in the day, it made sense to cut things back so they fit on a single CD (two at most). But now? Why not turn on the firehose and give us everything? Between this and the last Wilco record, it seems like Tweedy's operating under the same philosophy. And look, there's more than a few skips on the three(!) Twilight Override discs, but there's also songs like this that remind you that Jeff Tweedy's been one of the planet's greatest songwriters for my entire adult life.

Skullcrusher - "March"

The album version and the video version (linked above) of this song are a little different. The latter's Helen Ballentine giving this song the live Cat Power Covers Record treatment--just her over top of some sparse, plunked out piano chords (although, the album version is pretty sparse too). And it's hard to decide which one breaks me harder.

Shows:

Snocaps w/Mike Krol @ the Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles, California

Two of my favourite musicians playing my favourite record of 2025 in full, plus some of my most beloved songs that I haven't heard live in years. I wrote about this show earlier this month.

Oasis @ Rogers Stadium, Toronto, Ontario

Who knows what's going to happen next. Maybe they'll keep doing this nostalgia tour until they hate each other again. Maybe they'll quit while they're ahead. But no matter what the future holds, there was this year when Oasis felt like the biggest and best band in the world again. I wrote about this show in August.

Rilo Kiley @ the Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC

In May, I was away from work for a couple weeks to embark on the most middle aged millennial vacation of all time, where I traveled to my family's ancestral homeland to surprise my aging parents on what my mom claimed would be their "last trip to Japan" (they went back in November lmao) and then rushed home in time to see the emo pop band I love on their first tour in almost two decades.

Both parts lived up to expectations.

Mannequin Pussy w/Gouge Away @ the Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC

Obviously, I like Mannequin Pussy. If I didn't, I wouldn't have bought tickets to this show. But I bought tickets, because I love Gouge Away's live show (a blessing to also see them with Chat Pile as well this year and with Wednesday next year) and thought I liked Mannequin Pussy fine enough. But holy shit, what a performance. I fucking love Mannequin Pussy now (a sentence I try to avoid saying out loud). I wrote about this show in July.

Piss w/Emma Goldman, Cherry Pick, and Perra @ the Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver, BC

I don't think my opinion on who Vancouver's best band is really carries much weight anymore (and it didn't carry a whole lot more back in the day either), but I'm pretty sure I would've thought Piss were Vancouver's best band at nearly any point in time when I was writing this blog on the regular the first time around too. I wrote about this show in November.

now playing: Counting Crows - A Long December

i was younger once/i'm holding on/i'm using up the break of dawn/your numbers called/you're long, long gone

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 09:10:00 +0000

I flew to LA on the weekend to watch Snocaps. It's something that wasn't really on my radar when the album dropped, but then Katie Crutchfield wrote that they were probably only ever going to play two shows each in Chicago (though they added a third there), LA, and NYC, plus Wilco's already sold out Sky Blue Sky festival in Mexico. And also that they'd be dipping into the Crutchfields' shared back catalog to play some PS Eliot, Swearin', Allison solo, and early Waxahatchee songs.

I figured, I'd pick up a ticket and then make up my mind later. But then, for some weird reason, the only Ticketmaster delivery option to Canada was by mail, so there I was with a physical ticket to a show 2,000 kilometres away, which was going to make my plan of "I'll sell it for cost if I don't go" a bit more challenging. Still, being out $50 was a lot less than flight and hotel. Also, it was pretty short notice to rustle up someone to go with me, so I would probably be soloing it.

But then one night (with the help of four or five beers at the Canucks game), I said "fuck it" and booked a flight.

Mike Krol (aka Allison Crutchfield's husband) opened, playing what he announced as his "only show this year."

He had Allison join him on stage for one song, after which he promised "another surprise later." At one point, passed a ladder onto the floor and asked an audience member to "set it up in the middle" before climbing up to sing from his new perch. He blew confetti into the crowd. And he very sweetly started crying when he talked about how happy he was to see and hear his wife singing again.

It was messy, a bit chaotic, at times beautiful, and fun as hell.

That other surprise was a doozy too, with Krol ceding the microphone to the other Crutchfield man, Kevin Morby, for a rendition of the Babies, "Mess Me Around."

The main event was everything I'd hoped for, with the band running through--spoiler--my favourite record of the year in full and throwing in three Waxahatchee and Swearin' songs each, plus four PS Eliot numbers.

Katie doesn't really play anything pre-Saint Cloud live anymore and I don't really know what the status of Swearin' is (but Allison has a full time gig working A&R at Anti Records these days). It's also been over 9-years since that mini PS Eliot reunion. So, just the novelty of hearing those songs live would've been enough, but they also sounded really, really good--sometimes better than the originals.

"Coast to Coast" didn't lose too much of it's pop-punk energy, but it kinda made it halfway to sounding like it might have a home on Saint Cloud or Tiger's Blood. It was close enough to the original that it still itched the nostalgia centre of my brain, but also, maybe we will get to hear some of those old songs on future Waxahatchee tours? Turns out some of them would fit with a little update.

And I love those old PS Eliot records, but the twins were so much younger and less practiced when they came out. None of the current renditions were overly polished, but they're just better at playing. Even more noticeable, and even compared to the PS Eliot reunion shows, Katie's a way better singer. I've always loved her voice, but it's so much more full and powerful now.

The last time Swearin' played in Vancouver--7-years ago--I captioned an Instagram post with, "I don't think there's any band I've listened to more in the last decade than Swearin'. And if I think about 2015 'til now, there's probably no one I've listened to more than Waxahatchee (except maybe Laura Stevenson).

Also, "Tennessee" is one of my favourite songs of all time and I've never heard it sound better than it did on Friday night. And that alone would've been worth the trip.

now playing: The Berries - Angelus

it took me a while to let it sink in/the way that you never say what you're really thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 07:03:00 +0000

We're getting pretty slow as far as new releases go, so there's not much recorded music to talk about this week.

I made it down to the Commodore on Tuesday for one of the three Pup shows though.

Honestly, I think every Pup record is "pretty good" (they kinda sit just outside my wheelhouse on the poppier side of the pop-punk equation), but they're fun as hell live.

Thanks to my friend Tyler for being a couple years older than me, so he could definitively say "I think I'm the oldest person here" instead of me.

Song of the week

Makthaverskan - Pity Party

This one could've been ripped straight off of the C86 comp.

Classic of the week

Oasis - Acquiesce (live in Toronto 2025)

Hell yeah, brother.

now playing: Snocaps - Avalanche

i don't have the heart to tell you/i've waited so long to be near you

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 21:25:00 +0000

Sometimes it's easy to forget that Vancouver's a sports city. Usually, it's because the Canucks are hapless and their ownership seems intent on keeping it that way. But if you give this place something--anything--to cheer for, they show up. And man, did everyone show up last night (and also the night before for the Goldeneyes opener).

BC Place is such a terrible venue for the Whitecaps for a variety of reasons, but even with the curtains blocking out the upper bowl, it's a cavern in there in the regular season. On the other hand, when it's filled to the brim with 55,000 people? When they're standing for all of extra time and the PKs? When the home team somehow gets it done after being down two guys for what seemed like an eternity? There's no place I'd rather be.

Since there's only one champion, sports inevitably involves so much heartbreak. Every season for every celebrating fanbase, there's exponentially more that have to go over the "why?" Some of them cheer for teams that couldn't even dream of getting that far.

Sometimes it makes you wonder why you bother.

And then there's a game like last night that makes you remember why it's all worth it.

Album of the week

Sharp Pins - Balloon, Balloon, Balloon

What if Uncle Bob had a reverb unit and a love of girl groups (or maybe the Byrds?) when he made all those classic Guided by Voices records?

There's 21-songs on this thing, but it clocks in at an economical 43-minutes and there are about a zillion hooks crammed in there.

Delightful stuff.

Song of the week

Gladie - Car Alarm

A thing I love is when Augusta Koch growls out a lyric so hard that it sounds like her voice is going to break before she inevitably reels it in. And that happens on this one during the opening couplet.

I think this might be a minority opinion, but I love Koch's work with Gladie even more than those Cayetana records and, while there's no album announcement yet, this single out on a new label (Get Better Records) almost surely means that there's a new one coming. It popped right to the top of my most anticipated list.

Classic of the week

The Stone Roses - She Bangs the Drums

That fucking bass line, man. There's the tapping on the high hat and then there's that bass line and then that shimmering, ringing guitar chord and then there's Ian singing one of the greatest love songs of all time.

But it's that bass line that holds everything together.

The bass lines really hold the whole album together--a 58-minute masterpiece that's locked in by one unimpeachable groove after another.

And then after the Roses were done, he lent his talents to the imperial era of Primal Scream and gave us this insane riff from "Kill All Hippies."

RIP, Mani.

More heat

Miya Folick - Maybe When I'm Ready

Conway the Machine feat. Roc Marciano - Diamonds

now playing: Pavement - Spit on a Stranger

you can call me if you feel something

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 08:25:00 +0000

I went to two very different shows last week.

On Thursday, I made it down to the Rickshaw for a sold out all Vancouver affair, headlined by (in my no longer very educated opinion) the city's best band: Piss. It was a great bill from top to bottom and it always rocks seeing locals sell out a big room.

Piss recently got back from a tour of the US and Europe and seeing the response/press/etc they've been receiving, maybe they're just going to start selling out big rooms now.

They make such loud, uncomfortable, and confrontational music, but they also seem like the nicest kids. Every time I've seen them, their set starts with a quick message about where to get ear plugs, masks, a request to look out for each other, and a warning that their music gets into some really dark territory. I would still love them if they just made great music, but they're also people you want to root for.

On Saturday, I went to the Biltmore for the first time in ages to see Madi Diaz.

I love her latest, Fatal Optimist, so it was a no brainer (it helps that I live about 10-minutes from the Biltmore too).

Since the album's so stripped back, the show was just Diaz and her guitar as well and it was a treat to hear both the Fatal Optimist tunes as they were recorded, plus a handful of songs from her other records given the bare bones treatment.

Shout out to the crowd, who kept the chatter to a minimum too.

Album of the week

Home Front - Watch It Die

I only recently found out that this band is one of the guys from Wednesday Night Heroes and one of the guys from Shout Out Out Out Out (they're a five piece live, but apparently it's just those two dudes in the studio). And if you've heard those two bands, then suddenly Home Front makes a ton of sense.

The formula of punk guy bellowing over synth pop maybe isn't supposed to work, but this record is loud, snotty, and fun as hell. There's depth here too. Sometimes things veer closer to pure pop and some songs get more industrial or even new wave.

They don't seem to have any big tour planned, but since the hail from Edmonton, hopefully they'll get over here at some point. It's the kind of album that seems like it would be even better live.

Song of the week

Robyn - Dopamine

I mean, if you give Robyn 7-years of time to write new music, she's going to give you a fucking banger, right?

"Dopamine" has all the hallmarks of a Robyn track--in lesser hands, it might come across as Robyn paint-by-numbers--but it still sounds fresh, new, and exciting.

It makes me wish I still "DJ'd" (played songs without mixing them), because I bet this one destroyed a zillion dance floors around the world this weekend.

Classic of the week

Enema Of The Garden State by Madi Diaz

Madi Diaz - Enema of the Garden State

This one kinda stretches the definition of "classic," since it's a brand new release, but it's also Madi covering a 26-year-old album in it's entirety.

Fatal Optimist producer, Andrew Maury, would turn on a 4-track when recording sessions started and let Diaz warm up with whatever she wanted. She was listening to a ton of Blink 182 while jogging at the time.

It was just something fun and wasn't something she intended to release, so some songs work better than others, but honestly they all sound great. And the one's that work, really work (I'm partial to her take on "Going Away to College").

Enema of the Garden State is a Bandcamp only release and all of the money from sales goes to the Defending Our Neighbors Fund.

More heat

Hiding Places - Holy Roller

Delaney Bailey - Nightshade

now playing: Suzie True - Every Dog

won't you sleep with me, every night for a week/won't you just let me pretend this is the love i need?

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Sun, 09 Nov 2025 10:36:00 +0000

I'm going to Los Angeles for the first time in well over a decade next month.

I fucking hate driving, so it's the last thing I want to do on vacation, which kinda bumps LA way down the list of places to visit, even though it checks off a lot of my other boxes.

But they've expanded the Metro so much and, well, Snocaps is only playing in three cities and Chicago's gonna be too cold. And both Chicago and NYC are going to be a little too expensive to fly in for just the weekend.

Over the last decade or so, the only act I've listened to more than Waxahatchee and Swearin' (plus all the related projects) is Laura Stevenson, so this one and done tour kinda ended up being a no brainer.

I've traveled for a ton of shows--I went to New York the last time the Crutchfield sisters toured together. And I've also traveled a fair amount by myself. But this one came up so quick that it's going to be the first time I've traveled for a show that I'm going to go to by myself.

I can't think of many other bands I'd do this for, but I wasn't going to miss this one. So here we go.

Album of the week

Armand Hammer & the Alchemist - Mercy

The billy woods record from this spring is incredible, but for whatever reason, I didn't spin it as much as I thought I would. But this one? Even though I've mostly been on a diet of all Snocaps all the time, I've already played this one enough to wear out a cassette tape (if those were still a thing).

These are distinctly Alchemist beats, but they still feel different from the tracks on Haram. Alan's still himself, but he's also so much more dialed into where billy and Elucid are going. These songs are dark and dense and they've got instrumentals to match

Song of the week

The Abramson Singers - Spider on the Moon

After a couple decades of loving her music, I hear Leah's voice multi-tracked and I'm instantaneously all in.

Classic of the week

Waxahatchee - Swan Dive

I was mostly joking when I posted on Instagram that if they play this song at the Snocaps show and I'm not there to hear it, I will die.

But also, Katie announcing via Substack that they'd be playing some Waxahatchee songs from the first four albums and none from the last 5-years on this tour, was one of the things that pushed me from "should I do this?" to "I should definitely do this."

I truly think the last two Waxahatchee records are the two best records she's ever put out. And all these old songs don't really fit in live with the tracks from Saint Cloud and Tiger's Blood, so it makes sense that they don't crack the setlist anymore. But that doesn't make me love them any less.

Maybe it won't be this one in particular. But maybe it'll be "Coast to Coast" or "Breathless" or "Air" or "Recite Remorse" or "Be Good." And I can't tell you how much I'd love to hear any of those live again.

More heat

Remember Sports - Bug

"Across the Line" sort of gave away that there was a new record coming, but now it's official: we're gonna get a new Remember Sports album the day before Valentine's.

This one sticks to the pop-punk thing they do best, but it throws a noisy Built to Spill (and also kinda Swearin') solo into the mix.

now playing: Snocaps - Coast

see-through box, i gotta let it go/“you can’t hurry love” plays on the stereo

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 06:17:00 +0000

Album of the week

Snocaps - Snocaps

Maybe it wasn't a total surprise--Katie and Allison had both been teasing something on Instagram for the last week or so. But pretty much out of nowhere, and for the first time since 2011 we've got a full album collaboration from the Crutchfield sisters. This time around they're backed up by MJ Lenderman and (Saint Cloud and Tiger's Blood producer) Brad Cook.

They're splitting the difference between Bad Banana and PS Eliot and sharing vocal duties on this thing, so I guess it's fitting that the band's operating under the brand new moniker, Snocaps.

Sonically, it's back in similar territory to what those bands shared. And hey, I love the last two Waxahatchee records--they're Katie's best under that project--but hearing her in scrappy indie rock mode is an even bigger treat, because it felt like something that wasn't going to happen again.

It's not just a retread of the music they were making a decade and a half ago though and you can hear that Tiger's Blood twang on songs like "Cherry Hard Candy." Elsewhere, "Brand New City" sounds like if Lenderman dropped in to lay down some riffs on a Swearin' song.

Swearin' might be my favourite band of the 2010s and Waxhatachee's not far behind, so it's going to take me awhile to digest this one properly, but I already love it after the first handful of listens.

Apparently, they have a few shows planned before the end of the year, so maybe I have one more trip to take in 2025.

Song of the week

Ratboys - Anywhere

"I'm going anywhere that you're going" kinda sounds like it might have a romantic lean to it, but the longer the lyrics go, the more there's kind of a creepy "Every Breath You Take" or "Standing Here" vibe to it... until you find out that's actually not a love song and it's inspired by Ratboys' guitarist, Dave Sagan's anxious pup.

Easily the best song of all time about a velcro dog.

"Anywhere" is the second single off of Singin' To An Empthy Chair, Ratboys first record since one of my favourite's of 2023, The Window. It's out on February 6th.

More heat

ROSALÍA with Björk and Yves Tumor - Berghain

A very cool song that somehow has an even cooler video.

Noname feat. Devin Morrison - Hundred Acres

Serious bars. And that piano, man.

now playing: Wednesday - The Way Love Goes

i know that I've been selfish and i ended it the first time/but maybe if it's different and we listen to the warning signs

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 06:11:00 +0000

Album of the week

Dazy - Bad Penny

James Goodson's a music PR guy who started putting out music under the Dazy moniker after COVID started, which honestly seems pretty rude, because the guy's way better at his side job than I've ever been at any job.

Goodson writes hooks and this surprise EP (that doesn't have anything to do with a Big Black cover) crams a zillion of them in an economical 21-minutes.

Song of the week

Sasami and Soccer Mommy - Just Be Friends (Soccer Mommy Version)

I liked the original version of this song from Sasami's May album, Blood on the Silver Screen just fine. But I fucking love this pop-country duet version. It's a good song no matter how it's dressed up, but the double vocals and that slide guitar really take things up a notch.

Classic of the week

Bikini Kill - Rebel Girl

My favourite song from 1993, the last time Toronto was in the World Series.

Go Jays.

More heat

Ekko Astral - Horseglue

Speaking of Bikini Kill, here's a band that sounds as vital as they did in '93.

Home Front - Eulogy

There's that hardcore sound, that synth pop song, and this largesse (complimentary) that kinda hangs over everything that makes this sound like it should be soundtracking an 80s coming-of-age movie (also complimentary). And (with respect to SNFU, the Smalls, Cadence Weapon and... uhh Shout Out Out Out Out, I guess?) they're from fucking Edmonton of all places.

Armand Hammer & the Alchemist w/Silka & Cleo Reed - Calypso Gene

"Super Nintendo" was fun as hell and a whole record like that would be a great one. But when I think of Armand Hammer getting together with the Alchemist, this is what I think of. I didn't get as into Golliwog, billy woods' solo effort from earlier this year, but I'm ready for this to be my favourite rap record of 2025.

now playing: Madi Diaz - Hope Less

what do i sing for? who do i sing for? don't ask me anymore

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 05:51:00 +0000

Album of the week

Skullcrusher - And Your Song is Like a Circle

Almost every review of a Skullcrusher release touches on the fact that, on first blush, Helen Ballentine doesn't make music that sounds like it was made by band called "Skullcrusher."

"Skullcrusher" sounds like it should be black metal outfit, which is sonically about as far as you can get from the actual Skullcrusher. But Ballentine's sparse, soft, and gorgeous music is still heavy as hell.

There's a grief that hangs over everything--a darkness. While it's not a ten ton riff hitting you over the head, the piano line at the end of "March," the one that comes after the lines "and now I feel forever pressing into me/beautiful, terrible," hammers down like it's trying to push you into the abyss. And even the lilting backing vocals on "Red Car" can't hold up the weight to keep the lead vocal afloat--it eventually fades out into the sound of waves crashing against the shore.

What a beautiful way to drown. I've been letting it wash over me all weekend.

Song of the week

Armand Hammer & The Alchemist - Super Nintendo

We've been blessed by Alchemist beats for nearly three decades. And it seems like we're blessed by an Armand Hammer release every two years. What a time to be alive (minus the rise of American fascism, the impending end of the world accelerated by war and intense power use so the hugest nerds alive can talk to their AI girlfriend or make the worst "art" I've ever seen, and every-fucking-thing else).

Classic of the week

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Wednesday - Game of Pricks (Guided by Voices cover)

Obviously, I was going to love this, but Karly Hartzman really does sound fucking perfect singing it--one of the all time great pop songs.

She wrote an incredible piece for Vulture on "The Way Love Goes" from my current record of the year, Bleeds, that nearly broke me in two as well.

More heat

Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore - Melted Moon

For the forthcoming Tragic Magic, ambient music's version of billy woods and ELUCID got hooked up with their version of the Alchemist: the thousands of historical instruments housed at the Philharmonie de Paris’ Musée de la Musique.

"Melted Moon" is our first preview from the record, out next January, and it's soaring, expansive, and beautiful. Pretty much exactly what you'd expect from these two.

runo plum - Pond

I find this song so sonically sooting even though:

This song came from feeling really stuck in a slump, feeling the height of the absence, the pain, and the loneliness. Wondering how there will ever be a time where it didn’t feel like this, and fighting with the internal voice that was telling me my best option was to not be on earth.

now playing: Wilco - Open Mind

i used to think that every word you said/was a little gift that I'd unwrap/and then start dreaming about the next one i might get

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Sun, 12 Oct 2025 22:01:00 +0000

Album of the week

Madi Diaz - Fatal Optimist

Madi Diaz's last record, Weird Faith, didn't exactly boast lush instrumentation, but just a year later she's back with Fatal Optimist, an album that's stripped right down to the studs--just Diaz's voice and acoustic guitar.

If you've listened to any of her records, you have an idea for what you're in for here. These are broken heart songs. Fuckin' dirges.

She's got a knack for speaking in really plain language, but delivering the words in a way that somehow makes them seem poignant. Everything is simple and raw and if you're caught in the right (or wrong?) mood, it'll hit like a truck.

I had a few too many beers watching the Canucks on Thursday night and came home and put this one on and it felt like being run over (a thing I actually have first hand experience with).

Madi's at the Biltmore on November 15th.

Song of the week

Lande Hekt - Favourite Pair of Shoes

Going all the way back to that first Muncie Girls record, if there's a Lande Hekt song, chances are I'm going to love it.

There's less power chords nowadays, but no matter how the songs are dressed up, they still soar.

More heat

Jay Som w/Hayley Williams - Past Lives

It's weird to say "Hayley Williams is finally getting her due," cause Paramore wasn't exactly unpopular, but it does seem like Hayley Williams is finally getting the respect she deserves. And it seems like she's celebrating by showing up everywhere she can and it fucking rocks.

This one's the last pre-release single from an unsurprisingly wonderful new Jay Som album.

Ragana & Drowse - Ash Souvenir

This album is going to be heavy is hell. The lead off single already fulfilled that promise, but this song is what I was really hoping for when I read about the collab between the black metal duo and the ambient noise guy. Maria Stocke finally breaks out into a scream in the final minute of this one, but it's a lot more of the drone-y Drowse side of the collaboration for the first 6-minutes. I guess it's still heavy as hell, but in the kind of quiet way that I love so much.

Weird Nightmare - Forever Elsewhere

I'm so here for one of the dudes from Metz doing his best Cloud Nothings impression.

Stella Donnelly - Year of Trouble

Since you've closed off to me, I've been on a lonely ride.

now playing: Tom Petty - Wildflowers

i'm glad that we stayed here for awhile/that we were here for awhile

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Sun, 05 Oct 2025 20:52:00 +0000

A short one this week.

Album of the week

Idlewild - Idlewild

If I'd been in a different headspace, I might have talked about the frenetic pop-punk that Snõõper put out on Worldwide this week. But Idlewild, at this point, feel so familiar that this one hit me like a warm hug. I'm actually not much of a hugger, but it's finally fall and it felt good to bundle myself up in something.

Song of the week

Remember Sports - Across the Line

The emo-pop/punk thing this band does so well, paired with the lil' twang in Carmen Perry's voice is my kryptonite.

Classic of the week

The Constantines - Young Lions

I've loved this song for so long. There's so much meaning packed into it and so many moments from years gone by crammed into the 4-minutes for me. Pretty recently, it started to make me think of something different and it's just weird to think about how something that's been a certain way for so long can suddenly become something else entirely.

More heat

Suzie True - Every Dog

"We used to drink at house shows/just to feel like we weren't alone... chain smoking in the backyard/fingers barely touching/I look up at your face/and I wish that you would touch me."

The first verse of this one really made the nostalgia machine fire into overdrive for me.

Dorothy - 50s Song

A pretty little tune that's true to its name.

Jennifer Walton - Miss America

Thanks to the great music writer, Laura Snapes, for tweeting for the first time in almost a year to give props to her current song of the year, this devastating ballad about how Jennifer Walton found out about her dad's death while in an airport hotel room.

now playing: The Get Up Kids - Holiday

purse your lips, let live die/i wanna eat you alive

noreply@blogger.com (Quinn) — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 07:50:00 +0000

Album of the week

Sprints - All That is Over

Sprints were all gas and no brakes on their debut (that just came out last year), Letter to Self. Some of the songs came out of the gates with a slow smoulder, but it felt like every one of the eleven tracks eventually exploded.

On All That is Over, there's a little more room to breathe. Opener, "Abandon," builds and swirls, but never escapes into orbit, but that doesn't make it any less compelling. In fact, the formerly uncharacteristic restraint just makes the songs where they really let loose sound that much bigger.

Lead single, "Descartes," is 3-minutes of heavy riffs and front woman Karla Chubb wailing. "Need," "Pieces," and "Coming Alive" bring similar energy, but they really pop, because they come after songs like "Better" and "Beg."

They're still heavy as hell, but it's not just because of the volume anymore.

Song of the week

Ratboys - Last Night Mountains All That

It took me until about my 20th listen of this song to realize it's six fucking minutes long. It makes sense in retrospect, because the band crams all of their best traits in: the big, poppy emo hooks, the deceptively big riffs, Julia Steiner straining against the din. But the tune just flies by like it's Guided by Voices length.

They're at the Biltmore on April 6th. Get tickets and call in sick for work on Tuesday.

Classic of the week

Sonic Youth - The Diamond Sea

Happy 30th birthday to Washing Machine and my favourite 20-minute SY banger that devolves (evolves?) into an ambient noise jam.

The 5-year, four album run from Goo to Washing Machine was so damn good and it's wild to think that they'd already done Bad Moon Rising to Daydream and did Murray Street to The Eternal after that (albeit on a slightly longer timeline for the last one).

More heat

Fiery Furnaces - Far Away

The Friedberger's re-released all-timer, Blueberry Boat, for a 500 copy vinyl run (that's already sold out--sorry) and it comes with this "lost" track. It's really just an older version of personal Furnaces fave, "Waiting to Know You," but if you're a fan of the band--and I'm a huge one--it's a fascinating window into what the Bitter Tea stand out would've sounded like if it made their magnum opus.

Parts Work - Trenton

I desperately want a new Hop Along record, but this EP from Frances Quinlan and Kyle Pulley (who engineered Hop Along's last album, Bark Your Head Off, Dog and plays in Thin Lips) will tide me over til then.

Sharp Pins - I Don't Have the Heart

Like Exploding Hearts meets those songs the Fountains of Wayne guy wrote for that movie (complimentary).

Alexa Rose - Anywhere, OH

The last thing we got from Alexa Rose was a Lucinda Williams cover, which made a ton of sense, because this one could've been plucked right off of Car Wheels.

now playing: Neko Case - Wreck