It's that time again! Though last week was a short one, we're back with another batch of Exclaim!'s Staff Picks. This week's selections embody the contemptuous and tempestuous — and some downright sexiness. We're also excited to introduce you to a couple of newly minted projects on the rise from some familiar Canadian faces, as well as a debut co-signed by Coeur de pirate, and reintroduce you to one Vancouver indie band that are finally back.
Hey, you're kind of into music, right? If so, you might enjoy perusing even more new releases in our album reviews section.
The Chats
GET FUCKED
(Bargain Bin)
The call of contempt that titles the second full-length album from the Chats — now a seasoned crew set to play stadiums with Guns N' Roses later this year — stems less from the unfairness of "Mum Stole My Darts," and more from "The Price of Smokes." But that isn't to say the Aussie trio have mellowed, as GET FUCKED emphasizes their punchy punk with songs that flip the bird at mental health struggles, transit rent-a-cops, late direct deposits and lax job site safety.
Calum Slingerland
Naomi
Naomi
(Bravo musique)
Under the wing of Coeur de pirate's Béatrice Martin, multidisciplinary performer Naomi's mononymous debut as a singer-songwriter glimmers with a summery, Caribbean current. Not that you have to understand the language to feel her sensual, house-inflected club heaters, but the way she sings in English-entwined French sounds oddly satisfying, bending the likes of "simmer" and "doucement" into pseudo-rhyme on "Zéro stress" — with additional rhymes from cutest couples partner Rymz on the LP's closing R&B power ballad.
Megan LaPierre
Nora Kelly Band
Perfect Pig
(Sugma)
Alongside members of Fleece, Montreal's Nora Kelly steps away from the grungy post-punk stylings of her DISHPIT project to play some rootin'-tootin' alt-country tunes on Perfect Pig. (It feels pertinent to note that I was born in the Year of the Pig, and I am also perfect.) From the mournful tones of "Hymn for Agnostics" to the modern queering of "Jack & Diane" on fiddle-laced feminist romp "The Story of Nora & Sarah," Kelly sounds quite perfectly at home in this twangy vein, especially on the relatable mantra of "Loving Comes Easily to Me."
Megan LaPierre
The Soft Pink Truth
Was It Ever Real?
(Thrill Jockey)
Historically, Drew Daniel's music as the Soft Pink Truth has tended to subvert, turning genre exercises inside out with his confrontational electronics. On the luxurious and sensual Was It Ever Real?, Daniel opts instead to go all-in, crafting a sweat-soaked, spit-dripping EP of club music that leans into the fundamentals rather than try to dismantle them. The result is pure ecstasy; sex jams to dance to, dance music to fuck to.
Kaelen Bell
Twin River
When We Think About Time
(Light Organ)
Six years since their last album, 2016's Passing Shade, Vancouver's Twin River have pared down to their original duo lineup and returned with this six-song EP. It's not too big of a departure from what they've done before — straight-up indie rock tinged with melancholy and given a splash of reverb-y atmosphere — and serves as a very welcome reintroduction to the under-appreciated band.
Alex Hudson
Una Rose
"Partly"
(Independent)
Dazzling, chorus pedal-filled guitars grace "Partly," the first solo effort of Bodywash's Rosie Long Decter. Performing under her full first name Una Rose, her sweet yet effervescent vocals dance around the track, mirroring its depiction of partial desire. "Partly" also serves as the first taste of her debut solo EP Myth Between, out November 4.
Sydney Brasil
Hey, you're kind of into music, right? If so, you might enjoy perusing even more new releases in our album reviews section.
The Chats
GET FUCKED
(Bargain Bin)
The call of contempt that titles the second full-length album from the Chats — now a seasoned crew set to play stadiums with Guns N' Roses later this year — stems less from the unfairness of "Mum Stole My Darts," and more from "The Price of Smokes." But that isn't to say the Aussie trio have mellowed, as GET FUCKED emphasizes their punchy punk with songs that flip the bird at mental health struggles, transit rent-a-cops, late direct deposits and lax job site safety.
Calum Slingerland
Naomi
Naomi
(Bravo musique)
Under the wing of Coeur de pirate's Béatrice Martin, multidisciplinary performer Naomi's mononymous debut as a singer-songwriter glimmers with a summery, Caribbean current. Not that you have to understand the language to feel her sensual, house-inflected club heaters, but the way she sings in English-entwined French sounds oddly satisfying, bending the likes of "simmer" and "doucement" into pseudo-rhyme on "Zéro stress" — with additional rhymes from cutest couples partner Rymz on the LP's closing R&B power ballad.
Megan LaPierre
Nora Kelly Band
Perfect Pig
(Sugma)
Alongside members of Fleece, Montreal's Nora Kelly steps away from the grungy post-punk stylings of her DISHPIT project to play some rootin'-tootin' alt-country tunes on Perfect Pig. (It feels pertinent to note that I was born in the Year of the Pig, and I am also perfect.) From the mournful tones of "Hymn for Agnostics" to the modern queering of "Jack & Diane" on fiddle-laced feminist romp "The Story of Nora & Sarah," Kelly sounds quite perfectly at home in this twangy vein, especially on the relatable mantra of "Loving Comes Easily to Me."
Megan LaPierre
The Soft Pink Truth
Was It Ever Real?
(Thrill Jockey)
Historically, Drew Daniel's music as the Soft Pink Truth has tended to subvert, turning genre exercises inside out with his confrontational electronics. On the luxurious and sensual Was It Ever Real?, Daniel opts instead to go all-in, crafting a sweat-soaked, spit-dripping EP of club music that leans into the fundamentals rather than try to dismantle them. The result is pure ecstasy; sex jams to dance to, dance music to fuck to.
Kaelen Bell
Twin River
When We Think About Time
(Light Organ)
Six years since their last album, 2016's Passing Shade, Vancouver's Twin River have pared down to their original duo lineup and returned with this six-song EP. It's not too big of a departure from what they've done before — straight-up indie rock tinged with melancholy and given a splash of reverb-y atmosphere — and serves as a very welcome reintroduction to the under-appreciated band.
Alex Hudson
Una Rose
"Partly"
(Independent)
Dazzling, chorus pedal-filled guitars grace "Partly," the first solo effort of Bodywash's Rosie Long Decter. Performing under her full first name Una Rose, her sweet yet effervescent vocals dance around the track, mirroring its depiction of partial desire. "Partly" also serves as the first taste of her debut solo EP Myth Between, out November 4.
Sydney Brasil
