Over the weekend, Exclaim!'s Class of 2025 concert series was off to the races with an unrelenting first show from Accelerant, Gaijin Smash, Chinese Medicine and Palm Sander at the Monarch Tavern. This week, we're back in full force with a double dose of Toronto concerts proudly supported by Mary Brown's Chicken.
We return to the Monarch Tavern on Friday (January 10) and the Baby G on Saturday (January 11) with a family-forward slate of acts you can get to know below before they prove that blood can certainly be sicker than water.
January 10: Monarch Tavern
Hey! They are Your Grandad! Interpret this declaration how you wish, but the trio — billed as "alternative post-punk sweethearts" — are here to be your (grand)father figure, so gather 'round the stump while they weave you a tale about the olden times and impart their wisdom. It doesn't have to make sense; it just has to be bolstered by blistering riffs and shouting, the most timeless method of cross-generational communication.
Making the pilgrimage all the way from Montreal for a pint with Dan Burke? Shunk wouldn't shirk the opportunity. That's how excited they are about graduating, as well as their forthcoming album release this spring. Blending shoegaze, post-punk and dream pop influences into a "pro ears" sound as hard to pin down as their name, the quartet credit their city's lead water with "keeping everyone looking gorgeous and writing sick riffs for the past quarter century."
With the stony weight of history on their shoulders, Ancient Greece are architects of a future that doesn't forget. Through "raspy echoes, beating drums, guttural chords and melodic riffs," the band — who just released a self-titled EP last month — "weave tales of urban decay and what it means to be chewed up, swallowed alive, and come out the other end kicking and screaming," according to frontwoman Camille Jodoin-Eng. Don't miss out on the opportunity to see them emerge from a winter season cocooning in the studio.
Like Jean Valjean stealing that loaf of bread, this band reminds us that criminal activity is, ultimately, about kin. The Crime Family will prove to be guilty as charged for rocking in 2025 when they put out a record that's been nearly two years in the making — as well as when they show up and show out at Class Of, with hopes of meeting Mary Brown herself: "Someone told me she will be at all of the shows and I can't wait to thank her for all the years of good-tasting chicken," says vocalist-guitarist Lewis Cole.
January 11: Baby G
A genre-agnostic force in the Toronto scene, JUNO-nominated Tara Kannangara is currently channelling her powers into a vividly imaginative, profoundly sensitive brand of brown-girl indie pop. The singer-songwriter is working on the full-length follow-up to last year's Extraordinary People EP with producer Michael Fong. "We're trying to be slow and purposeful in building it," Kannangara explains. She's looking forward to reuniting with Angel Apricot at Class of 2025 after the two played a pre-pandemic show together where Apricot performed a "stunning" cover of Kannangara's "The House Where I Live."
Google search results reveal that there are a lot of bands called Blush, but we'll go out on a limb and say that this is the best one. Anyone in town who has managed to catch one of their "garage rock heartbreak anthem"-laden sets would likely corroborate, despite the incredibly high likelihood of one or more band members making awkward eye contact with their exes from the stage. Blush will release their first single in the spring, with an EP — and hopefully a Nardwuar interview — to follow.
Have you ever wondered what it would sound like if Santigold, Madonna, Beach House and Blood Orange had a baby? Wonder no more. The debut album from the project helmed by Saskatoon-born-and-raised singer-songwriter Elsa Gebremichael is set for release this year on Next Door Records and promises the fullest expression of her glittering '80s-inspired electropop. Wild Black sings the praises of DAW accessibility's impact on the music scene, telling Exclaim!, "There's now more opportunity to create, experiment, and capture our music in ways that are more self-sustaining and empowering, than ever before."
Creating lo-fi soundscapes as rosy-cheeked and pastel-hued as her namesake, Angel Apricot is the "soft grunge princess slowcore" bedroom pop project of Jane Paoletti. She's been working on her next record for quite some time, but it sounds like it could see a 2025 release: "I have so many projects sitting on my hard drive that I need to wrap up with the girlies, but hope to get it out this year!" Apricot is also looking forward to Leona Hell's Class Of set — a collaboration akin to the Weeknd headlining the Fortnite Festival game mode.
Find more details about this week's shows and the rest of this year's Class Of concert series, presented in partnership with the City of Toronto's music office, via the Facebook event links. Advance tickets are on sale now via Showclix.
Next up:
01/17 World News / OOZ / Leona Hell / Lavoro - Monarch Tavern
01/18 Amelia Maxwell / Kingdom of Birds / Scooter Jay / Taylor Holden - The Baby G