Stinkbox/MSTRBSTRD
Stinkbox
Why Eat the Rich with SKUMMILK //Independent
Toronto folk punks Stinkbox’s new barn burner EP Why Eat the Rich? doesn’t waste any time getting to the point. Its political messages come in hot from the spoken word opener by SKUMMILK straight through to the end. The songs explore anxiety, as well as Canada’s mistreatment of its indigenous peoples, police violence and other contemporary issues within Canada’s political landscape, but this album is still a lot of fun. The songs share much with those of the art collective’s fellow folk punk neighbours to the south Days N’ Daze. In similar fashion, the members of Stinkbox shred the hell out of a plethora of acoustic instruments such as violins, banjos, mandolins, harmonicas and acoustic guitars while a trumpet adds a brass accent. Five members are credited with vocals here, and while group vocals are part of the charm of this hootenanny, the fact that the EP’s four original songs come from four songwriters is what makes the mini album special.
With different lead vocalists from song to song, spoken word interludes and a random Lead Belly cover, Why Eat the Rich? could have been a disjointed disaster, but somehow everything fits together. Stinkbox refer to themselves as an “art and music collective that craves change in today’s political climate,” and the members’ apparent lack of ego helps the cause. The lead vocal mic shifts around the stage as the album progresses from song to song, and when the members aren’t singing lead they’re playing along sweatily and filling out the sound with gang vocals. The lead vocalists are wildly different from each other, but the band props everybody up, and the members' dedication to playing folk music together with punk ferocity keeps everything glued.
The album begins with a cutting spoken word piece from SKUMMILK about missing and murdered indigenous women that is both an impassioned call to arms and a tragic lament. Of the spoken word pieces, “Formaldehyde” is the most polished and has the most depth. SKUMMILK’s other contributions to the album are brief interludes that feel more like thoughts from a notebook proclaimed, but they are quick jolts to the system that align with the views that the band proudly display on their collective sleeve. Many of the songs on the album are noticeably faster here than on 2017’s Straight Outta Shithouse, earning the band their folk punk label. Stinkbox have not lost their knack for crafting folk punk anthems either, as the chorus “Why eat the rich when they don’t taste great, why eat the rich when you can burn ‘em at the stake” is impossible to not sing along to after a few passes.
Stinkbox are at their best when they’re cheeky, and the screamo-but-acoustic breakdown of “Familiar Foe” will stir up memories of mid-aughts sweaty (mosh) pits in the best way. “Ain’t Goin to Heaven” is delightfully absurd as its Elliott Brood-style intro is followed by Bambi Ogilvie singing crude lyrics that nod to The Exorcist’s cringiest lines like some kind of country punk Meatloaf before the song’s mantra-like outro of “one million dead cops” repeats over and over. The last bit of fun comes in the band’s cover of “Where Did You Sleep” as they begin the Lead Belly classic by flirting with Nirvana’s famous MTV Unplugged in New York version, before blasting off in their own style at break-neck speed.
Why Eat the Rich? is not for the faint of heart, but fans of politically-charged folk punk need look no further than Stinkbox when looking for a fix. Like some of the best punk rock of any sub genre, they critique harmful systems with red-hot vehemence, while working in a little wit and humility. The songs are as fun as they are seditious and with American politics hogging the spotlight recently, Why Eat the Rich? is a feisty reminder that the problems bleed over the border.
- Devon Dozlaw
MSTRBSTRD
Please Stand By // Further Beyond
In the summer of 2019, on a sunny morning, Shaedan Hawse and I sat in my car downtown before a day at the lake. He asked if I wanted to hear a track he was working on, a new idea for a future project that was unlike any of his previous releases. Already a fan of his dreamy acoustic works, I curiously listened as the track began to play throughout the car. Little then did I know that I was hearing the foundational pieces of what would become the introductory track to a collection of songs that would challenge the censorship and carefulness many artists choose to embody. The track that we listened to that day - which would ultimately become the first single ‘The Party’ - would introduce us to Hawse’s politically charged, experimental solo project and new moniker, MSTRBSTRD. From the beginning of the pandemic until November of 2020, Hawse would spend months tweaking and perfecting tracks late into the night to produce the ultimate labour of love in one of the most turbulent social and political climates of our lives - his debut album, Please Stand By.
As the inaugural release for Victoria-based upcoming label and art collective Further Beyond Records, Please Stand By feels not only like a bold, unrestricted statement addressing the global issues we as humans face, but also serves as a personal challenge to each listener to recognize their place within these constructs. The message is drilled deeper with each track consumed, with iconic samples featuring the likes of Oluwatoyin Salau, Dr. Cornel West, George Orwell and Fidel Castro. Other artists featured on the record include the Okanagan’s indie art-rocker Sun Choke, Shepperton, Australia’s vocalist Alistair Prentice, and Vancouver Island’s eclectic multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Oily James. Please Stand By effectively touches on sensitive and crucial topics such as institutionalized racism, the Black Lives Matter Movement, the Land Back Movement, economic failure, capitalism, and the militarization of police during the experience of a global pandemic.
While this album is essentially a platform blasting a spotlight onto social and political issues, it is delivered as a sensuous body of indie-electronic and hip-hop songs inspired by artists like Aphex Twin, Bon Iver, and Tyler, the Creator. The production of this album was executed exquisitely by Hawse, as lo-fi, guitar laden indie-pop tracks like ‘Lovely Place To Be’, ‘Passing.Trends’ and ‘Cactus Club Cowboy’ flow effortlessly in between dynamically energetic tracks like ‘The Party’, ‘Game Over’, and my personal favourite, ‘Busy’, which feels and sounds like stepping into an N64 game about the current state of the world. All of that being said, the two songs that truly stand out to me on this album are ‘For Oluwatoyin // For Tony’, and final track ‘Thank You Dr. West’, which both direct our attention to neo-fascism and violent racism in America from the perspectives of Dr. Cornell West and late BLM activist Oluwatoyin Salau. The vocal samples are laid atop somber and powerful synth tracks, highlighting the speech in a way that allows every word to soak in deeply.
Please Stand By is also an album for charity. MSTRBSTRD aims to forward all profit made from streaming and merchandise to charities and organizations that directly give to BIPOC communities and LGBTQ+ individuals, which is even more of a reason to purchase or listen to this outstanding record.
- LG
