Swamp Thing, Hot Garbage, and Archspire
Swamp Thing
World War Swamp // Urbnet
Halloween has come and gone, but the spirit of spookiness still lies inside all of us – baited for materialization at any moment. All that matters is we have the mindset to enter that fantasy of monsters, ghosts, and goblins. Segway to Swamp Thing, the musical trifecta of Toronto-based rappers Timbuktu, Chokeules, & Savilion. Their newest album, World War Swamp was released just for the Halloween season, a tradition of the project for the last decade.
Inspired by the history of horror, from classic Universal monsters to the campy B-films of the 20th century’s end with a hint of comic book homage (such as the project sharing a name with the DC Comics character). With interludes of old films, eerie chimes, and a beat laden bagpipe in the second track, “Full War Gear”, World War Swamp isn’t afraid to utilize instruments unassociated with hip-hop and show how well they fit.
As I dive deeper in the lore of Canadian rap, I begin to notice reoccurring artists, such as featured artist Ghettosocks, whom I had heard before in Tachichi’s Gremmy Sip, another horror inspired rap album. It’s amazing to see how tight knit these communities are and it’s a treat to see these artists keep showing up. World War Swamp also features artists Worldburglar, More Or Les, and Bazooka Joe 204.
In the album's third track, “Ghost Orchid”, there’s a lyric that caught my eye – “A lotus only grows in the mud”. Poetry aside I looked this up and they couldn’t be more correct – lotus flowers indeed only grow in mud. I’ve learnt a lot through rap music, but never before in the field of botany. For fans of horror, hot bars, and catchy science lessons, World War Swamp is a 13-track masterpiece that will leave you jumping back through their decade long discography in anticipation of their next Halloween release.
- Brandon Kruze
Hot Garbage
RIDE // Mothland
Toronto’s hypnotizing psych outfit Hot Garbage is back with the release of their latest effort, RIDE. Produced by Graham Walsh of Holy Fuck at Toronto spaces Palace Sound and Basketball 4 Life, RIDE feels like being inside a colourful seventies lava lamp - plus fuzz pedals. Seeping with bold, textured guitar tones, marching percussion and mysterious and captivating vocals, Hot Garbage delivers grungy psych-rock on this album that makes you feel like a badass while you’re listening to it.
Akin to the sounds of Kikagaku Moyo and L.A. Witch, Hot Garbage turn over winding guitar melodies, bold bass lines and anchoring percussion that just keeps on driving song after song. That being said, this album also pleasantly bears a subtle creepy surf undertone (think Seattle’s La Luz) on tracks like “Rinsed”, which puts forward electric, organ-like synth and “She Figured It Out”, where staircase style guitar riffs, steady drums and distantly reverb soaked vocals breathe life into what might be the most peculiar song on the album. Keeping within the realm of their previous considerable releases Max Blonda (2017) and Coco’s Paradise (2019), RIDE contains songs that have the structure and formula of a carefully constructed track, yet feel like one big, organic psychedelic jam. Another sizeable difference from previous releases to RIDE is the amount of vocal presence per song. Each song captivates listeners using interesting lyrics and melodies coupled with the tonal contrast between Juliana and Alessandro Carlevaris, singers and siblings in the band.
One aspect of RIDE that can’t go unmentioned is the brilliant production by Graham Walsh and the mastering by James Plotkin. Each track is packed with textures and colourful sounds that are masterfully placed within the mix, encompassing the listener in a bewitching experience.
Hot Garbage totally nailed it with this release, and anyone wanting a complex listening experience while simultaneously having their brain rattled around in their head should definitely listen to RIDE.
- LG
Archspire
Bleed The Future // Season of Mist
Technical Death Metal is about as bizarre and unique as music gets, and since 2014, Archspire have proved themselves to be one of a kind within the sub genre. The Vancouver band released their first album, The Lucid Collective in 2014, and immediately turned heads with their speed and mind boggling vocal patterns. Three years later in 2017, Archspire would go on to release Relentless Mutation, the album that really started to gain them traction to a global audience. This release saw Spencer's blast beats get even faster than before, and the complexity of the guitar work soar to new heights! Not only that, but Oli’s explosive, rap like vocals became much more refined, and almost serves as an instrument of it’s own with surprising percussion. These vocals were even noticed by Jason Mamoa, who had Oli teach him a thing or two about war cries for his role in 2019’s See where the rest of Archspire appeared in the first episode!
With all of these things considered, Archspire had quite a hefty task at hand to try and compete with the masterful work they have already put out. I think it’s very safe to say that Archspire kicked it up a notch on their 2021 release Bleed The Future! The band had toured relentlessly (pun intended) around Relentless Mutation, and were able to observe how crowds would react to certain parts in their songs. This information was incredibly useful for the band, in that they had a better idea of what the fans wanted to hear more of on Bleed The Future. Archspire somehow found a way to push the bar even higher when it comes to speed, complex song writing, and sheer brutality, while sprinkling in a few beautiful bassline interludes in there for a nice sense of balance. The band created their fastest song to date in the album closer “A.U.M.”, which opens with a humorous sound bite, calling to bring back the violence in the music, I think that was achieved. This album has a general theme throughout the lyrics. The nightmarish sci-fi concept is about humans giving birth to non humans, the horrific effects it has on the host, and raises some moral questions that make the listener think.
Archspire now have a whole new arsenal of songs go unleash on their fans in a live setting, and must be foaming at the mouth to get out and tour around the new album. It’s bound to happen, so keep your eyes peeled for when they roll through your city!
- Justin Olson
