Smush, Sham Family, Gadfly, and BLVD NOIR
Smush - if you were here i'd be home now
Smush is the most exciting new band I’ve heard in 2024. I know very little about this Vancouver three piece except that I’m utterly smitten with their debut album, if you were here i'd be home now. The album has elements of shoegaze, emo, dream-pop, grunge, noise-rock, and art-rock. Did I get enough genres packed in there? Let me break it down… It boasts the fuzzy wall of noise and ethereal vocals thought of as “shoegaze”. It has the heart-on-your sleeve lyrics and juxtaposition from melodic to noisy akin to emo (there’s even some intense screaming moments). It has the hazy dreamscape ambiance of dream-pop. It has massive riffs fit for a stadium that remind me of the 90s. It’s a masterclass in feedback manipulation and features perfect interludes at the exact moments your mind needs a smoke break to settle down. I left my post as a Polaris juror this past year but if I was still there, I’d be fighting tooth and nail to get this album heard. Somebody sign this band and send them on the road now!
Sham Family - A Deaf Portrait of Peace
Toronto’s Sham Family exploded onto our radar in 2022 with their debut release, a four song self-titled EP. Now they return with their debut album and have solidified themselves as one of Canada’s most exciting new bands. Best described as a punk band, Sham Family blend post-punk, post-hardcore, and noise-rock to concoct a sound all their own. The sounds vary greatly from track to track, keeping the listener engaged and never falling into the trap of becoming predictable. Two standouts tracks, “Community Service” and “Born Again” are very different indeed, with the former sounding like a radio banger while the later dives into sonic experimentation and post-hardcore guitar interplay while chugging along with a krautrock-esque groove. This is an incredible punk record.
Gadfly - Sura
Gadfly is the grunge/metal hybrid project from Iran born, Vancouver based artist Homa Khoshnavaz. The project was conceptualized while Khoshnavaz was still living in Tehran, stewing with anger towards the brutal treatment of women in her country. After arriving in Vancouver in 2018, Khoshnavaz formed Gadfly and one of Vancouver’s best hard-rock acts was born. Six years later, we arrive at the sophomore album from Gadfly, Sura. The album shows immense growth in both songwriting and production. Heavy grunge-style riffs and ear-tingling metal solo’s are paired with a relentless rhythm section and Khoshnava’s heavy metal wail to make this a “can’t miss” album for all the rockers out there.
BLVD NOIR - Frog One / Hot Tub Zero
Calgary three piece, BLVD NOIR return with a new two-track release that further explores their incredible ability to assemble electronic tracks that sound fresh. Downtempo house music meets jam-band as they explore fun new approaches to electronic music. The congas are a warm touch that keep the listener grounded from full lift-off into the cosmic-electroverse on “Frog One”. But then the electric guitar work, psychedelic synths, and computer generated sounds on “Hot Tub Zero” blasts us off to space.
- Jeff MacCallum