This cassingle from local experimental pop outfit Raleigh is an older one, featuring a track off their 2017 LP Powerhouse Bloom, alongside a cover of the Frank Ocean song "Ivy." Both sides are suitably dreamy - and we have to take a moment to remark on the excellent, abstract painting-like guitar solo that Brock Geiger lays down on the A side.
We're not sure where you can get a copy of this cassingle, but Raleigh's other LPs are over on their bandcamp.
This 2020 tape on Half Rabid Records is maybe a out of line with their more recent offerings - the Ringwalds play fun pop-punk in the tradition of Chixdiggit and all those Fat Wreck Chords bands. Based on that description, you're expecting upbeat, peppy singalongs, right? The Ringwalds deliver just that.
Buy the tape or get the download from the Ringwalds' bandcamp.
In amongst the resurgence of Calgary hardcore are a bunch of young kids - both in the pit at shows and on stage. We first saw Silly Bike at MomentsFest in Siksika last summer - they're loud and crude, and this tape kicks off with a good indication of where things are going with the track "Very Horny." It's kind of juvenile - but given their age, maybe that's okay?
We're not sure where you can get this other than one of Silly Bike's shows - maybe hit them up on Instagram?
There's been an amazing resurgence of hardcore bands in Calgary over the past year, a bunch of them centered around the Half Rabid label. Driven by an amazingly precise drummer and fronted by a singer who has at least a bit of Iggy Pop in him (or at least a penchant for getting accidentally bloodied at shows), Urethane rages hard. This tape is a good one.
Get the download from the Urethane bandcamp.
Pretty much anything associated with the Pee Blood group ends up on our list of favourites, and Yankee Cowboy is no different. We know the band is made up of folks from Vacuum Rebuilders and the Puppet Wipes, but we're not exactly who (we could probably ask Arielle McQuaig, but that seems like an obvious way to go). Like many things Pee Blood, Yankee Cowboy is delightfully ramshackle, low-fi punk - and also very, very fun. These songs feel like they should fall apart at some point, but they hold together really well - so well that tracks like "Me & Pinocchio" are likely to get stuck in your head.
Get the tape via the Pee Blood bandcamp.
If you're after some harsh electronic noise, Met Glas have just the thing for you. Coming out of the Public Assembly System/Aught Void scene and Featuring Kale van Reekum, this tape squelches and shrieks through it's seven tracks.
This was a limited edition of 20, but you can get the download from the Met Glas bandcamp.
