Stylus magazine Summer 2025 (June/July/Aug/Sep)

ALL PHOTOS THIS PAGE BY MAT KLEISINGER FROM REAL LOVE SUMMER FEST 2025

BONIFACE LIVING HOUR

OUR FRIEND OSCAR

FRANKIE COSMOS

PRADO

Production Team

Keeley Braunstein-Black editor@stylusmagazine ca

Assistant Editor

Lucas Cole (they/them) is an Anishnaabe-mixed artist from Couchiching First Nation on Treaty 3 territory and is currently living in Winnipeg, MB on Treaty 1 territory.

Notable for their exhibition ‘Giiwe; Chasing Wild Strawberries’, Lucas’ work challenges patriarchal violence and draws powerful parallels to the exploitation of feminism and the land.

Maggie A . Clark assistanteditor@stylusmagazine .ca

Art Director Kelly Campbell design@stylusmagazine ca

Cover Art

Lucas Cole

Advertising Contact Rob Schmidt manager@ckuw ca

Print by JRS Print Services . . . 204-232-3558

Contributors

Bradi Breckman

Sam Doucet

Liam Walker

Jakob Spence

Jonah Strassel

Kim Wiesner Mykhailo Vil’yamson

Mat Kleisinger

Stylus is published bi–monthly by CKUW 95 .9 FM, with a circulation of 2,500 Stylus serves as the program guide to 95 9FM CKUW and will reflect the many musical communities it supports within Winnipeg and beyond Stylus strives to provide coverage of music that is not normally written about in the mainstream media Stylus acts as a vehicle for the work of new writers, photographers and artists, including members of the University of Winnipeg, of CKUW and of the Winnipeg community at large Stylus reserves the right to refuse to print material, specifically, that of a racist, homophobic or sexist nature All submissions may be edited and become the property of Stylus All opinions expressed in Stylus are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors Contributions in the form of articles, reviews, letters, photos and graphics are welcome and should be sent with contact information to:

Stylus Magazine

Bulman Student Centre, University of Winnipeg 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9

Writing submissions: editor@stylusmagazine ca Graphics submissions: design@stylusmagazine .ca www stylusmagazine

Blah Blah Blah

*** Elio Ugrin at the Handsome Daughter on Sep 7 *** Chris Cohen at the Winnipeg Art Gallery Rooftop on Sep . 10 *** Northern Royals, Pennysleeve at Blue Note Park on Sep . 11 *** Matt Foster + Sam Singer and the Beautiful Movers at Blue Note Park on Sep . 12 *** Naduh at Sidestage on Sep . 12 *** Valley Narrow, Leddwyn, The Soundoff at the Handsome Daughter on Sep . 12 *** Ray the Nihilist at the Handsome Daughter on Sep . 13 *** Death Cassette, Peachbreach, Guilty Sleep at Blue Note Park on Sep . 13 *** Diaphanie, Laura Lucas + Xander Boulard at the Handsome Daughter on Sep . 19 *** Show Pony + Prairie + Cassette Ghost at Times Change(d) on Sep . 19 *** Great Wealth EP release at the Handsome Daughter on Sep . 20 *** Vox Populi album release at the West End Cultural Centre on Sep . 20 *** Car 287 Album Release at Blue Note Park on Sep . 20 *** Fundraiser for MB Fire Refugees at the West

End Cultural Centre on Sep . 21 *** Prowl at the Handsome Daughter on Sep . 25 *** Victim of Fire at the Handsome Daughter on Sep . 22 *** Bells Larsen with Dom & Jacob at the Handsome Daughter on Sep 23 *** Kate Voegele & Tyler Hilton at the West End Cultural Centre on Sep . 24 *** Martin Sexton at the West End Cultural Centre on Sep . 29 *** Guy Davis with Big Dave McLean at the West End Cultural Centre on Oct . 1 *** Marrissa Burwell at the Handsome Daughter on Oct . 2 *** Carolyn Mark, Old Seed + Keri Latimer at Times Change(d) on Oct . 2 *** Johnny 2 Fingers + Poison Suckers at Times Change(d) on Oct . 4 *** Rachael Kilgour at the West End Cultural Centre on Oct . 4 *** Kristin Key at the West End Cultural Centre on Oct . 5 *** Nahla Moon + The Setting Sons at the Handsome Daughter on Oct . 7 *** The Jins at the Handsome Daughter on Oct . 8 *** Jonothan Richaman at the West End Cultural

Live Music Happenings

Centre on Oct . 11 *** Leith Ross at Park Theatre on Oct 17 & 18 *** JayWood album release at the West End Cultural Centre on Oct . 20 *** Greenwing with Sleeptalker + Merin at the Handsome Daughter on Oct . 24 *** El Boludo Del Rock 4 at the West End Cultural Centre on Oct . 24 *** Kaonashi at the Handsome Daughter on Oct . 26 *** Osani at the West End Cultural Centre on Oct . 30 *** Romi Mayes at Times Change(d) on Oct . 30 *** TEEN MORTGAGE at Sidestage on Nov . 4 *** Didirri at Public Domain on Nov . 6 *** The Pairs at the West End Cultural Centre on Nov . 8 *** Georgia Harmer at the Park Theatre on Nov . 29

*** Maryland Street Fest Sep . 6 *** SOS FEST Sep . 11- 13 *** Harvest Moon Festival in Clearwater, MB Sep . 12-14 *** BreakOut West Sep . 24-28 *** send+receive festival Oct 15-19 ***

Letter from the editors

After 36 years and 204 issues, it is with heavy hearts that we announce that Stylus Magazine may be coming to a close.

CKUW, our parent station, has been experiencing budgetary and financial difficulties owing to the drop in student enrollment and a protracted disagreement with the University of Winnipeg Students’ Association over the amount of their annual remittance. As a result, they have decided to cut Stylus’ funding.

Luckily, this decision did not take

immediate effect. We are still funded through this issue and the next — but after that, who knows? Keeley is looking into other options for continuing this publication in some alternate form, but as of now we can’t promise anything. Look out for a follow-up announcement in the next issue, by which time we will hopefully know more.

We also wanted to offer you, dear readers, the chance to make yourselves heard. Feel free to send Maggie (email address in the masthead) any of your questions, comments, reflections, or

cherished memories from the annals of Stylus history, etc., and we’ll publish them in our October/November issue. We do, however, reserve the right to edit submissions for clarity, conciseness, and content.

Thanks as always for your continued support. We hope this is not the end.

Best wishes,

Keeley Braunstein-Black

Maggie A. Clark

Kelly Campbell

Manitoba Metalfest 2025

SAM DOUCET

Some things change, some things don’t. Winnipeg has gained and lost untold bands, venues, and concertgoers over the years, and though a shiny new toy always turns heads, it is heartening to be able to bank on ol’ reliable. To wit, quickly becoming the most reliable event on the Winnipeg cultural calendar is Manitoba Metalfest, which in early May once again drew in hundreds of black-clad ne’er-do-wells to the Park Theatre. Hell, even the venue itself, which has hosted the (usually) two-day affair for many years, has undergone a few facelifts and even birthed a satellite venue next door. But unperturbed by the constantly changing world around it, Metalfest continues to provide excitement and comfort in equal measure under the stewardship of Ninjacat Productions’ Cory Thomas.

Following last year’s three-day beast of a fest was never going to be an easy task, but getting the chance to do so was not an opportunity these bands were going to sneeze at. As always, bigname touring acts provide excitement and sell tickets, and local outfits eagerly fill out the line-up and play to larger, rowdier crowds than usual. The 2025 edition of Manitoba Metalfest demonstrated a knack for catering to a diverse set of metal tastes while staying true to the styles that have underpinned heavy genres for decades.

The weekend was kicked off by the rough-and-tumble death metal stylings of Defenestration, a new-ish Winnipeg quartet currently riding the wake of their excellent debut EP Mortal Cremation. That four-song offering — whose title leads one to wonder what other kinds of cremation there are — caught my ear in a big way, chiefly due to its over-the-top fuzzy production

that makes it seem like it was recorded underwater. As is frequently the case with old-school death metal sets, it was a no-frills affair, with stage banter and individual flair eschewed in favour of tortured growls and crushing riffs.

Up next, an almost too-obvious pairing with the opener, was Regurgitated Guts, stalwarts of Winnipeg death metal for several years now. As well-traveled members of other prolific bands, RG have not spent much time in the studio since their formation, but are always a sure bet for an opening slot when heavy-hitting death metal bands pass through town. With a crowd primed for crunchy riffs and nightmarishly-delivered vocals, they delivered as promised.

The first out-of-towner act to grace the Park Theatre’s stage was Calgary’s Dying Remains, a relatively new trio signed to Maggot Stomp Records, a leading light in death metal that sounds exactly like its name would suggest. Now, I’ve long held the belief that death metal has a very high enjoyment floor. That is to say, even bad death metal bands are usually palatable, whereas, for instance, there are untold hundreds of straight-up terrible black metal projects. I’m sorry to say that Dying Remains bear out my belief — I found their set to be static and unmemorable. Not enough variety in tempos, tone, or riffage. But even the most tedious death metal offers ample opportunities to bang one’s head, and in spite of my gripes, I was given that privilege.

Vancouver’s ATRÆ BILIS steered us into the latter half of the evening with a set of forward-thinking tech death that stopped short of the pinpoint-precise wizardry that would be on display on

night two. Their two albums Apexapien and Aumicide, released on the usually meat-and-potatoes label 20 Buck Spin, offer a dissonant but focused approach to death, with glimpses of tremolo needlework but the grounded songwriting of a band that can still paint within the lines. They delivered on stage, with a style of death metal that was challenging but still dumb enough to fit in with the loutish moshing.

Now, what came next was a change of pace in both musical styles, historical background, and audience expectation. The mighty Malefaction, once a leading light in Winnipeg’s extreme music underground, took the stage for their first show since — you guessed it — a previous one-off appearance at the 2010 edition of Manitoba Metalfest. Only this time, undaunted by rust and ripening, the four-piece appears to be primed to stick around, pairing their keenly-anticipated set with the release of their first album in 22 years, aptly titled Rebirth. Already, a follow-up performance is scheduled for late August, when Japanese legends Unholy Grave roll through Winnipeg.

Future plans aside, Malefaction’s return was responsible for a noticeable tremor in the Metalfest crowd. Not only were there more than a few well-seasoned (revving up my euphemism machine here) faces in the crowd, but eagleeyed members of the press noticed some heartwarming multi-generational attendees as well, which I can only assume included children, parents, and other family and friends of the band. A band reforming after essentially two decades of hiatus sometimes means that one or two members got bored and hired some pals to pad the lineup — and such ersatz reunions inspire the same kind of responses. But Malefac-

tion staged their rebirth with the exact same faces that put Winnipeg grind on the map in the 1990s, and the significance of this event was evidently not lost on their supporters old and new.

Their brand of punk-rooted grindcore took the room by storm, on a night where theatrics and fluff were clearly surplus to requirements. They ripped through one- and two-minute songs at an admirable pace, pausing only for vocalist Travis Tomchuk to deliver occasional context to their lyrics, such as deploring the spread of misogynistic influencers online and delivering a land acknowledgement — a rare and refreshing action by a band during a live set. Many death metal aficionados, myself for one, became fans of the genre through the punk backdoor, always looking for faster and angrier versions of our old favourites. Malefaction provided the decidedly deathloving crowd with a stripped-down, no-nonsense onslaught that delighted old-heads and greenhorns alike.

Night one’s headliner was a band that has spilled lots of ink since their 2019 eruption on the scene — Columbus, Ohio’s Sanguisugabogg. Many would characterize them as the prime example of so-called “caveman death,” i.e., the unabashedly lowbrow variety of death metal that delights in goregrind-esque aesthetics, brutal down-tuned guitars, pingy snares, and more questionable moustaches than you can be bothered to count. They’ve been accused of prioritizing style over substance in the past — especially in their early days when their novelty merch items outnumbered their musical output by several orders of magnitude — but have since released two well-received full-length albums with another on the way this fall. Ultimately, as the saying goes, it does what it says on the tin: Bogg delivered a set worthy of a festival headliner, with breakdowns and blast beats as far as the ear could hear. A funny — and wholesome — inclu-

sion was the vocalist chiming in about the Jets’ ongoing game against the Dallas Stars and asking the crowd if they “watched puck.” The Jets did win that night — as did the audience on hand at the Park Theatre. One more win was yet to come the following day, which is more than what the Jets could muster during those playoffs.

The “back nine” of 2025’s festival was an even more closely-curated affair than the deathy-death-death first night, owing to the fact that all five out-oftown acts were touring together. Earning the sole local opening spot was fresh-faced deathcore act Spineless, no doubt wanting to make the most of a particularly momentous opportunity. My own tastes steer clear of the offerings Spineless presented to the early Saturday crowd, but some well-placed black metal influence and an emotionally-charged doomy showstopper with a guest vocalist gave me a good deal to appreciate from this outfit, poised for success in Winnipeg to be sure.

The first of the aforementioned touring cavalry to step onto the stage was France’s Fractal Universe, who ply their trade in a refined, jazz-influenced progressive metal, light-years away from the gurgling gore and zombie tropes of their frequent stagemates. For the first time at this year’s Metalfest, the crowd was having a hard time getting a handle on what they were seeing, with clean vocals and a few skronky saxophone passages providing a significant change of pace and tone to proceedings, though not in an unwelcome way.

Decrepit Birth came on next, staking their claim as the most old-school of the embarrassment of tech-death riches on hand that evening. With a sound firmly rooted in classic American brutality in the vein of Suffocation and Deeds of Flesh, they swung the pendulum back to the grizzly, depraved brutality that got the crowd moving. Funnily enough, this was the first set to feature one of the frontmen hyping

up Shredfest (the name of the tour) and asking us how we were enjoying it, awkwardly forgetting that they were, in fact, playing a different fest called Manitoba something-or-other.

With three bands left before the conclusion of 2025’s Metalfest, brutal death masterminds Origin came forth and delivered the set of the weekend, bar none. Now, it’s almost cliché for a review of a brutal/technical death metal set to highlight the performance of the drummer, so I won’t be doing that. Not often enough do we shout out the work of the humble bassist, and Origin’s Mike Flores had me so spellbound with his impossibly fast and meticulous fingerwork that I at times forgot he had three bandmates. Make no mistake, the rest of the band is just as impressive, and their forty-five minutes was a non-stop onslaught of uncompromising numbers. I feel like it’s lazy journalism to tell you to seek out a video of Mike Flores playing bass, but I’ll stake my Pulitzer nomination on it — go to your favourite video-sharing website and feast your eyes on his unbelievable skills.

I know I made mention of cheap reunion gimmicks above, and I was thus wary of how Atheist’s set was going to come across. Here we had a band that released a trio of pioneering progressive death/thrash albums in the early ’90s that all other bands on the bill will cite as influences. Since reforming in 2010, they’ve done their fair share of touring, but upon their arrival in Winnipeg this time around, vocalist Kelly Shaefer was the only original member, and his supporting cast featured only one member who was even alive when they dropped Piece of Time. To his credit, Shaefer recruited the help of young musicians making serious waves in the progressive death underground, notably the guitarist Jerry Witunsky of Ancient Death and drummer Dylan Marks of VoidCeremony. My suspicions did

not take long to evaporate as Atheist launched into their set, well-populated with some of their most beloved hits from their salad days. Shaefer seemed to be having the time of his life, and his hired hands were putting their youthful chops to good use and delivering spirited performances. Maybe legacy bands aren’t inherently evil after all?

The cherry on top of Manitoba Metalfest’s sundae was Germany’s Obscura, who have been trading on the name of Gorguts’ seminal 1998 tech death heel turn since 2002. Having recently

LIVE BAIT

The sunburn on the back of my neck was grateful for the reprieve of a chilly auditorium. Earlier in the afternoon, I had been walking the picket line with the workers of Battlefield Equipment Rentals (members of Operating Engineers Local 987), and though I remembered to bring water, I forgot to apply sunscreen.

(Speaking of, did you know that you can just go to the picket line when there’s an ongoing strike? Nobody stops you! When you take time to shoot the shit with the workers, you end up with a more informed perspective of their struggle than the accounts you’ll find in the mainstream press. I highly recommend it! Call me an idealist if you like, but I really do believe we could build a better future if only we found some way for the workers of the world to unite.)

In a similar expression of unity, Jorge Requena Ramos and Cam Scott — two artistic directors who, a week earlier, had been rival candidates in Winnipeg South Centre for the NDP and Communist Party, respectively — set aside their political differences to introduce the evening’s performers.

released their seventh album A Sonication on Nuclear Blast, they’re at the top of their game and hard to begrudge the headlining spot, though I knew following the last two sets would be a tall order. Calling it a lead balloon would be a bit harsh, as it’s hard to fault them on any specific point, but I feel their sound lacks the sheer power of Origin and the bright catchiness of Atheist, leaving a somewhat middle-of-theroad tech death experience on stage.

As always, Cory Thomas did a bangup job wrangling touring acts and pair-

ing them with local flavour for another successful edition of Manitoba Metalfest, this time with the satellite venue Sidestage serving as the merch area (and Jets viewing party). Who knows what’s to come next year? Shrewd Metalfesters will keep their eyes out for North American tours being announced this fall. But I’m going to throw a few Canadian names out into the void and hope for Mitochondrion, Adversarial, Tomb Mold, or Spectral Wound to be among the names on the poster.

Carl Stone and Akaihirume at the West End Cultural Centre, May 8, 2025

Carl Stone and Akaihirume were in town to perform their hourlong ambient composition “Re:Gendo,” a piece that Ramos hoped would instill in the audience a “capacity to look at your city in a poetic way.” The screen behind him (and soon thereafter, the musicians) cycled through a slideshow of gorgeous digital photography of Tokyo — its alleyways, kiosks, public transit, interiors of restaurants, crowds.

The music started at exactly 8:20:16 pm. I know this because a navigation bar was visible at the top of the screen. Stone tapped a few buttons, initiating a mellow yet uneasy synth melody as he reached into his pocket to remove a tissue or kerchief and place it on the table next to him. (I don’t imagine this last aspect was a deliberate inclusion, but I can’t discount the possibility. It’s not unprecedented for artistic performances to be scripted to that level of detail!)

The pictures onscreen warped and waved, one image pixelating into the next. The colours separated from their physical structures and extended outward as if grasping toward us, the crossfades hinting at an interconnect-

edness and fluidity of place.

Field recordings of public spaces soon entered the fray. It was at this point that the quadraphonic speaker setup made itself known. A cacophony of voices, footsteps on pavement, a parading brass band, bells, the general clatter of urban life resounded through the hall in a dizzying and beautiful array.

For what felt like ten minutes, Akaihirume had been sitting there silently, awaiting her cue to warble wordlessly, plaintively. She punctuated her tune with occasional exhales and guttural moans that crescendoed over what remained of the hour into a discordant wail. It did not escape my notice that the navigation bar had once again appeared, identifying Stone’s DAW of choice as REAPER. The artifice had begun to shatter itself.

But the most stirring moment — in an evening full of them — was a video clip of people walking kaleidoscopically through a Tokyo intersection, their faces too distant to read. It took all my restraint not to weep. Lo, how small we are individually but how powerful as a mass.

MAGGIE A . CLARK

At this point in the day, the market had already wrapped and I still had another hour before the concert started. I’d taken enough photos of Hunter putting away chairs, so I thought I’d go out and kill some time. This is Portage la Prairie, after all. I figured if I was going to be here for the day, why not take a walk down Main Street and soak in some of that small town charm while I looked for somewhere quaint to get a coffee?

After walking for a while, I started to realize how similar it was to the city — completely dominated by chains, vastly outnumbering any small local businesses. It was definitely a lot cleaner than Winnipeg, though, but despite that it felt even more desolate. It was 6 pm and I hardly remember seeing any other pedestrians. I eventually gave up trying to find a decent local diner and went to the Tim Hortons.

You have to wonder: what is there even to do in a town like this?

I’m not the first to ask. In fact, this exact question seemed to have been posed by the organizers of the day’s event, people who’ve gotten tired of country music and spending Saturdays

at the local Walmart. Among Portage la Prairie’s younger generation, many have gotten together and made something for themselves to do: a punk youth concert and market.

The lead organizer of the event was Hunter Schmidt, a local hardcore/ screamo musician who seemed to be at the centre of the night. Not even a year out of high school, Hunter has already organized four other similar punk music events, all with free admission. If he’s able to break even at all, it’s through the donations of others, of which there are usually a lot. The people clearly want this — maybe even need this.

As Hunter explained to me, these are far from the first punk events to have taken place in Portage la Prairie. In fact, the town has had a proud history of punk; it being the hometown of The Naked Midgets, Jan Ek, and most prominently, Propagandhi. But the scene seemed to have gone into remission when the pandemic hit, before Hunter got the chance to be a part of it. Since then, he and several others have attended Winnipeg hardcore shows and became inspired to host their own in Portage la Prairie, kickstarting a new wave of punk for the town.

Portage la Prairie Youth Punk Concert and Market

May 3, 2025

The May 3 event started with a market in the afternoon until the early evening. All throughout the Masonic Hall, artists were hosting tables, selling their work. For sale were paintings, drawings, photography, custom clothing, and more, all of exceptional quality and artistry. While there, I got a chance to meet each of the artists, and they — as well as the organizers and bands — couldn’t have been more welcoming. That’s something you notice right away about the PLP punk scene: the inclusivity, with an especial lean towards queer friendliness.

As the day moved forward, the market wrapped and the concert began to be set-up. Performing tonight were Lockjaw, The Beataps, GTO JUDGE, and Leavesliketinyflames.

All of the bands put on a great performance, each of them feeding off the intense energy of the crowd. There were at least a hundred people in attendance, but being in it, it felt twice the size. The crowd’s immense passion for the music often gave way to dancing and spontaneous moshing.

As great as all the bands were, the standout had to be Leavesliketinyflames. To me, they felt like the most emblematic of the event, being local to PLP and prominently featuring Hunter on guitar. They had a stage presence that draws you in right away, which their music and personalities live up to. There was a liveliness to them that could be felt through the entire event. They were alive, all of them.

It’s been a few weeks, the market and concert having long since wrapped. I’d forgotten how, but I found myself back in Portage la Prairie. I decided I’d head back down to the Masonic Hall, now empty, and from there take another walk down the same street. Everything looked mostly the same, but it all seemed to have been a bit brighter than before.

BRADI BRECKMAN

OMBIIGIZI Vocalist Adam Sturgeon at the Winnipeg Folk Festival

On Friday, July 11, I had the pleasure of interviewing Adam Sturgeon, vocalist of the Ontario-based indie rock band OMBIIGIZI. Sturgeon performs with Status/Non-Status in addition to having joined with Daniel Monkman of Zoon to create OMBIIGIZI. The band released their sophomore album  SHAME in late 2024. The album garnered attention from the CBC and thrilled the band’s loyal fanbase. OMBIIGIZI performed in the early afternoon on Friday (before the interview) and took part in Folk Fest workshops on the following Saturday and Sunday. Sturgeon and company’s unique music kept the energy of the festival up throughout the weekend trials of smoke and heat.

Stylus: How was your experience playing at the Winnipeg Folk Festival today?

Adam Sturgeon (AS): It’s been great. I’ve been so surprised and overwhelmed by the size of the festival; I think it’s the second largest [folk festival] in North America. I’ve played a lot of festivals, but this is the largest and most beautiful one I’ve been to, which is a really pleasant surprise!

Stylus: That’s great to hear! How are you finding the atmosphere here compared to the other festivals you’ve played at?

AS: It’s really good, but we played in the afternoon, so a lot of people were sitting, which isn’t always what we would want to do as a rock band. It would be nice to play in the night when everyone is partying next time. But the truth is we’re not really partiers either, so in a way it makes sense, and I am

having a really nice time.

Stylus: I was lucky enough to catch that afternoon set today . You played some songs from your most recent album SHAME, and you closed the show with the lead single off the album, “Connecting . ” Could you talk a little about why you chose to finish with that song and what the inspiration behind it is?

AS: The idea of the song “Connecting” is actually about how disconnected the circumstances of the world make us. So, you always have to make the most of it. That’s a big part of what we are doing in our project: trying to make the most of any circumstance we find ourselves in. The lyrics “Here I am, yes I can, when I am, if I am” represent the confusing battle of life right now. A lot of people are in a place where they’re just trying to get by and get through; they’re not sure what the future holds, and the world is like a shrinking violet. “Connecting” is about being disconnected and trying to get through it. It’s big tech meets putting your feet in the grass. Does that make any sense?

Stylus: I think so! The show today had a mix of songs like “Connecting” from your latest album, and tracks from your first record, Sewn Back Together .  Did your style or sound change between your production of the albums?

AS: Yeah, definitely. When we went to record the first record, what we thought was going to happen was we were going to take the best of Zoon and the best of Status/Non-Status, and amplify that. But our producer Kevin [Drew] from Broken Social Scene was like,

“No, we have to start fresh.” So, all the songs we had prepared to go into the studio were wiped off the table, and we needed to start something new. I think that that was a cool thing to set a new course, but it allowed us to later make a sophomore album that does feel more like what we do. There are more angles and there’s more grit. The first album was more about the content than the sonic elements, per se.

Stylus: On the topics of style and substance, it’s interesting to note that before you formed OMBIIGIZI in 2021, you and Monkman had your solo projects: Status/Non-Status, and Zoon . How was the experience merging your styles into one cohesive project?

AS: It is definitely an interesting experience. It’s nice that we always have our things to go back to. When you have multiple cooks in a kitchen, you need to find a new way to create your recipes. There’s a little more, not compromise or leeway, but the benefit of putting two minds together. We talk about how sometimes in our solo projects we can just get mired in the details, whereas if it’s two people or a group of people, we can work through adversities differently. It’s a pretty cool experience and it creates a more robust flavour for the music.

Stylus: That’s great . I read in a previous interview that your shared Anishinaabe culture is part of what brought the Status/Non-Status and Zoon projects together . In what way does your culture inform your music and your experiences as performers?

AS: Well, it’s a part of who and what

we are every day. But we grew up listening to indie rock and musicians like Beck and Sonic Youth, so for us it’s more in the nuances of our music, the lyrical content more than the sonic. We played a song today, “Street Names and Land Claims,” where at the end we sang the lyrics, “Way high up, way high up, we go,” and for us it’s actually a powwow song. I’m not sure if anyone even necessarily hears that though, so we kind of slide it in sideways as opposed to trying to be some cultural experts or knowledge keepers. Our band name means “to be noisy” and in a cacophonous way, where we don’t always know what we’re saying. I think that Indigenous artists are put on an unfair pedestal where we have to be the “super knowledge keepers.” We do have an intrinsic knowledge, but it’s a lot of pressure to be under, whereas certain other artists can just write about their significant others or something, and not have to have the pressure of an entire people on their back. That can cause a lot of damage, so we try to protect ourselves through nuance in our music. I’m wearing running shoes, not my moccasins today, but I do have some beads on. I’m not playing [the] show for anybody; it’s not the Wild West show for us. Sometimes we will fall into that trap, as Indigenous people, to give the other people what they want. I understand, and I’m not being judgmental, but it’s something that we are aware of.

Stylus: That makes a lot of sense, thank you . You brought up your band name, OMBIIGIZI, and how it means “to be noisy” in Anishinaabemowin . What impact does language have on your music? Are there certain messages that change depending on the language that they are in?

AS: Yes, absolutely. But to that point of

the weight of our people on our backs, we are also learners. So, we’re using simple tools to create a broad spectrum for ourselves. It’s not that we know everything about our language, per se. Culture and language are a big part of [our] way of life. I believe that as an Indigenous person, I think differently than other strangers in the room at times, so what I love about bringing our language out is the simplicity; we almost always make everyone say our band name with us because it’s about mutual respect and supporting you for who you are and me for who I am. We also do want to represent our people because we are underrepresented in the mainstream, but we are also overrepresented in the trauma. I drove down Main Street here a few days ago — are you from Winnipeg?

Stylus: Yes

AS: It’s very tough to see. It’s a lot of Indigenous people out there who don’t have the support that they need. We’re very fortunate that we get to make art. Art is like a whole step forward; it’s a privilege for us. If we could go throw a show down there [Main Street] for folks, I’m sure that they’d really like it, you know? If someone could help us do that, that would be a way to put ourselves together in a good way. I don’t know if that has anything to do with language, though.

Stylus: It’s a great message . You include some of your moral and political messages in your songs, such as “Street Names and Land Claims,” on the album SHAME How do you feel that music, and the arts, can impact politics?

AS: I think music has lost its ability to be revolutionary in a manner, or maybe it never was, but you have to do it. You see music being scapegoated and

stolen for political leanings from time to time, but what’s cool about music is that you can take your own meaning from it, and it doesn’t have to be what I, as the songwriter, meant it to be. It can be something that you relate to. It took a long time for people to even begin to relate to my music. I think it’s a hard time to get people to listen to what others are saying about the world. We’re witnessing genocides to this day, and the space that’s being given to Indigenous people is also being taken away from other Indigenous people in the same breath, and it’s the same people that are supporting it. So, I just don’t know. I don’t think it’s there, but I’d like to hope it is.

Stylus: I hope so too I like the idea of people having different takeaways from your music, but if you had to boil it down, what is one message you’d want listeners to take away from  SHAME?

AS: That it’s okay. It’s not supposed to be shameful; it’s just working through the shame of our experiences. It’s seeing it from all sides and using it as a tool to overcome.

Stylus: Last question, can we expect anything from OMBIIGIZI or you personally in the near future? Are there any upcoming releases or performances?

AS: I think because we just put out SHAME in the last year, we’ll be moving back into some Zoon stuff and some Status/Non-Status stuff. I’m finishing up a lot of Status/NonStatus stuff right now, so I’ll be doing a lot of that next year, while we prepare more OMBIIGIZI stuff.

MAGGIE A . CLARK

Future Leppard Zeppelin Twain: The Music of Indie Ball

Insert snappy lede here.

Look — you all read the editorial. You know this is probably the second-last Stylus you’ll ever read, and I’m down in the dumps about it! Cut me some slack.

But you know what always cheers me up during times of immense distress? That’s right: baseball!

Going to one (1) Winnipeg Goldeyes game a summer with my friends Dasha, Izzi, and Jo has become something of an annual tradition — in the sense that this is the second time we’ve done this and all “annual traditions” gotta start somewhere, right? On the evening of June 17, we took in the action as the fearsome fishies took on their despised rivals, the Sioux Falls Canaries.

Before the game, I started workshopping a riff about how you could call these guys the Sioux Falls Detransitioners — on account of how they were founded as the Canaries but changed their name to the Fighting Pheasants in the early 2010s before changing it right back a few years later. But I couldn’t quite nail the wording or intonation when I was practicing it aloud to myself alone in my apartment, so I didn’t bring it up.

Instead, I had some silly notion that I’d review all the players’ walk-up songs in the same manner that one might review, say, a two- or three-month-old concert for Stylus Magazine. I brought my notepad and a pen to the ballpark for this purpose.

The hometown heroes took to the field to the tune of “Wolves” by KAAZE and Sam Tinnesz featuring Silverberg, and here I cosign my friends’ derisive comments. Jo described it as

“a fusion of Imagine Dragons, Hozier, and Marshmello,” while Izzi said it was something one might play at a party to disguise being “embarrassed about listening to stomp-clap.” In other words, it was overwrought as hell and, accordingly, failed as hype music. Furthermore, I’m sorry — “when the wolves come out to play?” Within the fiction of your team identity, aren’t you guys supposed to be fish? Wouldn’t something like Heart’s “Barracuda” have been more appropriate?

Even more confusing was what happened next. As if in preemptive standing ovation, the crowd rose to its feet for the American and Canadian national anthems. What the hell? Those songs don’t even slap! My comrades and I remained seated, unsure what to make of it.

Soon after came the well-worn sounds of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song,” presumably the entry music for starting pitcher Landen Bourassa. Zeppelin’s just one of those bands that embodies Goethe’s comment that “[e] verything which has produced a great effect can really no longer be judged.”

To be honest, I can’t attest that Goethe ever said this; I am simply taking Walter Benjamin’s word for it. But you know the type. The Beatles, the Stones, Zeppelin, U2, Radiohead — every possible opinion a person could have about these guys has already been exhausted and it’s boring even to bring them up. Pass.

Leading off for the Fish in the bottom of the first was third baseman Ramón Bramasco, who came out to Harry Styles’ “Golden,” a song about which I have no opinion. Nor, for that matter, do I much remember what I thought

of “Abatido” by Farruko x Makaco “El Cerebro” — Roby Enriquez’s selection — other than perhaps “yeah, sure.” I’m pretty high on Latin pop as a walk-up music genre, quite likely because it’s one that doesn’t get much radio play up here, so I’m less likely to be bludgeoned with it in the aisles of Shoppers Drug Mart.

With Bramasco singling and Enriquez smacking a double to right field, star slugger Max Murphy entered the game with two runners in scoring position — an excellent start sadly undermined by Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” At first, I was mildly amused to hear this cock rock stinker in a context that wasn’t “in the car with my dad,” but the feeling quickly faded. The song looped back around to being insufferable in record time. It’s a good thing that Murphy’s the team’s all-time franchise leader in home runs and the closest thing they have to a “fan favourite” at the moment, or I’d have been inclined to DFA him on the spot. [Editor’s note: “designation for assignment” is a concept that only applies at the major league level — and certainly not to the American Association of Professional Baseball. Maggie is deploying it here for comic effect.]

Murphy grounded out to Canaries second baseman Trevor Achenbach, driving in Bramasco from third and giving the Goldeyes a lead they would not relinquish. Looking back at my notes here, I don’t have much to say about the rest of the lineup’s musical tastes, other than that “You’re Still the One” by Shania Twain (Jacob Robson) was an inspired choice; “Ski” by Future (Keshawn Lynch) was the least grating overall; and that I wish Andy Armstrong had stuck with last year’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man

After Midnight)” instead of swapping it out for “Kashmir.” A Zeppelin twofer. Delightful.

The Fish padded their lead in the third with a Max Murphy homer that prompted the playing of Green Day’s “Holiday.” I guess this was because his slugging power had earned him an allexpenses-paid, one-way trip around the basepaths.

But if you were expecting this Herculean feat to be accompanied — as the song implied — with some time off, you’d be mistaken: Murphy was back in right field the very next inning. Credit to skipper Logan Watkins for not allowing the stadium DJ to influence his managerial decisions. For all the style points he would have received for thematic consistency, there is simply no reason to take your team’s best hitter out of the lineup with six innings left to play in a two-run game. In between innings and during pitching changes, the Goldeyes’ army of teen

“fan services reps” would hop up on the dugout and dance while the PA system churned out the latest pop hits. And though I would be delighted if I never had to hear Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” again in my life, I could take solace in the fact that at least I heard less of it than usual. The version played that evening was censored, awkwardly blurring out the “damn” from “no one’s touched me there in a [blank] hot minute.”

Now, normally, I wouldn’t think of the “damn” word as being too risqué for public consumption. Then again, we’re talking about a song that is ostensibly about sex but which has all the erotic sensibility of an Old Navy commercial, so: fair play, honestly.

Let’s skip to the seventh inning stretch and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” A stone-cold classic. Unimpeachable. Gets even funnier when you learn that the guys who wrote it had never even been to a baseball game at the time, so

they were just taking the piss. “‘Root, root, root for the home team,’ eh? Yeah, I bet those mouth-breathing hogs’ll eat this right up.” And more than a century later, we still do!

Or, at least, I did — until Dasha pointed out that the audio track wasn’t synched correctly, causing a phantom “fifth bar” to appear right as it looped back to the start of the chorus. That’s very shoddy work, probably, and I’m mad about this for some reason!

By the top of the ninth inning, the Canaries were trailing by six and the margin proved to be insurmountable. Down to the final out, Matt Ruiz hit a soft hopper right into shortstop Andy Armstrong’s glove to end the game on a routine 6-3 putout. As we headed to the exits, the crowd was serenaded one last time with the Merrie Melodies closing theme. Porky Pig’s classic phrase put it better than this critic could. “That’s all, folks.”

Bella Vista Nights @ King Cob Market Pub

WORDS & PHOTOS BY MYKHAILO VIL’YAMSON

On a warm afternoon under the newly installed pergola of King Cob Market Pub’s patio, I sat down with an Interlake Brewing Hoppy Pelican pale ale and KCMP owner Darryl Friesen. Located directly beside the West End Cultural Centre (WECC), the pub launched “Bella Vista Nights” this past February — offering live music every Wednesday at 8 pm, with no cover.

Stylus: When did King Cob first open, and what was the original vision of the place?

Darryl: We opened last year on Friday, September 13. That’s a lucky day for me. So, we consider all Friday the 13ths as our birthday. As for the original vision, the idea was to have a neigh-

bourhood pub, where you find a lot of different people coming together. It’s something that there are very few of in the city. To be a neighbourhood pub, it should be something you can walk to. I find it funny when people ask me what my demographic is. I say, “anyone and everybody.” It’s the neighbourhood. The West End is probably one of the most diverse communities in Winnipeg. We get a good spectrum of people, and they’re liking it and feel comfortable here.

Stylus: What’s your connection to music? And why the name “Bella Vista” for your weekly live music events?

Darryl: I just like music, and find that

small, more intimate spaces let artists shine in a different way. I used to go to Bella Vista all the time. It was a corner restaurant bar. They used to have live music there, and you just walked in — no cover. It was a nice place to go to, hang out, have a few beers, and listen to some music. So, I wanted to create something here as a tribute to them.

Stylus: In your opinion, is there anything unique about the Winnipeg music scene?

Darryl: It’s a small city in the middle of nowhere. We’re stuck in wintertime, so there are a lot of people creating beautiful things — whether it’s music or art or film.

Stylus: Unity through struggle?

Darryl: Yes [laughs].

Stylus: What’s your connection to CKUW, and what would you say to those who claim that “radio is dead?”

Darryl: I’m still one of those guys that listens to radio all the time. For me, priority always goes to the college stations, which are community-run. They find all these gems. My brother has a show on CKUW — he’s had one there for 20 years. There’s so much music out there, but too often we’re only hearing a small amount of it because of programming algorithms on streaming services and Top 40 stations.

Stylus: What type of music should people expect to hear if they were to walk in off Ellis on a Wednesday night?

Darryl: A wide range of things. We’ve had electronica, punk,

jazz, and a lot of singersongwriter stuff. We try and promote original and eclectic music — not somebody doing a lot of covers.

Stylus: One last question: why do you think folks should support local bands, bars and breweries?

Darryl: Because they should. These people are going to go on to do bigger and better things, and without those kinds of places, they don’t really have a chance to get their feet wet. As for King Cob, we feature a lot of local music, [we have] all local beers on tap, and we have local artists on the walls. I also have my own server for playing music here, and over half of the music is local. Beyond that, it’s a

great little place to hang out and meet people.

Check out King Cob Market Pub for yourself at 580 Ellice Avenue, right next to the WECC.

King Cob Market Pub owner, Darryl Friesen

Empaths in Retrograde Space Jam:

JONAH STRASSEL

On our way to witness greatness in the form of a jam, we were stuffed together into a small car, windows fogged up from heavy breathing, the dim purple street lights reflecting off our glasses, and we were en route to set foot inside the Empaths in Retrograde jam space. We parked in front of what we can only assume is the correct address. It was a frigid winter night along the roads of Winnipeg, and immediately upon stepping foot outside of the vehicle, I almost slipped, in a drawn-out Chaplinesque way. Catching my balance, wine in hand, I make my way towards the side door of the house. “Surely we are in the right place,” I say as I gesture towards the heavy rockin’ sounds emanating from behind the door. A single light shone above it, signalling us to “come on in.”

PHOTOS BY JAKOB SPENCE

A scene that should have felt just like walking into the Copacabana was quickly interrupted by the imme diate distrust and interrogation we received from the home’s guard dog, Banjo. After a few sniffs and a couple of licks, the pooch was tamed, and it was all aboard the love train. The basement air was thick with incense, and the band was completely surrounded by stacks of high-powered amps and their entire perimeter was drizzled in quickly changing coloured lights and wooden walls with “softly touching drumsticks” all adding to the ever-cool vibe of the locale. The band is conducted by the fat, groovy bass lines of The Ampersand (whose home we were in), fueled in between glasses of red wine by Ryan Whiskey’s crunchy guitar licks, and steered by the blistering drumming of Curtis Ullman against the back wall. The power and sheer devious wit of Snarky Remarkable’s voice and lyrics billow out from behind the long sweaty hair in his mouth and eyes.

A band I have seen before and whose

members I have become acquainted with over the past couple of years somehow managed to pack a little surprise for us: the sudden appearance of a new member joining the party, the one and only Nate Sheridan. A truly gifted and talented man, having lent a hand in many musical projects around the city, it was surprising to see him all set up with his keyboard off to the side, silent and focused, adding a cosmic undertone to the sound not yet heard before. It was an exciting moment. They tell me this

is Nate’s second rehearsal.

Banjo’s barking in between songs about drugstores, smiling because it feels good, monkeys, and cigarettes filled the sweaty, dank, purple-lit basement in no time as the band did their absolute best to impress the fine folks intruding into their personal, very private rehearsal time. The band was getting ready for their big album release show at the Osborne Taphouse, so synchronicity among players is a must.

CAT EMPIRE SHOW REVIEW

WINNIPEG FOLK FEST 7/12/25

Some folks say these dudes put the “pathetic” back in “empathetic,” but I say anyone who feels that way must retrograde their own thoughts and feelings and come back with an open mind, ready to dance and feel and smile like never before. These guys are fantastic and a hell of a bunch to hang around. Always a good time in the presence of like-minded individuals just down for a good time.

In front of a crowd of swaying, blingedout festival totems and funky outfits, the Winnipeg Folk Fest unveiled the perfect recipe for an unforgettable Saturday night: The Cat Empire and a designated dancing pit.

The sun goes down, but the energy goes up as the Main Stage headliners gear up to take the stage. For many who had seen them play Folk Fest in previous years, The Cat Empire were a top-of-the-list show. Audience members were especially welcoming as the band returned from hiatus with a refreshed lineup. This was my first show of theirs.

From the first note, The Cat Empire launched right into a high-energy, euphoric, and uplifting set that knows neither peace nor quiet. Known for blending genres and turning sets into celebrations, their Folk Fest performance is no exception. They drift seamlessly through the sounds of funk, jazz, ska, and Latin-inspired sounds, keeping me on my toes.

Their mere presence is an invitation

to dance, and the crowd is suddenly a wave of arms and bopping heads. Frontman and core member Felix Riebl commands the stage like a conductor of chaos, captivating the crowd with charisma and infectious energy. His ability to connect with the audience through call-and-response segments and make a thousand people feel seen creates the most positive and lively atmosphere. The musicianship of each band member is undeniable: tight, crisp, and playful. I watch in awe as drummer Daniel Farrugia erupts into a long and thunderous drum solo, a moment people wanted to remember as phones lit up across the crowd.

As they moved through the setlist, the standouts are clear. “Two Shoes,” “Blood on the Stage,” and “Hello” prompt waves of singing and dancing, while extended jam sessions reveal the band’s undeniable chemistry. When they roll into the upbeat, brass-heavy anthem “The Chariot,” Rieble pauses to reflect on the song’s political and social relevance today. It feels like a reclamation of joy.

Wrapping up with a big, dance-driven burst and brass-fueled surge, the vibrant, uplifting force that is The Cat Empire left their mark on the 50th Winnipeg Folk Festival.

WORDS & PHOTOS BY KIM WIESNER

NEIL SMITH

PEACH PIT

INTERVIEW

7/18/25

Stylus: So, Winnipeg Folk Festival . I remember the excitement when they announced Peach Pit as an addition to the Folk Fest lineup because you guys weren’t announced initially . And then after your set, I walked by groups of people talking about how electric and how much of a highlight you guys were .

Neil Smith (NS): Oh, right on! That’s good. I mean, it was fun to play at Folk Fest, but because it’s a folk festival, the whole center area is everyone posted up in their lawn chairs, and it’s kind of hard to judge if the show went over well, so I’m glad to hear that you guys liked it.

Stylus: Oh yeah, the dancing area on the left there, we were going pretty hard .

NS: Yeah, yeah, that’s awesome. I wish you guys were right in the front, though. They gotta put those people right in the front. Let’s put the lawn chairs in the back, dancers in the front.

Stylus: It’s a different set up for sure . So, correct me if I’m wrong,

but you said there that that was your first festival headline set?

NS: Yeah. I mean, we have played a few music festivals where we got the headline, but they were smaller ones. There’s one in Victoria called the Phillips Backyard. We headlined there, but that’s much smaller than Folk Fest. And then one down in California from San Luis Obispo [referring to Shabang]. Again, pretty small festival. Still cool to get the headline, but we’ve never played such an established festival as Folk Fest before and been able to play on the Main Stage like that.

Stylus: Yeah, Friday night too, that’s pretty sick .

NS: Yeah, Friday night, late night. It was really great.

Stylus: Given this was your first Winnipeg Folk Festival and first bigger headline slot, what moment stuck with you after you left the stage?

NS: That’s a good question. It was just really sweet to be able to play late at night at a music festival. A lot of the time we get an afternoon slot at the

festivals we get to play, so getting to chill at the festival all day and see all the people get their good spot for the show, and then being the last ones on the stage was pretty cool. Also, just how established Folk Fest is — I mean, the fact that it’s been going on for 50 years — there’s just nothing like that back home in BC. I mean, we have our own Folk Fest, but it’s on a smaller scale. So, yeah, it was just cool to be a part of it.

Stylus: Yeah, that’s huge! So, did you have a chance to check out any other performances that day?

NS: Earlier in the evening, Waxahatchee was playing, and I was familiar with some of her tunes, but she was awesome. I really, really loved her voice and she had some really, really awesome songs. So I’ve definitely been listening to her ever since the show. We also got to meet this band from England who played right before us, SupaLung. We were just chatting with them backstage, they were just the sweetest, nicest guys. And then, yeah, their show was really cool. They kind of had some sort of David Bowie kind

WORDS & PHOTOS BY KIM WIESNER

of stuff going on in their songs, and really cool vocals. That’s the only stuff we got to see because we flew in and then flew out right away the next day.

Stylus: Gotcha . Man, that makes me even more sad that I missed SupaLung, they were on my list, I didn’t make it to that set sadly .

NS: Yeah, they were awesome. They were so cool. Like really, really an interesting band. There’s not a lot of bands that sound like them.

Stylus: That’s one of my favorite parts about festivals . I leave the weekend with so many discoveries .

NS: You know who else we heard that was playing right before us? Folk Bitch Trio, and they sounded so good. There was the Main Stage and then there was a little side stage where a band would play in between the changeover. We thought Folk Bitch Trio was just playing through the main speakers because they just sounded like they were recorded. They sounded so good. Great band.

Stylus: Oh, a hundred percent . They were at the top of my list . So, did the festival’s folk-centred atmosphere influence the way you played your songs at all or even just how you put the setlist together?

NS: It didn’t really, to be honest. We could have made our show more folkoriented, I think. We do have some folk-influenced songs, that’s a big inspiration for us. Lots of music from the ’70s and stuff that has that folk sound to it. But, you know, when you’re playing on Friday night, we kind of just want to play our rock set that we play every time we play.

Stylus: Honestly, I appreciate a true Peach Pit show . I’ve been listening to you guys for a very long time now .

NS: You know what, we’re kind of

chickens. We always want to put on the most crowd-pleasery set. We probably could have played something more folky but we’re too chicken.

Stylus: I mean, what you did worked . Speaking of bringing the energy, though, you’ve been starting your shows with “War Pigs” into “Magpie,” and then you also managed to slip in a Her’s cover . I remember when I saw you at Lollapalooza in 2023 you came out with Slayer . Can you talk about the process behind choosing the songs you want to cover live and how you decide which ones fit your set? Clearly metal is the go-to and personally, I’m so here for it .

NS: Especially with the songs that we open the show with, they started because Chris [Vanderkooy] had an idea a few years back on one of our tours to do Led Zeppelin’s [version of] “Travelling Riverside Blues.” And it’s a really sick song, very hype, so we started covering that to open the show. Ever since then, we’ve always made it our mission to do some sort of crazy, heavy rock cover. And then Dougal [McLean], our keyboard and guitar and violin player, he came up with the idea to do Slayer. Now, it’s just a tradition we have to do very out-ofcharacter rock or metal songs. I don’t know what we’re going to do on our next tour, but yeah, it’s been fun to play “War Pigs” and a funny coincidence that Black Sabbath was having their reunion this year in their final concert.

Stylus: Right . I love how it sets the energy in the crowd for the rest of the show . It’s super fun and I love the unexpectedness of it too, for people who maybe don’t know what they’re getting into .

NS: Yeah, whenever we soundcheck that song, usually there’s lots of crew working the stage or working at the venue where we’re playing and they’re

kind of like “whatever,” you know, they have lots of bands coming through that might not be interesting enough for them to want to pay attention to the sound check. Then, we play “War Pigs” and all of the metalheads, roadies, and guys working at the venue just like look out from their work and they’re like “oh fuck yeah, that’s sick.”

Stylus: Yeah, that’s absolutely incredible . I do really love your writing and the pictures that show up in my head while listening to the lyrics . I’m a big sucker for descriptive writing . Especially songs like “Live at the Swamp,” “Shampoo Bottles,” and “Feelin’ Low (Fuckboy Blues) . ” I want to know about the role of visual imagery in your writing .

NS: Well, I just like to write about things that really happen to me and real people in my life, stories that come from my own experiences. So, I feel like there’s a lot of imagery and stuff in there because I’m just singing about something that actually happened to me. I also just like songs that are able to tell a story while also having a good rhyme. So, I think for me, part of it is I like songs like that and the other part of it is it’s easier to write from your own perspective and from a true place, because you don’t have to make anything up. You can just write about what you saw in front of you. I’ve been trying to branch out from that, though, and try to come up with my own imagined stories and stuff, which is fun.

Stylus: Beautiful . You like namedropping in your songs, hey?

NS: Yes, I do. I always, always write about my friends and my family.

Stylus: Is that something you give them a heads up for, or do you just kind of go with it?

NS: Usually, if I’ve written a song with somebody’s name in it, I’ll reach out to them that I wrote a song that’s

either about them or references them, and for the most part people have just been excited that their name’s in a song. Every once in a while, people don’t like it that much, but I used to be a bit more worried about that. But you know what? Once it gets put into a song, it kind of just becomes a song and the people who listen to it don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about anyway.

Stylus: Yeah, that makes sense . One of my favorite lyrics is from “Black Licorice,” when you’re like “I’m just black licorice, and all the people that I know would rather leave me in the bowl . ” I love stuff like that . How do you know when a line feels right when like even if it’s abstract?

NS: Part of it is just if the lyric sounds good, if it feels good to sing it, that’s a big part of it. I like that that lyric is a little bit clever, I guess. I was dating a girl from Sweden, and in Scandinavia, they actually love black licorice. So, after we broke up, that’s kind of where the lyric came from. It’s just a feeling, I guess. When you sing the right thing, I write it down. I’m gonna keep it.

Stylus: You’ve said in an interview that you guys are always going to try making records that are different from the last, and I do feel like Peach Pit’s sound has evolved and shifted tone since Being So Normal . But, if you could make any music you wanted, just for yourself, what genre or sound would you want to explore?

NS: Hm, if I could do it just for myself. I mean, this is never gonna happen, and we’re never gonna do this, but I think it’d be pretty hype to be a part of a rap crew. That seems like the most fun way to play music because hip-hop and rap is just so fucking hype. You see a rapper up on stage, and just because of the music and the bass, it’s so easy to get the crowd going and it’s very differ-

ent from what we do, so that’s probably what I would do. It’s never gonna happen, but—

Stylus: That’d be kind of sick, though .

NS: It would be, actually. [Turning to the rest of the band] We could become a rap crew? What do you guys think? Oh, I think, actually, the guys are saying we would be better off going as NSYNC, like, being a boy band. We could be good with that.

Stylus: I could see it . What risks do you think you took on Magpie, if any?

NS: Well, for the song “Magpie,” I really love Paul McCartney, so I was trying to write a version of a Paul McCartney rock song, where he has a lot heavier guitars and then maybe throws his voice into a heavy falsetto kind of thing that he does. So that was something new, we never really had a song like that before.

Stylus: You’ve listed artists like Mac DeMarco and Andy Shauf as influences to your music in earlier days . How does it feel to be at a point where you might now be an influence to other musicians?

NS: Wow, yeah, it is a weird feeling because, to us, we still feel the same as when we were first starting the band and we were looking up to Mac and Andy. So it’s definitely a weird thing to imagine that other young artists might be looking at us and thinking, like, damn, I want to maybe do what Peach Pit’s doing or try to make a song like one of their songs. It’s a pretty surreal experience. It’s pretty cool.

Stylus: Yeah, I imagine that would be a crazy feeling . Back to your live shows — how do you think they have evolved? I feel like you put a ton of effort into the performance, maybe even as much as crafting the

music, so I want to know how that’s changed and evolved over the years .

NS: We just spend more time now than we used to rehearsing and getting our sets ready before we go on tour and try to make the set list flow in a certain way. We go into our rehearsal space and it takes us a long time to construct the set, and then over the course of a tour — like we did this year where we were playing, like, 60 shows — we will change the set gradually over the course of it because maybe what you think is gonna be cool for the show and what the audience is gonna respond to doesn’t end up hitting the same way, and so you have to make a tough move. And then outside of that, we try to get it to a point where we have lots of moments in the set that are going to change how the set is feeling, taking the people to higher places and then bringing the set back down and then building it back up again. So, we think a lot more about that now than we used to. Even recently — ’cause there’s Setlist FM so we can look back at shows that we played in like 2017, 2018 — whenever we look at them, it always makes us laugh cause we’re like, “oh my God, I can’t believe we would put ‘Alrighty Aphrodite’ third” when that has to be at the end of the set or, like, “Tommy’s Party” or whatever. So I think that just comes with playing lots of shows and understanding our audience and what they really want to hear from us.

CKUWho?

Rez Vibe

people want to be your allies. We have to come together [because] everyone has been impacted by colonization. [There’s] no one higher, no one lower. We’ve all been damaged and we need to come together to support each other.

Stylus: When you said last week on the show that you don’t let yourself get “boxed in by colonization”—

RVC: You heard that?! Oh my god, how was it?

with host Stephanie Kersey

tuesdays 7-8pm Connections

Stylus caught up with the host of Rez Vibe Connections on May 16, 2025. Our interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

Stylus: How long have you been doing the show?

Rez Vibe Connections (RVC): I would say going on almost two years now.

Stylus: How would you describe it?

RVC: My show is about decolonization, community, reclaiming our identity, creating unity within the Indigenous community and with all the cultures within the community because we need all of our cultures to truly decolonize. I work with all levels of society on my show ’cause I’m from all levels of society: I’m from the country, I’m from the hood, I’m from the city, I’m from educational settings, and I’m from employment settings.

I’m also working with the people that are in the jails — they’re calling in as well, that was part of my proposal — to lift up everybody’s voice in the community. The show is made by the people, for the people. It [exists] to bring joy into their life, to validate

their stories, to bring some dope music. I play gangster rap, hip-hop music. Rez Vibe Connections is all about breaking out of our isolation, our rezzes, our hoods, our jails, our countries.

I come from a lot of suffering [under] colonization, being a Black Native myself and having family in the residential schools and not having an identity. I come from where I’m speaking from and I’m just trying to be down-to-earth with everyone.

Stylus: Definitely . I think the people have a lot more in common [with each other] than we realize sometimes and we’re kept isolated from one another for various reasons .

RVC: Yeah, and I’m breaking down that racism and that stigma. There’s two levels to this, right? People of European descent, I’m working with them through allyship because oftentimes there’s this white guilt, feeling that they’re being blamed for their ancestors. Then I’m also working with my people to let them know that you’re not selling out, you don’t fall into that negative stereotype when

Stylus: I was listening to it on the bus and it [made for] a great ride . You were so enthusiastic, I loved the people calling in . I was wondering: why did you decide to make that part of your show? I’ve not heard a ton of radio shows that are built around [listener] call-ins to the extent that yours is .

RVC: That was part of my proposal to also reach out to [people in prisons]. One of my segments in the show was called “Free Ray Ray,” where people can call out to their family and give shoutouts to let them know that they’re not forgotten behind the walls. However, it does seem now that it’s taken over most of the show. I’m always trying to let the community know that I am here for you. I have been building a dialogue with these people for a long time and just now, in the last few months, they’ve been calling in like wildfire. So now it just seems like it’s the “jail call-in show” — it’s not, but they need their time to speak too!

The reason why I chose that is because I’m Indigenous, I’m Black and Native, most of our family are locked up and we’re raised [to believe] that most of our family are gonna live in there. But regardless, they’re still our family. We’re so heavily institutionalized and [our] voices need to be heard.

Another layer of [the show] is that, when they’re calling in from the jails, they’re also calling in [as members of]

MAGGIE A . CLARK

gangs. My mission with them, through the Creator, is [to help them] make that internal choice to become positive in their life, to become their truest self, and support their community and their family. The Crips called up and was giving Bloods love. Different gangs are calling in and they’re giving each other love. They’re giving their shoutouts, they’re doing some of their gang calls on there — but I’m not there for that, so I ask ’em, what’s the message you want to give to the people? And that’s when their heart opens up. I’m not asking you to stop your gang, stop your hood, stop your family, but I am asking you to love your brethren, eh?

Stylus: You said you bring together a mix of [different styles of] music on the show . You mentioned gangster rap .

RVC: I play Native drums music. A Tribe Called Red [now called The Halluci Nation], Young Spirit, all kinds of different things. I’m Black Native — that’s one race back home — but I’m American and Canadian. And we are raised in the hood, so that’s where the gangster rap comes from and it’s also a tool that resonates with other people going through those struggles.

I wrote this in my declaration [for the show], that nobody can change the gangs from the outside. It’s the

gangs that need to change themselves from the inside out, and the old dogs need to work with the young dogs. So that’s why I’ll be having peermentor support groups. Once they [get out of prison], I’m telling them, as long as you’re legal as a seagull, c’mon out and I’ll collaborate with you. That’s because I know resources and supports we can get them tapped into. [With these peer groups,] they can start having somebody to talk to when they’re coming out feeling so lost in society. Especially when you lose that time gap, nobody cares about you when you move out and you can only get a job if you’re a roofer and this and that, so I’m trying to break all those barriers they have.

Mia Kelly, Live at the Winnipeg Folk Festival

On a hot and hazy Saturday afternoon at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, hidden away from the chaotic stages and bustling vendors, the Little Stage in the Forest drew a not-so-little crowd. The serene field filled up with folkies on blankets and foldout chairs, ready to see Mia Kelly take the stage.

Mia Kelly, who performed as a Main Stage “tweener” the night prior and was featured in the Young Performers Program at the festival two years ago, finally earned a full-length performance. Based in Gatineau, Quebec, Kelly has travelled across Canada performing in both English and French, and has appeared internationally, notably representing Canada at the 2023 Jeux de la Francophonie in Kinshasa. Her magnetic music blends folk, blues, and rock to create a wholly unique sound. Song-to-song, her enthralling voice switches from sounding soft and lulling to harsh and raspy. Kelly’s storytelling, often character-driven and drawn from lived experience, shines in her work as much as her vocals do.

Kelly opened her show with “Lone Dog,” a track off her latest album, To Be Clear. The intense blues number tells the story of Tom, who, as Kelly put it before her performance, is “a really bad guy.” “Lone Dog” mixes the energy of a scorned young woman with that of a 1950s crooner. Kelly’s raspy voice and her rhythmic, vaguely western guitar progressions carried the angry character study of a song to its dramatic end.

Kelly continued her excellent narration in her next track, “Garden through the War.” She leaned into an intimate sound, whilst holding onto her anger and her heart. “Garden Through the War,” the lead single and namesake of Kelly’s first album, is a vulnerable story about one of her friends. The folk song is coated in poetic metaphors. Kelly’s purposeful voice cracks added emotion and emphasis, and she sang with such empathy that one could imagine the song was autobiographical. Kelly followed this track with the equally emotional “Depaysée”, a French track about someone who has “perdue la boule”

(lost their marbles) and slowly spirals into insanity. Mental health continued as a theme in Kelly’s set, as later she performed “The Sixth Floor,” a musical memoir about a family friend who spent time in a psychiatric ward. This track, and Kelly’s detailed explanation leading up to it, showed the crowd just how much Kelly’s life and the people around her bleed into her music.

“Bonefish Boys” is another superb example of art drawing from life. Kelly explained to the crowd how she wrote the song after meeting an interesting man while travelling. She performed the song on that little forest stage with the grit and guts of a man who spent his whole life between prison bars and battle ships. Kelly took on her character while performing, and I could almost hear the ocean sloshing against the ship of soldiers.

Kelly’s stories aren’t only about the folks she’s met. “South Went the Bird” and “Si j’étais franche” are deeply personal songs. Kelly performed them with vul-

BRADI BRECKMAN

nerability and explained the genuine relationship that inspired them. The indie-folk ballads detailed a love that was both beautiful and doomed, destined but fleeting. Lonesome guitar lines immersed the crowd in Kelly’s past as she sang, and the festival felt the sting of lost love alongside her.

With emotions running high and the crowd now thoroughly invested in the set, Mia Kelly shifted away from her guitar and to her keyboard for a trifecta of tearful gut-punches. “Le vent qui m’amènera”, “Watercolour Girl”, and “Meaning Well” were all deeply intimate and moving performances. Kelly continued her character-driven songs with “Le vent qui m’amènera,” singing the elegy of a woman she knew who passed peacefully through the MAID program. She then transitioned into

“Watercolour Girl” and dedicated the song about grief to those mourning Olivia Michalczuk and Brendan Berg, valuable members of the Winnipeg community and music scene, who passed away this year. The tribute was moving and appropriate as Brendan and Olivia were longtime festival attendees, and their absence was felt deeply by performers and audiences alike.

After a few tears and her final breakup song of the set, “Meaning Well,” Kelly transitioned into the calm ballad, “Remedy River.” The ode to the natural world felt perfectly in tune with the forested surroundings of the stage and the nature-loving attitudes of the folkies. Singer-songwriter and guitarist Noah Derksen joined Kelly on stage for the whimsical folk song, making

the performance even more special.

Mia Kelly closed her show by letting the crowd know that she was planning on releasing a “much happier album” shortly and playing a cheerful song off it. “The Coin in the Cake” was a great classic folk-pop track about luck and love, and I can’t wait to listen to it once Kelly releases the full album. She then encouraged the crowd to check out her specialty hot sauce at the merch booth (who needs a souvenir T-shirt when you can have a condiment?) and thanked the crowd profusely. The crowd thanked Mia Kelly right back with a standing ovation, and I’m certain that for many, including myself, her performance was a highlight of the festival.

People, Music, and Self-Congratulation

MAGGIE A . CLARK

On feeling ambivalent at the Winnipeg Folk Festival

Stencil lettering affixed to the box office tent greeted us with “welcome home.”

I’m no stranger to the notion of the Winnipeg Folk Festival as a “home” to those who attend it. After all, I have been to every Folk Fest since 1996 — such are the benefits of a petit bourgeois upbringing and a very generous mother. But it never made much sense to me. I’m fond of the festival, sure, but a home? I spend four days a year out there! My home has a comfortable bed and indoor plumbing and my friends don’t have to pay upwards of $100 a head to be there.

Most importantly, my home doesn’t have cops in it. It’s not an uncommon sight these days to see a few gendarmes patrolling the festival grounds in full protective regalia, scowling. Who is this to “protect,” and from what? The price of the tickets makes it such that there weren’t any unhoused people

around for them to hassle or beat up. If their presence was intended to discourage the use of illicit substances, I have bad news for you about the Winnipeg Folk Festival.

Perhaps the pigs were ornamental, a signal that no expense would be spared for the much-anticipated 50th fest. Indeed, this most golden of anniversaries was commemorated by ramping up the usual self-mythologizing fanfare to a level best described as “autofellatio.” Performers, MCs, and promotional videos alike never ceased to remind us that the Folk Festival is a bastion of social justice and inclusion — nay, a model for world peace! — and that accordingly we should all applaud ourselves simply for being there. It isn’t enough, you see, to enjoy some tunes, drink a few beers, or have a friendly chat with the person next to you; we must be told, over and over, that we are good people because of it.

To an extent, I understand this impulse. A person I spoke to in line at the gate told me that they make the trip from British Columbia every year because the festival offers an escape from “the rat race,” and this is certainly true for some. Those of us with the disposable income or maternal generosity to afford a full festival pass can kick back and enjoy a weekend in the sun — or in the haze of wildfire smoke, as the case may be.

But for others, Folk Fest represents nothing but a continuation of that same rat race. As one food vendor employee told me, many of the workers had been pulling 10-to-11-hour shifts to feed the festivalgoers. Sadly, the vaunted “Folk Fest spirit” has proven unable to abolish the wage relation, no matter how much it suits us to pretend otherwise.

My point here is simply that Folk Fest

is very much of the world, not apart from it. If it is indeed a “festival of love,” then it is equally a festival of chewing out the gate crew for changing their tarp ticket distribution practices; a festival of grumbling from a lawn chair when a workshop facilitated entirely by volunteer stagehands starts five minutes late; a festival of warmed-over liberal platitudes and Subaru ads.

Toward the end of his Thursday night Main Stage set, Fred Penner told the crowd that his defining memory from 50 years of Folk Fests was of seeing Pete Seeger fish an apple out of the garbage and eat it. Inspired by this, I immediately conducted my own version of the exercise. The first thing that popped into my mind was Geoff Berner’s “tweener” set at the 2008 Main Stage. During a performance of “Maginot Line,” he gestured to the Volkswagen sponsorship banner behind him and said, “And speaking of Mr. Hitler… Volkswagen!” I don’t think VW returned as a sponsor after that, and curiously neither has Berner as a performer. Whether this is because of scheduling conflicts, mutual disinterest, or the triumph of commerce over artistic expression, I cannot say.

So maybe the festival has always been a

commercial, politically incoherent, and self-congratulatory affair, or maybe I’m a pompous cynic who could stand to lighten up a bit. You tell me. But one thing’s for certain: my heart’s just not in it anymore.

For as much as I still enjoy the daytime workshop jam sessions and for as formative as the lineups have been in shaping my musical taste, I doubt I will ever again recover the reverent awe I once felt. With every passing year, it seems, the feeling grows more and more distant.

So be it. Here’s to another 50.

Highlights: Los Bitchos, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, the “Field Trip” workshop (Ashwin Batish, Camper Van Beethoven, OMBIIGIZI).

Biggest whiff: Lake Street Dive. How on earth did these cornball blue-eyed soul merchants end up with top billing and the Sunday Main Stage closing slot? Was there blackmail involved?

Local Releases

I’ve been going through a lot of old Stylus issues recently as part of our ongoing archiving and digitization project (stay tuned for the next issue for more on that). So far, two things immediately stand out to me:

1. We’ve sure spilled a lot of ink about Propagandhi over the years; and

2. Our album reviews used

to be far shorter and more plentiful than they are now. Blurb-length, even! Sometimes two or three sentences!

So I’m bringin’ it back to basics. I’m finally reining in my impulse to turn every bit of music criticism into a treatise on mental illness or Gramscian hegemony or whatever the fuck. You’re welcome. (MAC )

Good quotes:

“Keep watermeloning, mate. Keep watermeloning.” — Serra Petale (Los Bitchos) to an audience member brandishing a flagstaff with a cartoon watermelon on the end of it, as the parting words of her band’s Big Blue @ Night set.

“Nobody wants used dogs, bro.” — Leonard Sumner, weighing in on the buy-vs.-adopt debate

“[We found that] if we just played really fast ska, all the punks and skinheads would like us again.” — David Lowery (Camper Van Beethoven) on opening for Dead Kennedys in the 1980s

AT PEACE PROPAGANDHI

I never really got into these guys. Couldn’t tell ya why. Every July 1, I revisit exactly

one song of theirs: “Stick the Fucking Flag Up Your Goddamn Ass, You Sonofabitch” (a bona fide classic, sadly as relevant as ever in a time of embarrassing, resurgent Canadian nationalism). But beyond that, as far as I can remember, I have always wanted to like Propagandhi more than I actually do. And that remains the case this time around. The tempo of the songs and the strength of the rhythm section are

KESHAV BATISH PERFORMING PERCUSSION WITH ASHWIN BATISH PHOTO BY KIM WIESNER

always enough to get my toes tapping, but the guitar tone and vocal delivery are on a level with the butt rock you’d be wont to hear on POWER 97. It was kinda jarring to hear “excuse me, sir, this is an Arby’s” used in earnest on the title track in the Year of Our Lord TwoThousand and Twenty-Five, seeing as that joke went stale circa 2017. I’m just as Twitter-brained as you, Chris, but c’mon.

In the interest of fairness, I’ll quickly mention that “Day by Day” is pretty good. “The story’s in the works / You thought that you’d be watching from the side” reminds me of a really good essay by Rodrigo Nunes about the necessity of organizing. We simply can’t afford to treat politics like a spectator sport or hope that other people will advance the struggle for us — we must take it upon ourselves. Here, here. (MAC )

SELF-TITLED EP WHISPERING CITY

Formed in 2023, Winnipeg-based Whispering City released their first EP on May 30, 2025. The selftitled effort is an interesting take on alternative rock with shoegaze elements.

The opening track “Feeling Kinda Strange” sets the tone

with distorted guitars and echoey vocals reminiscent of The Smashing Pumpkins. The entire EP has a lonely, melancholy vibe to it. The low-fidelity production helps to set the mood. This is especially notable on the stand-out track, “State,” where the synthesizers are the perfect addition, especially during the chorus.

The closing track “Star Sick” is my favourite on the EP, perfectly encapsulating everything the band was going for. It’s a slow but rewarding build-up.

Whispering City is the kind of project that demands multiple listens. I find myself picking out new elements every time I go back. The band defines their signature sound, and it has me looking forward to a potential fulllength project in the future.

Jakob Sheppard

SELF-TITLED EP TETHER

Tether is the half-hour seven-song self-titled released by Colton Tanner, who is responsible for nearly all the sounds on the album (except for drums and a few additional accompanying instruments). Hazy with thick reverb and subtle layering, the songs each have a base pattern of two or three

chords that repeat throughout — creating a trance-like, daydreamy feeling of drifting downstream. Vocals are soft, sometimes whispered. Tones are warm and inviting. It’s chill and atmospheric. The vibe is unhurried. And besides a fleeting few unleashed moments near the end of both “Knuckle Dragger” and “Dream Mirror,” Tether is as its name suggests.

While multiple influences could be mentioned, the most evident is definitely mid-era Beck Hansen. In fact, track five is a cover of the 1994 One Foot in the Grave song “Asshole,” which Tanner conceivably reimagined as if Beck had recorded it years later during either Sea Change or Morning Phase. Tether – as least in this project – is similarly best described as postmodern folk rock, with some hints of psychedelia.

Looking to zone out? Take Tether for a spin. Name your price at the-tether. bandcamp.com. Mykhailo Vil’yamson

FREE BURN CEC

When summer rolls around, I always find myself leaving behind rock and alternative albums which hold

the heaviness of the cold months, and beginning to play lighter pop, folk, and R&B records which feel at home in the hot sun. Local artist CEC’s Free Burn fits into the latter category and is the perfect soundtrack for evening commutes with the windows rolled down or for boozy backyard bonfires. The EP blends elements of R&B, pop, Latin, rock, and jazz music to create a satisfying musical concoction. There’s something on the EP for every listener, and CEC delivers it all with impeccable vocals and skilled guitar instrumentals.

Free Burn hooks the listener by opening with its best song. “Sabrosa” is a deliciously sensual Latin R&B song. The lyrics are simultaneously romantic and lustful, with lines that tell a story of deep infatuation with the promise of a steamy drunken hookup. Yet the words are admiring rather than objectifying, complicating the classic onenight-stand narrative. CEC’s vocals are relaxed through the flirtation and give the song a layer of intimacy that many tracks of similar subject matter lack. CEC’s swayable rhythm and classically romantic guitar progressions also contribute to the flirtatious nature of the song, and its overall success.  In the second track “How Should I (Love You)” CEC attempts a new style in collaboration with Edson Sean. This turn towards a more classic R&B/pop hybrid is well-executed if not innovative. The track falls a bit flat

simply because the AutoTuned intro and basic lyrics present the qualities of many songs that have been made before. While CEC and Sean sound excellent and blend their voices into beautiful harmonies and cannons, the song has little new to offer in its lyrics or production.

The same cannot be said about the single “Wet Paint”, which is more unique to CEC. It is intimate and sweet and paints a picture of a relaxed Sunday morning spent swaying in the kitchen with a lover. Unlike the flirty lines in “Sabrosa,” the lyrics of “Wet Paint” are romantic and domestic, and CEC’s hypnotizing voice carries them with sureness and skill. A steady drum beat backs the vocals, making it one of few songs on the EP that prioritizes percussion over strings (though the strings are played as skillfully as ever).

“Waste a Minute” continues the intimacy of “Wet Paint” but gives it a soulful and jazzy groove. The soft vocals and jazz influence on the track remind me of contemporary pop/jazz artist Laufey. The song is well put together and, toward the end, is briefly interrupted by a sweet spoken-word sound clip from someone close to the artist.

In “Be Good,” CEC showcases their angelic high vocal range in repeating simple

melodies. The song is slow and pleading as the speaker begs to be a part of all that is good in the world. The calming guitar progressions and light vocals make this song the most “easy listening” track of the EP. It is well-composed and very vulnerable, which will draw many listeners to it.

In short, Free Burn is an excellently composed EP. The track sequencing appears to have been strategically thought out, bookended by the two songs which are the most likely crowd pleasers — “Sabrosa” and “Love Me.” The latter is a unique blend of pop, rock, R&B, and Latin. It features interesting instrumentals, with creative guitar riffs and drum sounds which resemble hand-held percussion. CEC taps into their higher register once again and delivers lyrics of enamoured romance with ease. The song writing is basic, but it is effective enough for a danceable earworm. The upbeat song lets listeners leave the album happy and satisfied, with a little groove in their step.

Overall, this is a fantastically executed album with many unique elements and a cohesive sound. CEC’s vocals, heartfelt and intimate lyrics, and genre-blending skills stand out on this album. This summer, CEC is playing at Rainbow Trout Music Festival, touring across Canada

with HAVS and will also be performing covers in the next “Bands as Bands” show in August. I highly recommend that everyone listen to their album and check out one of their shows this summer! Bradi Breckman

SELF-TITLED LP SLOWMOBILE

“IF YOU SEE THIS BAND AND LIVE, SEE THEM AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN…”, reads a small cheery imprint at the base of SLOWMOBILE’s cover. Tragically, this imperative is, for now, impossible to follow, since the Winnipeg desert-jazzgrunge-party-music group is on hiatus. But their selftitled record stands as a vital and fascinating confluence of musical loves made into sick tunes that can be enjoyed, or analyzed, to death.

“Albeit” sets the album’s tone, with its guitar lines punching and crackling into the night as Nathan Wolfe’s Layne Staley-esque vocals morph around. The rhythm section is sound, with centre cymbal taps and hearty bass phrases affirming the singing sax lines. Throughout

the record, Ty Hodge’s sax playing features prominently on nearly every song, colouring the space where vocal harmonies or violins might ordinarily add texture, and changing shape to match.

“Hole in the Ground” shifts to post-hardcore introspection, bridging meditation on relationships with the context of modern industrial society. (“We’re reeling, we’re peeling, looking up to the stars in the ceiling / If I could tell you all about how I’m feeling, we might find we could relate / We only wanted justice for the wise, we never wanted action or reprise / So won’t you tell me now just how does that sound? / You get your very own hole in the ground.”) It is in lyrical blocks like this where the symbolism stands bright but blurry, where Slowmobile’s debt to ’90s alt rock is most clearly felt.

“Temple of the Heart” is a bittersweet closer, with Kyle Manson’s guitar finally taking centre stage and whammying around everywhere. The ballad sounds grand, tired, and wise: “The heart is a temple for the lessons to be learned” … “Tell me something that I need to hear, not just something that I want to / whoa, tell me something new.” In their own memorable way, Slowmobile has told us all something new, too. Margot McKenzie

Reviews From Away

LIKE CARTOON VAMPIRES THE CONVENIENCE

“The Convenience,” eh? Nice try, buddy: I know a Spoon album when I hear one. (MAC )

ONLY DUST REMAINS BACKXWASH

Ashanti Mutinta has such an ear for samples, my god. I love how they always seem to loop partway through a note, a fraction of a second before you think they “should.” So much so in fact that it now occurs to me I have stolen this approach from her, whole cloth, in my own sound collages.

Less sonically abrasive than her previous efforts, the lyrics remain suffused with a palpable fear and guilt that make this album similarly difficult to absorb, and yet — strangely life-affirming. A reminder that, no matter how bad things get, no matter how bleak the state of the world, I’m not allowed to kill myself. And neither are you. We must keep going. “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” (MAC )

TWO, THREE TARA CUNNINGHAM

There’s a scene in Memoria where a bunch of car alarms start going off without warning and then stop just as suddenly. I could never quite grasp the precise connection that scene had to the rest of it — a common and welcome occurrence in a Weerasethakul movie — but it stuck with me regardless.

This album is a softer version of that. Equally repetitive, equally brief, equally melodic. (MAC )

HEXED! AYA

This album is exactly as disgusting to listen to as the cover art is to look at — which, to be sure, is a compliment. When a transgender woman photographs herself with a mound of worms in her mouth, you just know she’s gonna drop the most perverse and annoying industrial electronic album of the year.

We have a true renegade on our hands, folks. In “navel gazer,” aya bravely asks: “is that a symptom of the E? should call it HRP / ’cuz Her Really be Pissing.” Yes! Estadriol really does make you have to pee more often! It’s not just me after all. Thank you! I have never felt so seen. (MAC )

PIROUETTE

MODEL/ACTRIZ

“a single act of gay sex is queerer than visiting a dozen earnest art exhibits about identity.” — Ben Miller

Another serving of propulsive dance-punk from the boys in Model/Actriz. That rhythm section! That crunchy guitar tone! Those hot, breathy vocals! That open expression of homosexual desire, delivered with an undercurrent of shame! Ohhhh, yes. Don’t mind if I do.

In places, I was reminded of Leo Bersani’s seminal essay

“Is the Rectum a Grave?”, but I’ll spare you the digression. The takeaway is this: as someone who is fascinated by the idea of cruising (but too much of a coward to try my hand at it), Pirouette offers a golden opportunity to experience it vicariously through the power of song. (MAC )

VIAGR ABOYS

VIAGRA BOYS

Far be it from one snotnosed, irreverent punkass to turn up their nose at another, but I am beginning to tire of Viagra Boys’ schtick. Call it the “epic bacon”ification of masculinity critique. Their absurdist lyrics about men being stinky, incurious, and prone to conspiratorial thinking — while true enough in spirit — get old fast when every joke has the same implied punchline.

I will, however, make an exception for “Dirty Boyz.” One of the catchiest songs of the year. That bassline is undeniable. (MAC )

2

FOXWARREN

When I saw Andy Shauf play the Burt a few years ago, there was a moment during the set when he paused to take requests from the crowd. He shot down the only one he got. When someone shouted “play ‘Sunset Canyon,’” he replied, “that’s a Foxwarren song.”

And I always thought that was weird — after all, why would your first instinct be to request a cover? How are you so sure he even knows

how to play it? But after listening to this album, I think I understand the audience member’s confusion: Foxwarren’s singer sounds eerily like Andy Shauf!

Dig the use of downpitched piano and samples of orchestral motifs; they give the album a real The Caretaker flair that you don’t hear much in rock music these days. I wonder if Shauf could get these guys on the horn. I feel like there’d be fertile ground here for a collab. (MAC )

ACCIDENTAL ORNITHOLOGY

SARAH BELLE REID AND VINNY GOLIA

A free jazz concept album of imaginary bird calls? I can’t imagine a more perfect encapsulation of my whole “deal” than that. (For reference, my Steam account tells me that I’ve logged over 750 hours of Wingspan, the digital adaptation of a board game where you run a bird sanctuary. I regret nothing.)

Reid and Golia’s set of 14 improvisations for trumpet, synthesizer, piccolo, flute, and clarinet are jittery, weird, and evocative. Although attributed to fictitious species like the “Lesser Evening Hiding Ploute,” “Talbot’s Silver Moonbird,” and “Silent Gray Presck (but no one knows why that’s it’s name),” these would be extremely plausible as musical imitations of actual bird calls. The album slots in comfortably next to Puig Destroyer — with their minute-long powerviolence songs about baseball — as

Horrible. I love it. May I have some more? (MAC )

MOTHERFUCKER, I AM

NIGHTCLOUDS

To borrow a phrase from my friend (and former Stylus contributor) Misha Stone, this is some primo “music that makes you go ‘ouch.’” That bit, partway through “Chordalities,” where one discordant sustained organ chord is interrupted by another, more shrill one? I think I felt an actual bolt of pain shoot down my spine the first time I heard it.

BOTH: “AMEN” AND “HALLELUJAH” . . . SHEARLING

First of all, I would like to congratulate these guys on coming up with a very Thee Silver Mt. Zion-coded album title. Second, I would like to congratulate these guys on a very gay, angry, accusatory, self-loathing noise rock album whose title (and only) track runs 62 minutes.

Allow me to highlight some

other cool things about this album while I still have your attention: the way the narrator addresses the song to his “Appaloosa,” a term he uses to refer simultaneously to (1) the breed of horse and (2) his cock; how the instrumentation flows seamlessly from atonal guitar sections to ambient electronics to Slint-esque spoken word to foreboding banjo to harsh static and back; and delicate expressions of uncertainty sprinkled amid the religious imagery, sexual innuendo, and unhinged screaming.

“I’ve woven sounds from an artist’s head / And composed a poet’s sentence / But never have I revealed myself / Behind my master’s fences”? “The illusion of decision / The illusion of choice / I dare not pronounce a word / Lest I sacrifice my voice”? Oof. That hits! There are definitely times when I find it nearly impossible to formulate a true thought, to express anything that approaches the real. For instance, I experience an attenuated form of this every time I write a music review. (MAC )