La Sécurité, Born At Midnite, Reveal Yourself, and EarthBall
La Sécurité - Bingo!
On Bingo!, the sophomore follow-up to 2023s critically acclaimed album, Stay Safe!, La Sécurité delivers another record of bouncy art-punk that will put some extra pep-in-yr-step. I find myself in the perfect time and place right now to enjoy this release. I’m in France and I’ve been without my luggage for days thanks to British Airways. Walking down to La Poste with Bingo! in my headphones, dodging protesting students, feeling the raw energy in the air while getting La Sécurité’s danceable, off-kilter blend of egg-punk and new-wave with bilingual lyrics made the fact that La Poste only had my partner’s bag for me to pick up less of a disaster as I’ll get to have the same experience tomorrow.
Born At Midnite - Eternal BAM Nation
While most across Canada will not know the name Born At Midnite, those in the know in Montreal have been salivating for years for the duo’s debut album to finally arrive. Eternal BAM Nation is eleven songs of perfect pop with impeccable production from musician/visual artist Amery Sandford (BBQT) and producer David Carriere (who also plays in TOPS and Marci). Seamlessly blending multiple pop-centric genres, Sandford and Carriere splice delightful beats that veer from techno to disco with arrangements and vocals that move from lush dream-pop to uplifting alt-pop. Eternal BAM Nation is as triumphant as any pop record you’ll hear this year, this coming from a pop-cynic.
Reveal Yourself - love deluxe
What a wild ride! Reveal Yourself is a Vancouver duo that crafts intense art-punk. On their debut album, love deluxe, they deliver eight tracks that flirt with implosion at any moment while maintaining some semblance of catchy melodies. The energy on display is feral and the vocals are visceral, akin to noise-rock, while their chaotic and spastic arrangements are egg-punk at its finest. Every time I listen I’m entertained by new stabs and shrieks of sounds jutting out from the back of the mix. There’s a lot to take-in for such a short ride… maybe I’ll hit play again and get off at the next stop instead.
EarthBall - Actual Earth Music Volume 3 & 4
After discovering the noise/free-jazz/psych stylings of Nanaimo’s EarthBall in 2025, I’ve been playing loads of catch-up. As great as their studio recordings are, I’ve been drawn to their live series, Actual Earth Music. Near the end of June, volumes three and four were released together. The first track was taken from a show in Geneva last year after what sounds like a scary mountain drive. You can hear the energy and understand that hours before they were ‘white-knuckling’ on their alpine descent. The second track is the true gem though as the band performed at Le Guess Who? and sound as if all five members embarked on a telepathic acid trip where for a brief moment they became one entity. Improvisational music is an insane prospect at the best of times but when you need to be reminded of the fact, one can’t help but be in total awe of this band.
