Hillsboro, Meltt, Birds of Prrrey, and Hydracat
Hillsboro – A Party in Your Name
Put simply, a triumph; a high-water mark for both band and genre(s?), broadly. An incendiary collision of alt-rock, emo, and towering shoegaze, A Party in Your Name from Vancouver’s Hillsboro is often an uneasy listen. As other Hillsboro records have, A Party in Your Name represents a stage of grief; in this case, “bargaining.” It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that beneath its massive, blown-out guitars, surging crescendos, and rhythmic urgency runs an undercurrent of agony; an angsty uncertainty fuelling its volatility. A Party in Your Name is moody, unpredictable, and unapologetically tense; ever threatening to tear itself apart, but always finding its way back. Amidst the wreckage, there is hope, however; and even if not, at least something worth salvaging. This record is raw – violent, even; and vulnerable; and honest; and sentimental. All can coexist. On A Party in Your Name, they do.
Meltt – Pathways
How beautiful can a record sound, really? Endlessly, it seems. With Pathways, Vancouver’s Meltt delivers an utterly stunning, transcendent, alt-psych dream of a record; warm, weightless, and near-impossible to not be enveloped by and within. This is sonic world-building at its best, and on full display, across all its 13 tracks; each bearing its own unique, rich texture. Despite that characteristic weightlessness, Pathways floats many heavy weights – a sombre flotsam of grief; of anxiety; of memory – all meandering down a lazy river of ethereality. As its intricate synths burn throughout, they taper and melt into the record’s acoustic rhythms and dusky, reverberating guitars as the listener is whisked away, moving seamlessly though infectious, dream-pop grooves to cathartic, synth-heavy depths, and all the worlds between. Stunning.
Birds of Prrrey – Peace Love Homicide
I’ve found it somewhat difficult to pin-down Birds of Prrrey – surely, the Montreal trio proudly wear their Sleater-Kinney-leaning riot grrl influences, and are propelled in large part by a driving, relentless punk urgency – their bona fides being beyond doubt. But the genius of the band’s debut LP, Peace Love Homicide, I think, may just be in the manner in which they have taken that spirit, contorted and distilled it, then blended it so effortlessly with a mature and mesmerizing dream-pop; balancing the unvarnished tension of the former with the warmth and buoyancy of the latter. Rich in emotion and diverse sonic textures, Peace Love Homicide is wonderfully well-paced, soaring and diving just as one would expect from a band of such a name. A wonderfully luminous record by all accounts, and one you’ll be all the richer for having experienced for yourself.
Hydracat – Sands
Edmonton’s Hydracat is dialed the fuck in on Sands, unleashing the sprawlingest barrage of fuzzed-out, blues-heavy cosmic rock this side of the Glowing Eye Nebula. If I can make but one, small suggestion: make sure to keep your spacesuit tip-top; you’ll be hurtling through the vacuum of space, careening down the Milky Way off-ramp and into the astral beyond, before you even realize it. An undeniable masterclass in both heaviness and restraint, Sands is remarkably agile despite its muscular frame – its pounding percussion, subterranean bass grooves, subtly interwoven atmospheric keys and retro-twinged buzzsaw guitars all given ample space-time to breathe; all that anchored by the captivatingly raw, gravelly vocal work on offer. Buckle up – Sands sizzles, bubbles, and pops like Chief Wiggum’s engine-block eggs in the desert sun. Proper trip, this.
