“Librevox” by The Psychic Alliance
“Family Values” by AUSFunkt
“Walker Park” by DEARLY BELOVED
“Negative self talk therapy” by KMVP
“Dark Petal (You Can’t Say Bouquet)” by CATOLICO
“Time” by Elizabeth Shepherd
“Devil Does” by Cots
“she’s my baby” by kkidss
“carvers, farriers and knaves” by BIG|BRAVE
“lamp” by TENT CITY
Sinister and angular, “Negative self talk therapy” crackles with artsy, wave/grunge energy.
Here are our ten favourite tracks right now:
“Meat” (live) by Stripmall
“Higher Than Thou” by Fountain Bather
“Son of Ugly” by Piss for Pumpkin
“Indian Cowboy” (live) by Love Language
“Tangier” by Selina Martin
“Stone Between the Lips” by Brava Kilo & Annie Sumi
“Notional Joyride” by Co-op
“twinkie” by poolblood
“PORNO CLOWN” by MASSIRRAYTORR
“The Last Working Phone Booth in the World” by Man Sardine
by Mark Anthony Brennan
25. “Blue Juniper” by The Sylvia Platters
Abbotsford/Vancouver band The Sylvia Platters hit a career height with this ’60s sunshine rock-inspired gem.
24. “In Between the Bars” by Krill Williams
A breezy breath of shoegaze air from the brilliant Krill Williams from Calgary.
23. “Box of Glass (ft. Zara Marie)” by Nigel Young
The quirkiness of this track, featuring vocals by Zara Marie, will pull you in, so enjoy the slacker/psych ride.
22. “ARGUING WITH STRVNGERS” by MVLL CRIMES
The raw, angry sounds of London’s MVLL CRIMES are a fun blast.
21. “Late Night Streamer” by Bad Pop
The band formerly known as Hot Panda weave low-key, slightly warped magic.
20. “Motorbrains” by Ultra Mega
The Winnipeg band’s endearing and hilarious recollection of a childhood menace known as Motorbrains.
19. “SUNAUVVA” by Beatrice Deer
Beatrice Deer’s track bristles with originality and energy.
18. “Sarajevo” by Eamon McGrath
A gripping epic about the city of Sarajevo.
17. “Gentle on My Mind” by GODFREE
Country EDM? Check out Montreal producer GODFREE’s take on an old Glen Campbell song.
16. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by TRUTH
Nanaimo’s Monica McGregor (aka TRUTH) renders a sparse but highly imaginative take on a movie classic.
15. “Tourist Town” by JP Lancaster & Jared Jackel’s Bad Vibrations
This tune strikes a wonderful balance between Lancaster’s cool, jazzy vibes and Jackel’s warped psychedelic leanings.
14. “Pull Me Up” by dumb
An ingeniously crafted tune that captures the slacker soul of Vancouver.
13. “Never Been” by Darkometro
A gorgeous tune with eternal grace, from the new duo Darkometro.
12. “Hail Mary (ft. Rasheed Chappell)” by Sargeant X Comrade
A startlingly original work of contemporary R&B, from Calgary’s Yolanda Sargeant with producer Comrade.
11. “Tyrants Palace” by Dead Tired
A stupendous riff highlights this joyride of growling menace.
10. “Mirror” by Russell Louder
Russell again brings their magical touch to experimental dance music.
9. “I Don’t Think We Can Be Friends” by TOVI
Rebecca Emms (aka TOVI) with an electronic blast fuelled with trip-hop angst.
8. “Two Faced” by Megamall
Vancouver garage band Megamall hit a grungy/emo sweet spot.
7. “Chattels” by Brava Kilo & Annie Sumi
A charming tune which is deliberated jumbled to represent the chaos created when goods were confiscated from prisoners at Internment Camps for Japanese/Canadians during WW II.
6. “High Five” by Abby Sage
A lysergic folk groove with an enticing kick.
5. “Teeth Agape” by Tanya Tagaq
Tagaq visceral growled vocals combined with exciting electronics makes for a cinematic experience.
4. “The Weeping Man” by By Divine Right
This beautiful track by the Toronto art rockers is mournful and ethereal.
3. “Chemical Emotion” by JEEN.
Absolutely spellbinding work of pop-rock from singer-songwriter JEEN.
2. “Set yourself free” by AUS!Funkt
Killer rhythms power this post-punk call to the masses.
1. “Walking Feels Slow” by Eliza Niemi
A soft folk charmer with a delightfully eccentric delivery.
A wild, watery ride through a house of mirrors of experimental rock sounds.
by Mark Anthony Brennan
25. ‘Dislocation’ by danes
The abrasive rumbling of Vancouver’s danes does not detract from the post-rock artistry at work, in fact it enhances it.
24. ‘Attention Span’ by hundredmillionthousand
A dazzling, eclectic mix from Edmonton experimental composer Noel Fanaeian.
23. ‘Stonedhenge’ by DRUG SAUNA
Calgary stoner duo DRUG SAUNA play doom metal at a funeral’s pace.
22. ‘Both Feet in the World, At Least I Can Stand‘ by Laura Hickli
Hickli’s artful chamber pop is delightful in unexpected ways.
21. ‘The Fool‘ by Krill Williams
Krill Williams’ innate quirkiness draws you into their dreamy, bedroom goodness.
20. ‘185 on the Corner’ by Paul Jacobs
More woozy, psych-pop from Montreal’s Paul Jacobs.
19. ‘nutty grotto’ by divorcer
Crazy unconventional song structures make this outing by divorcer a post-punk pop treat.
18. ‘Private Lives’ by Private Lives
Composed of members of Pale Lips, Lonely Parade and Priors, Private Lives hits the sweet spot between jangling post-punk and experimental noise rock.
17. ‘Sham Family’ by Sham Family
Things go from direct in-your-face rock to the downright strange on this debut from Sham Family.
16. ‘Visibly Choked’ by Visibly Choked
Refreshingly inventive art-punk, occasionally melodic and occasionally abrasive.
15. ‘Le voyage de M. Lonely dans la lune’ by Elephant Stone
Elephant Stone sing in French in this delightful psych-rock adventure.
14. ‘Joyful Joyful’ by Joyful Joyful
Cormac Culkeen and Dave Grenon (aka Joyful Joyful) gift us this combination of unique soaring vocals and electronic drone.
13. ‘Tired and Unwell at Pandora’s Box’ by SoyJoy
An intimate recording of SoyJoy’s idiosyncratic confessional strange-folk.
12. ‘I’ve Never Met a Stranger’ by Picastro
Veterans Picastro still entrance us with their off-beat charm.
11. ‘In Mind’ by TRUTH
Lo-fi and personal recording of Monica McGregor’s spacey, sparse creations.
10. ‘Honest Injun’ by TJ Felix
A wild collection of experimental basement numbers reflecting on growing up Indigenous.
9. ‘Hey’ by Diamondtown
Nova Scotia supergroup Diamondtown lay down an impeccable EP of shimmering psych-folk.
8. ‘Spellbook’ by Michael Slumber
Wandering through Michael Slumber’s spell-binding songs is a trippy experience.
7. ‘Hard Flirt’ by Yessica Woahneil & Danny Kidd
An irresistible collection of low-key folk-punk musings.
6. ‘Stars We Lost’ by Lammping
In a year of great psych-rock, ‘Stars We Lost’, delivered with unbridled exuberance, takes the cake.
5. ‘Escape from Lizard City’ by Megamall
Playful punk-pop with aggressive undertones in a dazzling debut.
4. ‘Psych Pedal’ by Bad Pop
A dreamy wooziness pervades this frenetic headlong drive into the realm of post-everything.
3. ‘Hard to be a God’ by Whitney K.
It sounds awfully vain, but with this collection of quirky, off-beat ballads, the shoes fits.
2. ‘Mal Casual’ by Jared Jackel’s Bad Vibrations
Nothing but good vibrations in these psychedelic cowboy blues.
1. ‘YOU EMBVRRVSS ME’ by MVLL CRIMES
Hardcore punk with an artsy edge thanks to clever lyrical statements, sometimes spoken, sometimes sung, sometimes screamed.
“High Five” by Abby Sage
“All the Queen’s Men” by Private Lives
“New Kind of Summer of Love” by Spencer Krug
“Power” by Broken Egg
“North Battleford” by Bright Boy
“The Mute” by DA’AT
“Pull Me Up” by Dumb
“High Road” by Diamondtown
“Waste of Crime” by American Lips
“9 to 5” to Joyeria
The idiosyncratic sounds of Broken Egg and their grungy sadcore.
From the compilation album ‘Nuclear Free Nanaimo Volume III’.
Nanaimo’s Elise Boulanger displays her idiosyncratic vocal stylings in the timeless, soaring tune “Chrysalis”.
From the EP ‘The Blooming’.
The Nanaimo duo Max Pittet and Chris Thompson are the new band SEX. “garden/GARDEN/Garden” is an understated gem of experiment pop, featuring burbling electronics and intriguing vocals.
From their debut album ‘Textin’ Yr Exes’.
Irregular Dreams 