Heavydive, Patche, POP POP VERNAC, and Teenage Art Scene
Heavydive - Foreign Patterns
My goodness it’s been too long. Back in 2018, the prairies were floored by the debut album from Calgary’s Heavydive. Six years later, we finally get its follow up and it was well worth the wait. Foreign Patterns continues the bands homage to the finer sounds to come out of the 80s. Shoegaze, new-wave, post-punk, and dream-pop all get thrown in the blender as the band takes the most satisfying aspects from the decade to make their own unique vision. Bringing in legendary Calgarian, Lorrie Matheson was a stroke of genius as the band’s hybrid 80s sound is a match made in heaven with Matheson’s slick production. The band is at the top of their game and the record sounds great, lovers of 80s aesthetics need to hear this album.
Patche - Document
Montreal’s Patche return with their second album in as many years and c’est magnifique! Multiple modular synths, sound manipulation, bass and drums come together to craft uptempo electronic music that I actually enjoy. Normally anything electronic with a bpm that would work in a club setting is not for me but Patche set themselves apart by mixing in equal parts krautrock and club vibes. It makes for a really enjoyable electronic music experience and is certainly helping to make me more open to explore the genre.
Pop Pop Vernac - A Cold Beer and a Couple of Grapes
Regina’s Pop Pop Vernac return with another great release worthy of your attention. The band is an example of a “local music scene supergroup” with all four members active in multiple facets of Regina’s tight-knit music scene. Everyone in band contributes songs and sings on their respective tracks so each record has different sounds throughout. It’s not a complete hodgepodge though as each member stays within the confines of punk, powerpop, and grunge, but they all put their on spin on these genres. I love this band and they are superb live, don’t miss out!
Teenage Art Scene - Minor Leagues
For a small city, Victoria continues to inspire an incredible array of great musical acts. Next in line is Teenage Art Scene, the musical project of Rupert Yakelashek who has been quietly churning out releases for years. Minor Leagues signals his intent to enter the Canadian indie music landscape by getting the project out to a larger audience. Because of this, we were lucky enough to discover this summer alt-pop gem and can suggest you check it out as well.
- Jeff MacCallum
