#10 Uncle Depressant
Indecent Exposure
Self-Released

Ottawa metal trio Uncle Depressant dropped this four-track EP in January and it’s been a mainstay in my listening rotation. The title track bemoans the frequency with which upcoming bands allow themselves to be exploited by unscrupulous so-called promoters. Personal fav “Too Depressed To Stress” sounds like it would be another downer track but it’s such a rollicking piece of boogie-metal the subject matter is completely overshadowed. Bonus points for the hair-raising guitar solo. Indecent Exposure makes the list just for that track alone.

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#9 Bends
Picking Daisies
Self-Released

Bends have been stirring up a buzz with their noise-fuelled live show. I caught them awhile back at Bar Orwell (RIP) and was digging their shoegazey vibes. Their EP Picking Daisies dropped in April and at four tracks seems like a small sample of what the Toronto space-rock weirdos have up their sleeve. “Baby Cat” and “Yip Yap” soak the listener with waves of fuzz and reverb. Peppy and eccentric “Ghosty” lives on the back of a simple-but-catchy guitar riff. More please.

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#8 Bill McNeal
3 Wise Guys EP
Self-Released

Sliding in right before the buzzer, Bill McNeal’s newest EP (and second this year) was released on Christmas Day. The trio, composed of Montreal scene-vets, has assembled a wild mix of different styles putting ska-punk shoulder to shoulder with hardcore/thrash and funk-infused rock. Singer/songwriter SoMad is featured on a couple tracks (the silly/fun “Pirate Booty” and pleasantly tuneful “To The Core”). Delightfully diverse, 3 Wise Guys EP has something for everyone.

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#7 Glitch Kingdom
Jungle Hijinxs
Self-Released

Sydney, Australia-based Glitch Kingdom has been carving out a space for themselves with mathy genre-hopping songs that can best described as mini-prog metal ska/punk. Seriously, this EP is three songs and clocks in at less than five minutes. Masquerading as a Nintendo-themed gimmick band, the video game subject matter is actually a red herring (everything in there has a second meaning) Fast, frenetic, highly technical and super-fun, everything Glitch Kingdom touches turns to gold (coins) and will have you going bananas.

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#6 Polluted
Chocolate Nickels and Dimes
Self-Released

London, Ontario’s Polluted put out Chocolate Nickels and Dimes in early January and it’s awesome. It’s got a heavy wall-of-guitars production complemented by little flourishes. There are some subtle acoustic guitars in “Lemongrabber”, not-so-subtle acoustic guitars in the cathartic blast that is “Godzilla” and an honest-to-god banjo solo in burned-out-burner “D’lo Brown.” The record walks an interesting line between ferocity and vulnerability and is all the better for it.

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#5 Tumble
Lost In Light
Echodelick Records

Tumble dropped a doozy on us with their time-warp love-letter to 70’s hard rock and heavy metal. This debut EP is the perfect example of a fresh spin on a classic sound. It’s highlighted by bluesy beast “The Less I Know”, dread-inducing opener “Laid By Fear” and galloping closer “Wings of Gold”. The playing is crisp, the production is spot on and the songs are exciting and memorable. Lost In Light is the real deal.

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#4 Baby’s First Pistol
Smiles Are Contagious
Self-Released

I once described Baby’s First Pistol as nihilistic post-hardcore disco. The Toronto five-piece are onto something interesting here. Opener “Slujt” has a driving energy and dissonant vibe. “Dis-posable” sounds like NIN on a date with GVSB at a poison coffee cafe. “Learn To Watch It Burn” is the most conventional track, but it also hits the hardest. Baby’s First Pistol draws from a varied sonic palette to complement vocalist Alex Black’s speak-singing. Smiles Are Contagious manages to be enjoyable despite its designs on unnerving the listener. Contagious, indeed.

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#3 Quotas
Self-Titled
zBTFD

I wrote about Quotas‘ debut EP a fair bit here calling it “an uncomfortable listen, expertly crafted, masking beauty behind terror.” It’s stuck with me a fair bit over the year. I’m still entranced by the haunting opener “First Right of Refusal”. Quotas is able to have its cake and eat it too by pilfering the best parts of post-rock and post-punk. This trio of scene-vets has us exactly where they want us.

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#2 The Crease Rule
Acceptable Rot
Self-Released

Hockey-loving five piece The Crease Rule find the sweet spot between melodic punk hooks and skate-punk speed on their latest EP Acceptable Rot. The eight-track-wonder is full of highlights: there are anthemic fist-pumpers (“Lifetime Chondriac,” “Town League”), glorious choruses that will chase you around for days (“Chris Was On The Piss”, “Breakfast Beers”) and one sub-minute ripper (tongue-in-cheek “Charlie’s America Song”) that cuts sharper than your skates. Give these guys two in the box for hooks. This one’s a keeper.

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#1 Whine Problem
Sleem
Self-Released

I gushed in the spring about Whine Problem’s debut EP Sleem. Their ability to draw from a disparate set of influences (Broken Social Scene! PJ Harvey! Rage Against The Machine!) and interweave them into complex songs that are experiences as much as they are earworms is truly something to behold. There are moments that come back to me again and again, like the nightmarish refrain that caps “Rich and Fancy” “like the love of a parent / you can always just hit me” or on the other end of the spectrum the explosive climax of Autopsy which is just a true rock-out moment. Lush, theatrical, spellbinding and scary; Sleem was Whine Problem’s calling-card to the world: undeniable and impossible to ignore.

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