always listening
Bitter Days is the new record from Nothing Serious – a trio that lays claim to Basement, Ontario (a nebulous space known to be somewhere around the Durham region) as their home. It’s a continuation of the fast-paced, melody-driven precedentRead more…
Plastic and Wax Issue #3 saw the largest print run yet (350 copies), featured write-ups on Mononegatives, Wasting Time and Fine Motor Control and highlighted new releases from a bunch of great bands. Which bands? Check the playlist* embedded below.Read more…
Calamity is the new EP from Toronto’s Fine Motor Control. Not to be confused with the drum/bass “new grunge” outfit of the same name also from Toronto circa 2004-2007. This band is actually the fifth collaboration between Vello Verder andRead more…
Hurry Up and Wait is the latest from Toronto’s Wasting Time. It’s the immediate follow-up to 2023 EP Chainsaw Dynamos and sees the four-piece picking up right where they left off. It’s a succinct collection of tightly-spun punk-rock head-bobbers. Frontman/songwriterRead more…
Crossing Visual Field – the latest from London-based post-punkers Mononegatives – is the record we thought people would be making in the future back in the 80’s. While we now have scarily-accurate facsimiles of songs by famous artists created byRead more…
Plastic and Wax issue #2 is in circulation and issue #3 is on the way. Grab your copy of the new one starting in May – first dibs at the release party at Handlebar in Toronto May 4. Or atRead more…
IV is the fourth full-length from Marvelous 3. But to call it a fourth album would be extremely misleading. A quick history lesson: Butch Walker, Jayce Fincher and Mitch “Slug” McLee alongside vocalist Jesse Harte spent the late 80’s/early 90’sRead more…
Just as I was happy last year to see the lockdown in the rearview, I’m happy to leave 2023 behind. But not without bringing a few records with me. There was a lot of great stuff released this year andRead more…
Plastic and Wax is in print now. If you live in the greater Toronto area, you can grab one at an independent record store. If you don’t, follow our sponsor @cartridge.heart on Instagram, send a DM and we can doRead more…
“All guitar strums were down” Avem proudly announces in the liner notes of their EP Nerdin About Birdin. For the uninitiated, Avem has embraced Ramonescore – a sub-genre of a sub-genre that embraces the fast, furious and melodic sound ofRead more…