Generals of Monrovia

 

Generals of Monrovia

Generals of Monrovia are an Israeli-Guyanese pop punk trio originally from British Columbia, Canada, but relocated to Austin, Texas some years back. As far as I can tell, they aren't very active anymore, however released 2 great EP's in 2015 and 2017, a self titled release and Immigrant Punk respectively.

The lineup includes General Sokah on guitar and vocals, General 55 on bass and General Motors on drums, and lyrical themes battle immigration and racial comments from politicians, among many other political themes. Generals of Monrovia had a bit of coverage in a publication from Okayafrica, talking about AfroPunk and their letter of rejection to the band. I will link that article down below, as it's an interesting read.

Musically, this band kind of leans on the verge of alternative rock and pop-punk rock, with some comparisons to The OBGM's, early Seaway, Elder Abuse, and Dangercat among others in that general sound-sphere. I really do hope you check out this band and enjoy them, because they perked my ear almost immediately. 

Below are some links, including the article I mentioned early, which you can use to support and listen to the band.

OkayAfrica Article 

Spotify

Bandcamp

 

 

 

 

Courage My Love

 

Photo credit: Anthony Chung

Ontario is no stranger to great pop rock and punk bands, both past and present. Like Pacific, Seaway, Bearings, Sum 41 and The Dirty Nil all come to mind. Courage My Love is no exception. If the name doesn't familiar, it's possible that you might know Phoenix and Mercedes' new band, Softcult. More about that in a minute. Courage My Love formed in Kitchener, Ontario, in 2009 as a pretty heavy pop punk and rock band featuring twin sisters, Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn on drums/keys/backing vocals and guitar/vocals respectively. Joining them on bass was David Blake-Dickson on bass, who contributed to the recording of their first EP in 2011, For Now. He was replaced by Brandon Lockwood in 2012.

Sonically, in their early days, their material is for fans of bands who were up and coming at that time, such as Tonight Alive, Crystalyne (more Canadian music), Against the Current (they were a bit later. but worth the mention) and VersaEmerge, and even some of the big players in the game who came up earlier, such as Hey Monday and Paramore. They would later transition to a synthpop/alternative pop sound which has callbacks and influences from all kinds of artists, including Pale Waves, Cocteau Twins and HAIM. In total, the band would release 6 EPs and 2 albums, and received a JUNO nomination (the Canadian Grammy's) in 2014 for their Becoming EP. They appeared at Vans Warped Tour 2017, and toured with As It Is, Trash Boat and Holding Absence in 2018, also appearing at 2000 Trees fest that same year.

The sisters felt cast down by their label, which led to their disbandment in 2020. Very soon, their new band, Softcult would be formed. Softcult is more of a indie/dream pop and shoegaze sounding-band, in the same vein as bands such as Loathe, Teenage Wrist and Lush. Please check out Softcult as well, as they are gaining serious heat, as of these past couple years. They will also be going on tour in the US with Movements and Mannequin Pussy, which is a stacked bill adding Softcult on it.

Here are some links which you can use to support the artist(s) music

Courage My Love Spotify

Softcult Spotify

Softcult Instagram

Courage My Love Bandcamp

 

 

 

 

Swallowing Shit

 

Photographer: Unknown

I'm from Winnipeg, and haven't done an entry of a band such as Propagandhi or Weakerthans. What the hell?! Those will all come soon, most likely, but I would always like to focus on the more obscure ones. Which is why I'd probably sooner choose an Agassiz or a Sixty Stories over the aforementioned bands. With that being said, here's Swallowing Shit from Regina, Saskatchewan. SS were a grindcore band formed in 1994 and lasting to 1997, and featured MANY members in it's ever changing lineup, with vocalist Mike Alexander being the only permanent member (although drummer Cory Koss was the second longest lasting, joining immediately after the release of their first demo.) Probably the bands' 2 most popular members were guitarist Todd Kowalski, who would go onto join Propagandhi (and was also in I-Spy around this time), and Jahmeel Russell who has played with KEN Mode and Kittens, among others. This band was, as most Kowalski projects have been, very left-wing/anarcho-punk lyrically.

Swallowing Shit released a rare demo in 1995, a few 7 inches and a compliation which included some songs that never appeared on those past releases. The band disbanded in 1997 and played their last show with J Church and The Weakerthans.

Here are some links to some places where you catch their music. 

Spotify

Discogs

Soundcloud

I sincerely wish you luck if you are trying to look for physicals of this band.

North of America

Pic credit: Unknown

North Of America is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in 1997 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Though only lasting until 2003 in their initial run, the band toured around much of North America and Europe, and even after their initial breakup, reunited to play around Canada many times, including with Ted Leo and The Pharmacists. Past and current members now currently live in Halifax and Vancouver, and included in it's initial lineup, Michael Catano, Mark Mullane, J. La Pointe and Mark Colavecchia. Jim MacAlpine would replace LaPointe in 2003 after the release of Brothers, Sisters.

If you're a fan of much of late 90s/2000s indie-emo and post-hardcore, with bands such as The Van Pelt, Modest Mouse, Milemarker and Q And Not U (and yes, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists). Halifax (and the general New England/Atlantic Canada area) had such a booming music scene for this kind of music back in this era, and some of these bands deserve a little more love. North of America's full discography was uploaded a few years back so you can look for that, here's some links to their Bandcamp page and more, if you'd like to support them:

North of America Spotify

North of America Bandcamp

North of America Discogs

Pic credit: from Exclaim! Please tell me who the photographer is; author of article is Josiah Hughes.

 

 

 

One Of Us

 

Photo credit: Unknown. Taken at the Osborne Taphouse in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

One Of Us is a melodic hardcore band based out of Winnipeg, Canada. They consist of members Thurston Granger (vocals), Dave (guitar), Jorden (drums), RJ and Myke rounding out the lineup. They are heavily influenced by the melodic/skate punk bands of the '90s, notably the SoCal scene, including Bad Religion, Lagwagon, Strung Out and No Use for a Name. They've been performing together since 2018 and have performed at many of Winnipeg's finest venues, including the Pyramid Cabaret, Park Theatre and The Osborne Taphouse, and performed at 2019's SOS Fest with the first night's headliners Good Riddance and The Ripperz (alongside other local favourites Screaming at Traffic, Dinner Club and Suburban Hypocrites). One of Us dropped their debut full-length album in January 2023, and is an exceptional piece of Canadian hardcore. Check it out if the SoCal scene is your thing and you enjoy the evolution of the modern era of bands (especially the Canadians). Down below are some links to their music pages where you can hear that album.

One Of Us Instagram 

One Of Us Spotify

One Of Us Bandcamp

 

 

Ceilings

Picture credit: Unknown

Ceilings is a Winnipeg-bred hardcore-adjacent emo grunge/shoegaze (or if you prefer it, grungegaze) band, essentially a supergroup. As far as I can tell, they formed sometime around late 2017 or 2018, and have been playing every local dive bar, social club, bowling alley and taphouse in the city since then. The lineup currently consists of vocalist/guitarist Trevor Buckley, guitarist Nick "The Fonz" Fondse (who also plays in Locater), drummer Sean Kaye (who also plays with Elder Abuse, Locater and Witchtrip), and Josh on bass and backing vocals.

Forming close friendships with other notable punk bands in the WPG and surrounding scene including The Uglies, Broken Nose Mall Santa and Higherlows (a band with members of Escape from Echo Base), Ceilings have taken their unique, noisy sound, fit with guitarist Nick's absolutely unmistakable guitar tone, and have expanded their reach out west, with spring 2023 dates out in Vancouver and Edmonton/Calgary with Swear Jar and others. Once they finish that leg of dates, they come back to play a show in Winnipeg on May 26th at the Goodwill Social Club, with How To Boil Water (past members of Look North/Prinport), Lake Disappointment and Harley James Flett.

Ceilings are an incredible band and the Winnipeg scene is lucky to have them, I have very much enjoyed the shows I've seen and the interactions I've had with their band members. Check out their latest EP, Double Vision, and listen to the early stuff too. Also, do consider supporting the band by buying their merch, because the designs (some of the recent ones done by Josh himself) look really sick.

I'll throw some links down below where you can access their Bandcamp and social medias, etc.

Ceilings Spotify 

 Ceilings Bandcamp

Ceilings Instagram (show announcements, etc) 

Other bands that contain members of Ceilings:

Elder Abuse (melodic hardcore) 

Witchtrip (metal) 

Locater (emo/grunge/shoegaze) (on No Sleep as of 2023)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Mothers

 

Photo credit: Unknown

Single Mothers is a (post-)hardcore punk band with alternative tendencies from London, Ontario, Canada formed in 2008, currently on Dine Alone Records as of 2023, but had previously been on Big Scary Monsters and Secret Voice (Jeremy Bolm's label, an imprint of Deathwish Inc).They are about to release their 5th studio album, 'Roy' at the end of April, a pretty good number for a band as spontaneous and/or unpredictable as them.

 They have been through about 20 members (which includes touring members) through these 15 years. Vocalist Andrew Thomson is the only member who's been on every release, even with the hiatus he took from the band. It should be noted that Single Mothers has had members of fellow Ontario punk/alternative rock band The Dirty Nil (Dave Nardi and Ross Miller, both as bassists). Single Mothers has toured with Drug Church, A Wilhelm Scream, Title Fight and Quicksand, and appeared at Winnipeg's 2019 SOS Fest at the Park Theatre alongside other headliners Sharptooth, Good Riddance and Cancer Bats. Sonically, this band sounds like a mixture of other notable hardcore guys, between Fiddlehead, Drug Church, Title Fight, Ceremony, DANGERS and Touché Amoré. Vocally, Andrew Thomson takes some influence from bands such as The Replacements, The Hold Steady and Bear vs. Shark.

Single Mothers currently has 2 singles out, so scour those out via the links below. They are called 'Head Shrunk' and 'Sad Dumb Game'. Enjoy those and listen to the album when it comes out via Dine Alone, on April 28th.

Single Mothers Spotify 

Single Mothers Bandcamp

Single Mothers Store

Single Mothers Dine Alone Page

Single Mothers Facebook