The best review I can give this album is my chiropractic bill. I’m staring down my 30th birthday and starting to realize moshing may be an activity for the youth (a part of which, I was rudely informed by my younger sister, I no longer am). Earplugs in I jumped into the pit at IDLES’ Vancouver concert and quite promptly threw my back out. TANGK is music that needs to be moved to (even if my vertebrae disagree). While this album veers into slightly more polished territory than their previous work it still holds their core ethos near and dear- love, support and revolution. It’s up to you how much you buy into that but it’s undeniable that the group is still kicking out some of the biggest tunes today. From the ultra danceable ‘Dancer’ to the tension filled ‘Jungle’, TANGK holds up under the immense weight of IDLES greatest hits.

On her second solo album Laura Jane Grace throws back, looks ahead and reminds us why we should be grateful for the present. Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace released her solo album, Hole In My Head, earlier this year. A foil to pandemic times Stay Alive, it reaches out with retro tinged punk tunes that catapult her from sounding like Bob Dylan to Joan Jett to Phoebe Bridgers and back again. One of my favourite things about Grace’s music is no matter how much inspiration she may draw from another musician or band’s sound she always sounds exactly like herself. Most apparent on ‘Mercenary’, she embodies everything she has been, and currently is. It’s equal parts quiet rage and a deeply hummable melody. 

Garage rock gets extra sludgy on LP Letter to Self released on City Slang. Anxieties about religion, politics and mental health run rampant to the tune of pounding drums and self-righteous guitar. Dublin four piece, SPRINTS’, first full length release takes the phrase ‘wall of noise’ as a personal challenge (spoiler alert: the band wins). The Irish punk band’s star continues to rise in the good company of contemporaries Fontaines DC and Pillow Queens- Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox even produced the group’s most recent release.

One of the rare instances of a band getting more raucous with time (and success), Mannequin Pussy’s third studio album I Got Heaven sets the mood with heavy drums and cutting vocals. Two parts punk, one part alt-rock and just a dash of screamo, the band shines on their most cohesive album yet. Their aspirations are clear (mainstream recognition) but the lyrics are their most intimate to date. Album opener and title track ‘I Got Heaven’ is a personal favourite from the LP.

One of the best live acts I’ve seen this year, Spiritual Cramp’s album doesn’t quite capture their on stage energy but it does a hell of a good job wrangling their many influences. A Cramps like vocal tinge creeps into one of my favourite tracks- ‘Slick Rick’. Tinny drums and rumbling guitars twine together low in the mix as the band prods at working class debt vs aesthetics with their lyrics. As a group, they thrive in a live environment, but their recorded work is well worth a listen (or two, or three).