BONNIE TRASH is the drone-rock project of Canadian-Italian twin sisters Emmalia and Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor. Today they have announced details of their debut album, ‘Malocchio’, to be released on October 28th via Hand Drawn Dracula, and have shared new single Have You Seen Her

‘Malocchio’ unspools a real-life horror story based on the stories told to them by their Italian grandmother. Over heavy, hypnotic riffs, pounding drums and spooky soundscapes, the lyrics pull the listener into the meaning of the “evil eye,” a hex of malice onto another.

Speaking on today’s new single – the shadowy and foreboding Have You Seen Her– the band comment: “The music video plays out like a sci-fi involving an alternate dimension/timeline. Using the same idea of the malocchio that haunted our nonna decades ago, what does it look like when conjured by generations later in the future, and can this generational haunting finish once and for all? We see two siblings confront the malocchio head-on, only for it to follow once more. The curse has become a part of them. Do not be afraid.

Have You Seen Her is also about the tragic loss of a loved one, longing to be with them, and wondering where they’ve ended up – above the clouds? Below the earth? A new (to us) dimension? Death is the only thing we know to be true in this world. Precious memories here are what we hold onto. When our loves are taken from us by what may be a curse, it’s only natural that we want to find a way to reverse it, and reunite with them in harmony.”

07/15/22 Guelph ON : Kazoo Festival
08/11/22 Toronto ON : Horseshoe Tavern w/ Roach, Praises

ORDER MALOCCHIOPRE-SAVE / SPOTIFY / APPLE / BANDCAMP
PRESS: MUSIC & RIOTS, NICHE, WERK, BIZZARRE, WRSZW, SOME PARTY, IRREGULAR DREAMS, TINNITIST, CIRCUIT SWEET, SOUNDSPHERE, INDIE FOR BUNNIES, SHE MAKES MUSIC, BACKSEAT MAFIA, CMU APPROVED, EXCLAIM

July 15th GUV III & IV : Today marks the release of the full double album GUV III & IV by YOUNG GUV. To celebrate the release, we’re sharing a music video for “CRY 2 SLEEP” (Directed By Guv & Luis Hernandez). The double album, which features both GUV III and GUV IV albums with new artwork by Braulio Aamado and a new bonus track “SHE SPARKLES EVERYWHERE ft. Bobbie Lovesong”.

June 24th GUV IV : Dive deeper into the world of  YOUNG GUV is gearing up to release his new album GUV IV, his second full-length album this year. Written entirely in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range of New Mexico following a cancelled tour in the spring of 2020, the songs on GUV IV range in the way that only a Young Guv record can – from Laurel Canyon jangle to British Invasion blues-pop to AM-radio Americana to the mildly sleazy electro pop on a song-by-song basis. But at its core, GUV IV is a collection of songs dedicated and testifying to the eternal healing power of love. Released June 24th via Run For Cover and Hand Drawn Dracula Records.

“Ben Cook has placed himself amongst the best songwriters going” – 8.6/10 NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS


GUV IV : Spotify / Apple / GUV IV (limited one time pressing)
GUV III & IV : Spotify / Apple / GUV III & IV (Bandcamp)

PRESS : INDIENATIVE, RAGE TV, BROOKLYN VEGAN, NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS, PAN M 360, GHETTOBLASTER, PIXBEAR, PASTE MAGAZINE, ALL MUSIC

FAKE PALMS, the project helmed by Toronto-based artist Michael le Riche, is today returning with his new single “Visions” (video directed by Justis Krar) from Lemons, set for release via Hand Drawn Dracula on September 16, 2022.

Michael le Riche called upon a veritable who’s who of Toronto indie-dom for Lemons, drawing from the ranks of Dilly Dally (Ben Reinhartz), Ducks Ltd (Evan Lewis), Sauna (Braeden Craig), and Twist (Laura Hermiston). Taking to Candle Recording studio with long-time contributor, co-producer, and engineer Josh Korody (Breeze, Beliefs), the songwriting dove headlong even further into dream-math-punk sensibilities.

The arch jangle of new single, “Visions” evokes Lee Ranaldo linking up with the bubblegum-savvy early Wire while finding le Riche tapping into some of his poppiest moments as a songwriter following his previous work as Fake Palms, as well as the soupy electronica of his work with Sauna and art-rock of Darcys. The track erupts with slashing guitar and quickfire percussion which matches Michael’s vocals toe for toe. Speaking about the track, he says: “Visions” is the sound of power chords and an overactive right arm. No more intricate, overly complex guitar parts or different time signatures. It’s Buzzcocks or the Dead Boys at its core, angular and jangly. “Musically, it’s the most direct thing I’ve ever done. No hiding behind walls of reverb, mutating time signatures, or vague lyrics.”


PRE-ORDER: APPLE / SPOTIFY / YOUTUBE / BANDCAMP EXCLUSIVE VINYL (ed.100)
PRESS: ROMU ROCKS, CIRCUIT SWEET, SOME PARTY, SONOFMARKETING, ACUTE POP, LE CANAL AUDITIF, THOUGHTS WORDS ACTION, TINNITIST, INDIE MACHINE, NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS, INDIE 88, BROOKLYN VEGAN, BIZZARRE, THE VERGE / SIRIUSXM, APPLE MUSIC, BANDCAMP NEW & NOTABLE

Toronto-born, London-based artist TESS PARKS releases a new video for ‘I See Angels’, lifted from her newly-released solo album, ‘And Those Who Were Seen Dancing’, out now on Fuzz Club and Hand Drawn Dracula Records. Alongside the new album, Parks has also announced UK/EU tour and festival dates in support. Following years of international touring and a lengthy list of critically-acclaimed collaborations with Brian Jonestown Massacre‘s Anton Newcombe in recent years (most recently the duo’s self-titled 2018 LP), the new album will be Parks’ first full-length solo offering since her much-loved debut album, ‘Blood Hot‘, was released back in 2013. Trailing the highly-praised singles ‘Happy Birthday Forever‘, ‘Brexit at Tiffany’s‘ and ‘Do You Pray?‘, ‘And Those Who Were Seen Dancing‘ is out now.

On ‘I See Angels’, Parks says: “This song was written on my way out of New York and for the video I always had this vision of dancers dancing all over the city, I always love seeing people who have the confidence, discipline and motivation to decide that they’re going to go to some particular spot and just dance there for the day. I came across Joe Bressler’s work and loved it and he lived in New York so we decided to collaborate. We loosely discussed locations, but without knowing, he ended up choosing some places that had great personal sentimental significance to me. I love how the video ends with this beautiful ballerina finally out free and dancing in nature. That whole last dance sequence is framed like an actual renaissance painting.”

ORDER : Deezer / Spotify / Apple / Bandcamp
RADIO : #23 at Earshot Top 50, #83 at NACC Top 200 (w/o 06.20)
RADIO : #25 at Earshot Top 50, #10 at NACC Top 50 Canada, #8 CBC Radio 3 (w/o 08.03)


AND THOSE WHO WERE SEEN DANCING TOUR DATES
25/06 Toronto, CA • Sonic Boom (In-Store)
06/08 London, UK • South Facing Festival
14/08 Copenhagen, DK • Common Ground Festival
20/08 Saint-Malo, FR • La Route Du Rock
03/09 Manchester, UK • Manchester Psych Festival
09/09 Normandy, FR • Rock In The Barn Festival
14/09 Nantes, FR • Le Ferrailleur
15/09 Paris, FR • La Maroquinerie
16/09 Lille, FR • Strawberry Fields Festival
25/09 Amsterdam, NL • Paradiso
02/10 Norwich, UK • Norwich Psych Festival
25/10 Brighton, UK • Green Door Store
26/10 Newcastle, UK • Cluny 2
27/10 Glasgow, UK • Stereo
28/10 Leeds, UK • Hyde Park Book Club
29/10 Liverpool, UK • Phantasmagoria
18/11 Hamburg, DE • Molotow
19/11 Berlin, DE • SynÄsthesie Festival
22/11 Cologne, DE • Bumann & Sohn
23/11 Stuttgart, DE • Merlin
24/11 Munich, DE • Import Export
25/11 Graz, AT • Dom Im Berg
26/11 Vienna, AT • Flex
28/11 Konstanz, DE • Kulturladen
29/11 Zurich, CH • Bogen F
30/11 La Chaux-de-Fonds, CH • Bikini Test
01/12 Numberg, DE • Z-bau
02/12 Damstadt, DE • 806qm

PRAISES, the project helmed by Toronto-based artist Jesse Crowe, has today released its sophomore record In This Year: Hierophant via Hand Drawn Dracula. Alongside sharing the new record, Praises has also released the single “Our Father” with a video directed by Julia Wittmann. Praises will also be performing an album release show in Toronto at The Horseshoe Tavern on August 11th with Roach and Bonnie Trash.

Through instinct, talent, and of course, blind luck, Praises – who now operate as a full band – harnessed their sound through the course of the pandemic, leaning into the creative spirit and a recording process reminiscent of a Bad Seeds project where key players wrote their parts from only a demo track and a feeling. The result pushes beyond their industrial synth-based offerings, incorporating the intensity of their highly regarded live performances with an intimate, collaborative, and distanced songwriting process.

Speaking about the new single, “Our Father”, which is built on brooding synth and solemn percussion before building into a climax, Crowe explains: “In the years following the Me Too movement, it can feel as though every safe feeling male mentor will be exposed as an abuser. Our Father is a letter to Nick Cave, and is meant to playfully invoke his tone as a means to warn him against ever being a pig.”

“instinctively sombre, and gorgeously intimate” – PAN M 360

“a dark, stylized and highly theatrical treat for your senses and sensibilities” – DOMINIONATED

“a slow and meditative listen that gives a desirable amount of time to contemplate its profound messages” – 8/10 EXCLAIM!

ORDER NOW: APPLE / SPOTIFY / YOUTUBE / TIDAL / BANDCAMP
PRESS: WRSZW, INDIE MACHINE, DOMINIONATED, PAN M 360, THOUGHTS WORDS ACTION (1), THOUGHTS WORDS ACTION (2), SPILL MAGAZINE, CUPS N CAKES, EXCLAIM!
RADIO: #59 SubModern Albums at NACC, #10 Most Added at NACC, #26 CBC Radio 3 Top 30 (w/o 06.20)
RADIO: debuted #22 on Earshot Canada, #115 NACC Top 200, #11 on NACC Canadian Chart
RADIO: #1 CBC RAdio 3 Top 10 (w/o 08.01)

YOUNG GUV is gearing up to release his new album GUV IV next Friday, June 24th, via Run For Cover and Hand Drawn Dracula Records. Today he’s sharing one more early single, “Nervous Around U.”

GUV IV comes hot on the heels of Young Guv’s previous full-length, GUV III, which just came out in March. The ever-prolific musician has amassed an impressive and wide-reaching catalog over the years and GUV III and GUV IV offer the perfect entry point. Where GUV III encapsulated Cook’s most instantly accessible guitar pop songwriting, GUV IV represents the most sonically adventurous side of Young Guv–effortlessly moving between hazy, Madchester-inspired rave ups, twangy California jangle, and even homemade sophisti-pop–such as on the record’s final single, “Nervous Around U.”

The track caps off a steady run of singles — “Cry 2 Sleep,” “Change Your Mind,” and “Nowhere At All” (which drew attention from the likes of NPR, Stereogum, Paste Magazine, Uproxx, BrookylnVegan, New Commute, and many more) — and offers up a cut of shimmering ’80s-esque pop that’s sure to have you dancing by the end of it’s concise 2:16 runtime.

GUV IV : PRE-SAVE / Deezer / Spotify / Apple / Bandcamp (limited one time pressing)
PRESS : OUR CULTURE, PASTE MAGAZINE, STEREOGUM

June 24 Glasgow, UK @ The Rum Shack w/ Chastity
June 25 Manchester, UK @ Outbreak Festival
June 26 London, UK @ Windmill Brixton
June 27 Leeds, UK @ The Lending Room w/ Chastity
June 29 Birmingham, UK @ The Victoria
June 30 Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin w/ One Step Closer

BONNIE TRASH is the drone-rock project of Canadian-Italian twin sisters Emmalia and Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor. Today they share new single “Teeth” – a first glimpse at their debut album, which is due to be released later this year by Hand Drawn Dracula.

Teeth” sees Bonnie Trash at their poppiest, recontextualizing a “Be My Baby” beat (a nod to Ronnie Spector up above) before a wash of swoony, microtonal drones, the words telling of a love story that might be toxic.

The band share the track with a self-directed video, commenting: “We created a short film to help narrate stories our Nonna Maria told us about being haunted and followed by a curse in her hometown of San Zenone degli Ezzelini in Treviso, Italy. That short eventually became the concept of our album, which is woven into our first music video, “Teeth.” Shot at the Apollo Cinema in Kitchener, Ontario, “Teeth” bridges generations of being haunted – we see ourselves watching our work without understanding that we too have conjured the curse. A malocchio follows.

The music of Bonnie Trash connects the threads between metal, post-punk, shoegaze and gothic rock, with Emmalia’s astounding guitar work recalling the likes of Black Sabbath, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Joy Division and My Bloody Valentine. Singer/drummer/lyricist Sarafina’s voice leaps out of the mix with a commanding presence, summoning references to PJ Harvey or Siouxsie & the Banshees.

That mix of musical influences alone would set Bonnie Trash apart, but the duo’s unique approach to their lyrical content really puts them in a school of their own. Inspired by communication theory, social commentary, horror, and ancestral folklore, the sisters approach their songwriting as a conceptual research project into their own family heritage. As second-generation Italian-Canadians, the Bortolon-Vettors became fascinated by the stories told by their Nonna and the connections between Treviso in Northern Italy and their hometown of Guelph, Ontario.

The twins began playing music together at age 11, forming an all-female punk band in high school and a more eclectic indie group during their college years. But what became Bonnie Trash began to coalesce around 2013, when they moved back home to Guelph after spending time in the larger cities of Toronto and Montreal. A progressive college town with a vibrant DIY music scene, Guelph is also home to a tight-knit Italian-Canadian community and the name “Guelph” also has an Italian origin.

Spending more time with their Nonna Maria, they began digging into the ghost stories they heard as children, becoming more fascinated with the folklore, the superstitions, and the unique Veneto dialect she spoke — a dialect the sisters recognized was also dying out. Suddenly, the act of songwriting had also become an act of cultural preservation. And some of these stories were hair-raisingly scary. Discovering this heavier subject matter coincided with a shared desire to play heavier music.

06/12/22 Toronto ON : Baby G w/ Gloin
06/23/22 Calgary AB : Sled Island Festival
07/15/22 Guelph ON : Kazoo Festival

ORDER: DIGITAL / BANDCAMP
PRESS: GOD IS IN THE TV, GET IN HER EARS, WHEN THE HORN BLOWS, SHE MAKES MUSIC, SOME PARTY, THE AUTUMN ROSES, BACKSEAT MAFIA, NICHE MUSIC, CIRCUIT SWEET, THE VPME, WRSZW, IRREGULAR DREAMS, TINNITIST, PAN M 360, SIDEWALK HUSTLE, THE LINE OF BEST FIT

FAKE PALMS, the project helmed by Toronto-based artist Michael le Riche, is today returning with his new single “Satellite” (video directed by Justis Krar) and word of a new record.  Lemons is set for release via Hand Drawn Dracula on September 16, 2022.

Michael le Riche called upon a veritable who’s who of Toronto indie-dom for Lemons, drawing from the ranks of Dilly Dally (Ben Reinhartz), Ducks Ltd (Evan Lewis), Sauna (Braeden Craig), and Twist (Laura Hermiston). Taking to Candle Recording studio with long-time contributor, co-producer, and engineer Josh Korody (Breeze, Beliefs), the songwriting dove headlong even further into dream-math-punk sensibilities.

Just the third proper release from a one-man band that le Riche routinely manifests in the flesh onstage in Toronto as a sort of amorphous, all-star underground-Toronto noise-pop “supergroup,” this is an album that fully derives its antisocial scorch through the increased clarity and precision of the Fake Palms vision. Lemons is slippery, spiky, not a little psych-y and more than a little lyrically sour, not to mention frequently, subtly tricked-out from a minimalist, nerdo-instrumental perspective that doesn’t demand that you dork out over the arrangements but will always leave the option open if and when you decide to do so.

“Satellite” is sonically Magazine meets A Flock of Seagulls. Captained by a jagged, muscular guitar part that’s surrounded by an atypical rhythm section it thematically tackles modern technologies, mob mentality and safe havens from doom scrolling. Speaking about the new album, Michael explains: “This record is the most direct thing I’ve ever done,” says Le Riche. “All the distorted guitars playing 16th-note riffs in different time signatures, washes of noise and buried vocals are basically gone. In their place, we made a record that’s lean and a punch to the gut. There are still some moments where the guitars get a little tricky but, in general, we tried to be as immediate as possible. The songs are all fairly short and there are almost no extra production tricks. I was inspired by records like the Dead Boys’ Young, Loud and Snotty and the Buzzcocks’ Another Music in a Different Kitchen. Maybe because of what was going on in the world at the time, or maybe just as a reaction to the last Fake Palms record – which was flush with production flourishes – it just felt necessary to kick the door down instead of knocking.”

PRE-ORDER: APPLE / SPOTIFY / YOUTUBE / BANDCAMP EXCLUSIVE VINYL (ed.100)
PRESS: ALAN CROSS, SOME PARTY, LIFE ELSEWHERE, CIRCUIT SWEET, NICHE MUSIC, SIDEWALK HUSTLE, INDIE MACHINE, WRSZW, PHOTOGMUSIC, TINNITIST, THOUGHTS WORDS ACTION, AUSTIN TOWN HALL, BROOKLYN VEGAN 1, BROOKLAN VEGAN 2, EXCLAIM 1, EXCLAIM 2

Today YOUNG GUV has shared the third single, “Cry 2 Sleep,” from GUV IV. The new album is due out June 24th from Run For Cover and Hand Drawn Dracula Records. The track follows “Change Your Mind” and “Nowhere At All” (which drew praise from the likes of Stereogum, Paste Magazine, Uproxx, BrookylnVegan, New Commute, and more) and sees Ben Cook combining hazy pedal steel with bubbling keyboards and his gentle harmonies to make something that spans the many different moods of Guv.

Young Guv has also announced a run of UK shows in June. Guv will be touring around his performance at Outbreak Festival, including shows with One Step Closer, Chastity, and more.

GUV IV : PRE-SAVE / Deezer / Spotify / Apple / Bandcamp (limited one time pressing)
PRESS : BROOKLYN VEGAN, PRELUDE PRESS, NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS, STEREOGUM

July 22 Toronto, ON @ The Monarch w/ Kali Horse, Tange
June 24 Glasgow, UK @ The Rum Shack w/ Chastity
June 25 Manchester, UK @ Outbreak Festival
June 26 London, UK @ Windmill Brixton
June 27 Leeds, UK @ The Lending Room w/ Chastity
June 29 Birmingham, UK @ The Victoria
June 30 Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin w/ One Step Closer

PRAISES, the project helmed by Toronto-based artist Jesse Crowe, is today sharing their new single and video for “Life is Just a Picture”, which comes as another glimpse of their second album In This Year: Hierophant – out June 17.

When discussing “Life is Just a Picture“, which layers eerie vocals with decayed electronics and haunting synth, Crowe says: “Eventually we all live on in smudged still images on phones or in frames. This song breathes both the sorrow and joy of a lifetime of memories. Written in dedication to the intermingling stories of Grandma Upton and Granny Crowe.” It’s a foggy, gothic addition to the forthcoming album which at times touches on the sounds of Low, Zola Jesus and Chelsea Wolfe.

PRE-ORDER In This Year: HierophantAPPLE / SPOTIFY / YOUTUBE / TIDAL / BANDCAMP
PRESS: WRSZW, SONOFMARKETING, BIZZARRE, L’INDIEPENENTE, INDIEMACHINE, THOUGHTS WORDS ACTION, INDIE 88, EXCLAIM

TALLIES share “Special“, the latest single from their forthcoming album Patina. Out July 29th, 2022 via Kanine, Bella Union and Hand Drawn Dracula Records. “Special” arrives following a string of recent singles which have found support at Clash, Under the Radar, Exclaim, CBC Radio, Stereogum, BBC 6 Music and more.


Stream / Pre-order / Pre-save: HERE
EXCLUSIVE VINYL: HERE / Canadian Signature Edition, Copper Green Vinyl, Obi Strip, signed Art Card (100)

PRESS: SHE MAKES MUSIC, INDIE MACHINE, THE MOST RADICALIST, NICHE MUSIC, INDIENATIVE, POSTCARDS FROM UNDERGROUND, PHOTOGMUSIC, OUR CULTURE, INDIE 88, PASTE MAGAZINE, UNDER THE RADAR, BANDCAMP (N+N)

Special’ is about longing to be seen and heard by those who matter to you most. Sometimes feeling invisible is particularly painful when the indifference comes from someone whose opinion means a lot to you.” – Saraha Cogan (Tallies)

The juxtaposition of light and dark is a strong theme in the music of Tallies and certainly apparent once more with this new single, “Special” – another fine example of their gliding, shoegaze-adjacent jangle-pop reminiscent of The Sundays, Galaxie 500, Ride, etc. While many of their songs are upbeat, with Frankland’s breezy guitar lines drenched in reverb, soaring over Cian O’Neill’s propulsive drumbeats, Sarah’s lyrics can add a hint of shadow to even their most jangly tunes.


*** RELEASE SHOW : July 29 – The Garrison, Toronto ON – TIX