Staytus is the musical alter-ego of Arizona-based recording prodigy Sam Grundemann, who fuses the immersive sensibility of gaming culture and the moody, stylized futurism of anime with Gen X-inspired angst, all set to a serrated electro-industrial goth metal soundtrack.  A black-winged avatar come to deliver reckoning for the onslaught of challenges today’s young adults have to […]

A one man show, 19-year-old Aidan Skira’s vision is all his own: self-taught, self-produced, self-animated. With early traction on SoundCloud and tastemaker YouTube channels, he is now becoming a staple in the underground live music scene in Toronto. He’s driven by a visceral need to get his dark, yet hopeful perspective out into the world, […]

Hailing from Brooklyn, the wordsmith Jason Vitelli is venturing into uncharted musical territory with his latest project, “1. Ambient Corridors.” Contrary to what might be expected, this collection represents more of a homecoming than a departure. It revisits and reimagines tracks from Vitelli’s early days, when he crafted music for films and documentaries. What sets […]

On Harvest Highway (Out Oct. 13), Jimmy Rankin hits the road again, time traveling and traversing far-flung destinations—along with his native Nova Scotia—through his singular brand of East Coast folk-rock. He nods to Nova Scotia’s Highway 101—running through the fertile Annapolis Valley and down the southern shore of the Bay of Fundy—with the album’s wistful […]

If there were a Venn diagram of the modern stalwarts of Canadian rock and roll, there in the middle you’ll find Espanola’s Aaron Goldstein. As the go-to sideman for some of the country’s most recognized songwriters for the last 15 years, Goldstein has played pedal steel and electric guitar for the likes of Arkells, City […]

Alternative pop artist ROKI started writing and producing music at a young age as a creative outlet, and later headed up multiple bands. After taking a brief hiatus from music to pursue her love of filmmaking, she returned, producing new tracks with Ben Kaplan (Mother Mother) and Winston Hauschild (Wanting Qu). During the process of […]

It’s not too often that we associate face-melting guitar crunch with crying fits, but Zeroz (FKA Butterfly) aren’t like other bands. The Portland duo marries the sugar-rush pop hooks and guitar riffs of ‘90s alt-rock with modern hyperpop sensibilities and, well… sadboy tears.  If The Breeders and Pinback had a baby inside a battered computer server that […]