Cranking up the distortion and existential dread: Slippery When Wet delivers reptilian roadside horror with a killer hook, while Coma Beach's I Won't Listen cuts like shards of broken glass — violent jolts of punk refusal — and their The Scapegoat's Agony razor-sharpens that punk catharsis with Beckett-fueled existential turmoil. Modern Ideas pivots to plastic dreams and electric romance with '80s-soaked DIY synth-pop, while Auckland's Stars and the Underground conjure post-punk shoegaze with ethereal guest vocals soaring to new heights. som som rounds things out with lo-fi indie rock that lurches from moody verses to euphoric noise-pop bliss.
Slippery When Wet
Truck Stop Annie: Ballad of the Lot Lizard
A tune based on an erotic short story of the same name, about a beautiful lizard shapeshifter who feeds on unsuspecting truckers looking for a good time.
Dave Digger and the Free Factory
Parolled Soul
a mishmash of rock and soul, indie, acoustic, psychadelia with the odd electronic beat thrown in here and there
The City Gates
Capitol Hill
Montreal's The City Gates deliver a jangly post-punk tune with shoegazed guitar whirls and a driving pulse.