From Blown Speakers

Tuesday, December 09, 2025
i was younger once/i'm holding on/i'm using up the break of dawn/your numbers called/you're long, long gone

I flew to LA on the weekend to watch Snocaps. It's something that wasn't really on my radar when the album dropped, but then Katie Crutchfield wrote that they were probably only ever going to play two shows each in Chicago (though they added a third there), LA, and NYC, plus Wilco's already sold out Sky Blue Sky festival in Mexico. And also that they'd be dipping into the Crutchfields' shared back catalog to play some PS Eliot, Swearin', Allison solo, and early Waxahatchee songs.

I figured, I'd pick up a ticket and then make up my mind later. But then, for some weird reason, the only Ticketmaster delivery option to Canada was by mail, so there I was with a physical ticket to a show 2,000 kilometres away, which was going to make my plan of "I'll sell it for cost if I don't go" a bit more challenging. Still, being out $50 was a lot less than flight and hotel. Also, it was pretty short notice to rustle up someone to go with me, so I would probably be soloing it.

But then one night (with the help of four or five beers at the Canucks game), I said "fuck it" and booked a flight.

Mike Krol (aka Allison Crutchfield's husband) opened, playing what he announced as his "only show this year."

He had Allison join him on stage for one song, after which he promised "another surprise later." At one point, passed a ladder onto the floor and asked an audience member to "set it up in the middle" before climbing up to sing from his new perch. He blew confetti into the crowd. And he very sweetly started crying when he talked about how happy he was to see and hear his wife singing again.

It was messy, a bit chaotic, at times beautiful, and fun as hell.

That other surprise was a doozy too, with Krol ceding the microphone to the other Crutchfield man, Kevin Morby, for a rendition of the Babies, "Mess Me Around."

The main event was everything I'd hoped for, with the band running through--spoiler--my favourite record of the year in full and throwing in three Waxahatchee and Swearin' songs each, plus four PS Eliot numbers.

Katie doesn't really play anything pre-Saint Cloud live anymore and I don't really know what the status of Swearin' is (but Allison has a full time gig working A&R at Anti Records these days). It's also been over 9-years since that mini PS Eliot reunion. So, just the novelty of hearing those songs live would've been enough, but they also sounded really, really good--sometimes better than the originals.

"Coast to Coast" didn't lose too much of it's pop-punk energy, but it kinda made it halfway to sounding like it might have a home on Saint Cloud or Tiger's Blood. It was close enough to the original that it still itched the nostalgia centre of my brain, but also, maybe we will get to hear some of those old songs on future Waxahatchee tours? Turns out some of them would fit with a little update.

And I love those old PS Eliot records, but the twins were so much younger and less practiced when they came out. None of the current renditions were overly polished, but they're just better at playing. Even more noticeable, and even compared to the PS Eliot reunion shows, Katie's a way better singer. I've always loved her voice, but it's so much more full and powerful now.

The last time Swearin' played in Vancouver--7-years ago--I captioned an Instagram post with, "I don't think there's any band I've listened to more in the last decade than Swearin'. And if I think about 2015 'til now, there's probably no one I've listened to more than Waxahatchee (except maybe Laura Stevenson).

Also, "Tennessee" is one of my favourite songs of all time and I've never heard it sound better than it did on Friday night. And that alone would've been worth the trip.

now playing: The Berries - Angelus

posted by Quinn @ 1:10 a.m. Comments:0

Sunday, November 30, 2025
it took me a while to let it sink in/the way that you never say what you're really thinking

We're getting pretty slow as far as new releases go, so there's not much recorded music to talk about this week.

I made it down to the Commodore on Tuesday for one of the three Pup shows though.

Honestly, I think every Pup record is "pretty good" (they kinda sit just outside my wheelhouse on the poppier side of the pop-punk equation), but they're fun as hell live.

Thanks to my friend Tyler for being a couple years older than me, so he could definitively say "I think I'm the oldest person here" instead of me.

Song of the week

Makthaverskan - Pity Party

This one could've been ripped straight off of the C86 comp.

Classic of the week

Oasis - Acquiesce (live in Toronto 2025)

Hell yeah, brother.

now playing: Snocaps - Avalanche

posted by Quinn @ 11:03 p.m. Comments:0

Sunday, November 23, 2025
i don't have the heart to tell you/i've waited so long to be near you

Sometimes it's easy to forget that Vancouver's a sports city. Usually, it's because the Canucks are hapless and their ownership seems intent on keeping it that way. But if you give this place something--anything--to cheer for, they show up. And man, did everyone show up last night (and also the night before for the Goldeneyes opener).

BC Place is such a terrible venue for the Whitecaps for a variety of reasons, but even with the curtains blocking out the upper bowl, it's a cavern in there in the regular season. On the other hand, when it's filled to the brim with 55,000 people? When they're standing for all of extra time and the PKs? When the home team somehow gets it done after being down two guys for what seemed like an eternity? There's no place I'd rather be.

Since there's only one champion, sports inevitably involves so much heartbreak. Every season for every celebrating fanbase, there's exponentially more that have to go over the "why?" Some of them cheer for teams that couldn't even dream of getting that far.

Sometimes it makes you wonder why you bother.

And then there's a game like last night that makes you remember why it's all worth it.

Album of the week

Sharp Pins - Balloon, Balloon, Balloon

What if Uncle Bob had a reverb unit and a love of girl groups (or maybe the Byrds?) when he made all those classic Guided by Voices records?

There's 21-songs on this thing, but it clocks in at an economical 43-minutes and there are about a zillion hooks crammed in there.

Delightful stuff.

Song of the week

Gladie - Car Alarm

A thing I love is when Augusta Koch growls out a lyric so hard that it sounds like her voice is going to break before she inevitably reels it in. And that happens on this one during the opening couplet.

I think this might be a minority opinion, but I love Koch's work with Gladie even more than those Cayetana records and, while there's no album announcement yet, this single out on a new label (Get Better Records) almost surely means that there's a new one coming. It popped right to the top of my most anticipated list.

Classic of the week

The Stone Roses - She Bangs the Drums

That fucking bass line, man. There's the tapping on the high hat and then there's that bass line and then that shimmering, ringing guitar chord and then there's Ian singing one of the greatest love songs of all time.

But it's that bass line that holds everything together.

The bass lines really hold the whole album together--a 58-minute masterpiece that's locked in by one unimpeachable groove after another.

And then after the Roses were done, he lent his talents to the imperial era of Primal Scream and gave us this insane riff from "Kill All Hippies."

RIP, Mani.

More heat

Miya Folick - Maybe When I'm Ready

Conway the Machine feat. Roc Marciano - Diamonds

now playing: Pavement - Spit on a Stranger

posted by Quinn @ 1:25 p.m. Comments:0

Monday, November 17, 2025
you can call me if you feel something

I went to two very different shows last week.

On Thursday, I made it down to the Rickshaw for a sold out all Vancouver affair, headlined by (in my no longer very educated opinion) the city's best band: Piss. It was a great bill from top to bottom and it always rocks seeing locals sell out a big room.

Piss recently got back from a tour of the US and Europe and seeing the response/press/etc they've been receiving, maybe they're just going to start selling out big rooms now.

They make such loud, uncomfortable, and confrontational music, but they also seem like the nicest kids. Every time I've seen them, their set starts with a quick message about where to get ear plugs, masks, a request to look out for each other, and a warning that their music gets into some really dark territory. I would still love them if they just made great music, but they're also people you want to root for.

On Saturday, I went to the Biltmore for the first time in ages to see Madi Diaz.

I love her latest, Fatal Optimist, so it was a no brainer (it helps that I live about 10-minutes from the Biltmore too).

Since the album's so stripped back, the show was just Diaz and her guitar as well and it was a treat to hear both the Fatal Optimist tunes as they were recorded, plus a handful of songs from her other records given the bare bones treatment.

Shout out to the crowd, who kept the chatter to a minimum too.

Album of the week

Home Front - Watch It Die

I only recently found out that this band is one of the guys from Wednesday Night Heroes and one of the guys from Shout Out Out Out Out (they're a five piece live, but apparently it's just those two dudes in the studio). And if you've heard those two bands, then suddenly Home Front makes a ton of sense.

The formula of punk guy bellowing over synth pop maybe isn't supposed to work, but this record is loud, snotty, and fun as hell. There's depth here too. Sometimes things veer closer to pure pop and some songs get more industrial or even new wave.

They don't seem to have any big tour planned, but since the hail from Edmonton, hopefully they'll get over here at some point. It's the kind of album that seems like it would be even better live.

Song of the week

Robyn - Dopamine

I mean, if you give Robyn 7-years of time to write new music, she's going to give you a fucking banger, right?

"Dopamine" has all the hallmarks of a Robyn track--in lesser hands, it might come across as Robyn paint-by-numbers--but it still sounds fresh, new, and exciting.

It makes me wish I still "DJ'd" (played songs without mixing them), because I bet this one destroyed a zillion dance floors around the world this weekend.

Classic of the week

Madi Diaz - Enema of the Garden State

This one kinda stretches the definition of "classic," since it's a brand new release, but it's also Madi covering a 26-year-old album in it's entirety.

Fatal Optimist producer, Andrew Maury, would turn on a 4-track when recording sessions started and let Diaz warm up with whatever she wanted. She was listening to a ton of Blink 182 while jogging at the time.

It was just something fun and wasn't something she intended to release, so some songs work better than others, but honestly they all sound great. And the one's that work, really work (I'm partial to her take on "Going Away to College").

Enema of the Garden State is a Bandcamp only release and all of the money from sales goes to the Defending Our Neighbors Fund.

More heat

Hiding Places - Holy Roller

Delaney Bailey - Nightshade

now playing: Suzie True - Every Dog

posted by Quinn @ 12:25 a.m. Comments:0

Sunday, November 09, 2025
won't you sleep with me, every night for a week/won't you just let me pretend this is the love i need?

I'm going to Los Angeles for the first time in well over a decade next month.

I fucking hate driving, so it's the last thing I want to do on vacation, which kinda bumps LA way down the list of places to visit, even though it checks off a lot of my other boxes.

But they've expanded the Metro so much and, well, Snocaps is only playing in three cities and Chicago's gonna be too cold. And both Chicago and NYC are going to be a little too expensive to fly in for just the weekend.

Over the last decade or so, the only act I've listened to more than Waxahatchee and Swearin' (plus all the related projects) is Laura Stevenson, so this one and done tour kinda ended up being a no brainer.

I've traveled for a ton of shows--I went to New York the last time the Crutchfield sisters toured together. And I've also traveled a fair amount by myself. But this one came up so quick that it's going to be the first time I've traveled for a show that I'm going to go to by myself.

I can't think of many other bands I'd do this for, but I wasn't going to miss this one. So here we go.

Album of the week

Armand Hammer & the Alchemist - Mercy

The billy woods record from this spring is incredible, but for whatever reason, I didn't spin it as much as I thought I would. But this one? Even though I've mostly been on a diet of all Snocaps all the time, I've already played this one enough to wear out a cassette tape (if those were still a thing).

These are distinctly Alchemist beats, but they still feel different from the tracks on Haram. Alan's still himself, but he's also so much more dialed into where billy and Elucid are going. These songs are dark and dense and they've got instrumentals to match

Song of the week

The Abramson Singers - Spider on the Moon

After a couple decades of loving her music, I hear Leah's voice multi-tracked and I'm instantaneously all in.

Classic of the week

Waxahatchee - Swan Dive

I was mostly joking when I posted on Instagram that if they play this song at the Snocaps show and I'm not there to hear it, I will die.

But also, Katie announcing via Substack that they'd be playing some Waxahatchee songs from the first four albums and none from the last 5-years on this tour, was one of the things that pushed me from "should I do this?" to "I should definitely do this."

I truly think the last two Waxahatchee records are the two best records she's ever put out. And all these old songs don't really fit in live with the tracks from Saint Cloud and Tiger's Blood, so it makes sense that they don't crack the setlist anymore. But that doesn't make me love them any less.

Maybe it won't be this one in particular. But maybe it'll be "Coast to Coast" or "Breathless" or "Air" or "Recite Remorse" or "Be Good." And I can't tell you how much I'd love to hear any of those live again.

More heat

Remember Sports - Bug

"Across the Line" sort of gave away that there was a new record coming, but now it's official: we're gonna get a new Remember Sports album the day before Valentine's.

This one sticks to the pop-punk thing they do best, but it throws a noisy Built to Spill (and also kinda Swearin') solo into the mix.

now playing: Snocaps - Coast

posted by Quinn @ 2:36 a.m. Comments:0

Sunday, November 02, 2025
see-through box, i gotta let it go/“you can’t hurry love” plays on the stereo

Album of the week

Snocaps - Snocaps

Maybe it wasn't a total surprise--Katie and Allison had both been teasing something on Instagram for the last week or so. But pretty much out of nowhere, and for the first time since 2011 we've got a full album collaboration from the Crutchfield sisters. This time around they're backed up by MJ Lenderman and (Saint Cloud and Tiger's Blood producer) Brad Cook.

They're splitting the difference between Bad Banana and PS Eliot and sharing vocal duties on this thing, so I guess it's fitting that the band's operating under the brand new moniker, Snocaps.

Sonically, it's back in similar territory to what those bands shared. And hey, I love the last two Waxahatchee records--they're Katie's best under that project--but hearing her in scrappy indie rock mode is an even bigger treat, because it felt like something that wasn't going to happen again.

It's not just a retread of the music they were making a decade and a half ago though and you can hear that Tiger's Blood twang on songs like "Cherry Hard Candy." Elsewhere, "Brand New City" sounds like if Lenderman dropped in to lay down some riffs on a Swearin' song.

Swearin' might be my favourite band of the 2010s and Waxhatachee's not far behind, so it's going to take me awhile to digest this one properly, but I already love it after the first handful of listens.

Apparently, they have a few shows planned before the end of the year, so maybe I have one more trip to take in 2025.

Song of the week

Ratboys - Anywhere

"I'm going anywhere that you're going" kinda sounds like it might have a romantic lean to it, but the longer the lyrics go, the more there's kind of a creepy "Every Breath You Take" or "Standing Here" vibe to it... until you find out that's actually not a love song and it's inspired by Ratboys' guitarist, Dave Sagan's anxious pup.

Easily the best song of all time about a velcro dog.

"Anywhere" is the second single off of Singin' To An Empthy Chair, Ratboys first record since one of my favourite's of 2023, The Window. It's out on February 6th.

More heat

ROSALÍA with Björk and Yves Tumor - Berghain

A very cool song that somehow has an even cooler video.

Noname feat. Devin Morrison - Hundred Acres

Serious bars. And that piano, man.

now playing: Wednesday - The Way Love Goes

posted by Quinn @ 10:17 p.m. Comments:0

Sunday, October 26, 2025
i know that I've been selfish and i ended it the first time/but maybe if it's different and we listen to the warning signs

Album of the week

Dazy - Bad Penny

James Goodson's a music PR guy who started putting out music under the Dazy moniker after COVID started, which honestly seems pretty rude, because the guy's way better at his side job than I've ever been at any job.

Goodson writes hooks and this surprise EP (that doesn't have anything to do with a Big Black cover) crams a zillion of them in an economical 21-minutes.

Song of the week

Sasami and Soccer Mommy - Just Be Friends (Soccer Mommy Version)

I liked the original version of this song from Sasami's May album, Blood on the Silver Screen just fine. But I fucking love this pop-country duet version. It's a good song no matter how it's dressed up, but the double vocals and that slide guitar really take things up a notch.

Classic of the week

Bikini Kill - Rebel Girl

My favourite song from 1993, the last time Toronto was in the World Series.

Go Jays.

More heat

Ekko Astral - Horseglue

Speaking of Bikini Kill, here's a band that sounds as vital as they did in '93.

Home Front - Eulogy

There's that hardcore sound, that synth pop song, and this largesse (complimentary) that kinda hangs over everything that makes this sound like it should be soundtracking an 80s coming-of-age movie (also complimentary). And (with respect to SNFU, the Smalls, Cadence Weapon and... uhh Shout Out Out Out Out, I guess?) they're from fucking Edmonton of all places.

Armand Hammer & the Alchemist w/Silka & Cleo Reed - Calypso Gene

"Super Nintendo" was fun as hell and a whole record like that would be a great one. But when I think of Armand Hammer getting together with the Alchemist, this is what I think of. I didn't get as into Golliwog, billy woods' solo effort from earlier this year, but I'm ready for this to be my favourite rap record of 2025.

now playing: Madi Diaz - Hope Less

posted by Quinn @ 11:11 p.m. Comments:0