The stübermania 2025 halftime report
My 20 favourite records of the year so far (including at least two by dudes named Gus)
Welcome to stübermania, where I (usually) dig into my box of dust-covered interview cassettes from the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s to present bygone conversations with your favourite alterna/indie semi-stars (and the occasional classic-rock icon). This is a newsletter in three parts: The Openers (links to recent writings, playlist updates, and/or other musical musings), The Headliner (your feature of the week), and Encores (random yet related links).
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THE OPENERS
If you’re a regular reader of this newsletter, you’ll know that it’s been a busy year for Broken Social Scene, even though the loooooong-awaited follow-up to 2017’s Hug of Thunder appears to be no closer on the horizon. As I’ve mentioned here, their origin-story documentary It’s All Gonna Break is currently screening in select cities across North America and is now available to stream in Canada, and their 2002 indie-rock touchstone You Forgot It in People recently received the all-star tribute treatment. But even though last Saturday’s homecoming show at Toronto’s History stuck to the back catalogue, the setlist shifted away from the You Forgot It in People 20th-anniversary focus of recent tours to burrow deeper into the discography. And while the band opened the show with a revolving-door revue of various BSS side projects that harkened back to their formative Ted’s Wrecking Yard gigs (complete with surprise Feist cameos), they also showcased some new satellites in the BSS mothership’s orbit, like Brendan Canning and partner Cynthia Tauro’s elegant downtempo pop outfit Tauro…
…and the debut of Half-Breed & White Man, a.k.a. Kevin Drew’s new power duo with drummer (and, as announced from the stage, his new fiancée) Rachel McLean. (And if that band name raises a brow: She’s half-Métis; he is not.)
Here are my three main takeaways from the night:
1. The Broken Social Scene deep cut “Handjobs for the Holidays”—which answers the question: what if Fleetwood Mac made Daydream Nation?—really needs to make it onto the setlist more often.2. Now that we’ve reached the saturation point for “Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl” covers, let’s make “Hug of Thunder” the new go-to BSS standard for aspiring indie-pop artists.
3. Feist, Ariel Engle, and Hannah Georgas really need to make a record together and become the Canadian boygenius.
This week on Commotion, I produced a segment on the late Toronto prog-punk pioneer Nash the Slash, who will soon be feted with a documentary and tribute album, and who recently became a published author 11 years after his passing. Here is Record Store Day podcast host and part-time Nashologist Paul Myers speaking to host Elamin Abdelmahmoud about the masked crusader of Canadian counterculture (interview begins at the 15:10 mark):
And speaking of punk icons still gracing us with their talents in book form long after they’ve exited this earthly plane: The collected illustrated works of Drive Like Jehu/Hot Snakes frontman Rick Fröberg (who passed away two years ago this Monday) are the subject of a new book, Plenty for All: The Art of Rick Fröberg, that you can pre-order now from Akashic.
Notes on this week’s additions to the stübermania 2025 jukebox:
Bruce Springsteen, “Sunday Love”: As a mere casual Springsteen fan, I don’t know if I’ll ever book the day off work required to wade through all seven discs of Tracks II: The Lost Albums, but I was immediately enamored with this selection from the orchestral-crooner set featured within, Twilight Hours, which is the closest I’ve ever heard Bruce get to Scott Walker/Tindersticks territory. (For more on the Boss box, check out today’s episode of Commotion for a roundtable discussion with music journos Vish Khanna, Niko Stratis, and Carl Wilson—you can watch the livestream here starting at 10:05am EDT.)
U.S. Girls, “Dear Patti”: This charming moonlit serenade from the recently released Scratch It belongs to the rarefied canon of Songs About Concerts I Actually Attended. On August 20, 2023, Meg Remy performed first on a Budweiser Stage bill that included headliners The National and fellow opening act Patti Smith—but, as we learn in this song, she never got to see or meet her hero backstage because she had to deal with her kids. (In somewhat related news: I actually missed U.S. Girls’ set that night because I was stuck in traffic, but I don’t think my song “Dear Meg” would be anywhere near as good.)
Eve Adams, “Couldn’t Tell the Time”: I enthusiastically reviewed the previous album from this California-via-Montreal-via-Oklahoma singer/songwriter for Pitchfork back in 2021, and the upcoming follow-up American Dust (out Aug. 22) goes further down her astral-Americana path with producer/partner Bryce Cloghesy of Crack Cloud in tow—and this time, she’s brought caroline fiddler Oliver Hamilton along for the hayride.
Daniel Romano’s Outfit, “Fire Breather”: A few weeks ago in this space, I testitied to the rama-lama-fa-fa-fucking fantastic DRO live experience and, next month, you’ll be able to play along at home with Live in Olso (out July 18 on You’ve Changed Records). On this teaser track, Romano turns the microphone over to his newish bassist Tommy Major to deliver a thoroughly kicked-out jam.
Lammping and Bloodshot Bill, “0 and 1”: Toronto psych-rock alchemists Lammping are gearing up for a King Gizzardian flurry of four releases this year, starting this week with Never Never, a boom-bapped match-up with Montreal punkabilly legend Bloodshot Bill that transports you back to that mid-’90s moment when the Blues Explosion were dipping their bellbottoms into the remix pool.
THE HEADLINER:
The stübermania 2025 halftime report
After celebrating stübermania’s first anniversary last week, I’m taking a break from the usual archival-interview format this week to give you a mid-year rundown of great records you may have missed over the past six months.
Here are 20 of 2025’s half-year heaters, in alphabetical order:
Bells Larsen, Blurring Time (Royal Mountain)
From: Montreal via Toronto
Recommended If You Like (RIYL): Kill Rock Stars-era Elliott Smith and Saddle Creek-era Adrienne Lenker exchanging bilingual bon mots; lazy Sundays where you just want to stay in bed even though the sun poking through the shades tells you the weather’s nice outside; Jordan Peterson catching strays.
Ela Minus, DÍA (Domino)
From: Brooklyn via Bogotá
RIYL: “Fever Ray of Light”; rave-based therapy; the tonal shift that occurs at the precise 1:55 mark of Jamie xx’s “Gosh” where late-night delirium gives way to breakadawn bliss. (For more, read my Pitchfork review of the album.)
Foxwarren, 2 (Arts & Crafts)
From: Regina, Saskatchewan
RIYL: Andy Shauf remixed by The Avalanches; Andy Shauf time-travelling back to 1999 to record his Soft Bulletin with Dave Fridmann; Andy Shauf starring in a black-and-white 1940s comedy of manners.
Gelli Haha, Switcheroo (Innovative Leisure)
From: Los Angeles via Boise, Idaho
RIYL: The love child of Kate Bush and Betty Boop; LCD Soundsystem if Nancy Whang kicked James Murphy out of the band; warped VHS tapes of ‘80s fitness shows; the imaginary soundtrack for the indie-sleaze period piece John Hughes would be making right now if he were still alive.
Gus Baldwin & The Sketch, The Sketch (Permanent Teeth)
From: Austin, Texas
RIYL: The Stooges if they played every song as fast as “I Got a Right”; Ty Segall when he was spitting out three albums per year; Jay Reatard rising from the grave to make a Sparks album.
Gus Englehorn, The Hornbook (Secret City)
From: Hawaii via Montreal via Alaska
RIYL: The Daniel Johnston and Roky Erickson collaboration that never was; a Unicorns cloning experiment gone awry; Half Japanese covering The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
Horsegirl, Phonetics On and On (Matador)
From: Chicago
RIYL: Cat Le Bon covering The Feelies’ Crazy Rhythms; Stereolab if they had to pawn off all their vintage synths; Yo La Tengo if Georgia kicked Ira out of the band.
Kali Uchis, Sincerely, (Capitol)
RIYL: Alexandria, Virginia
RIYL: The sequel to Anti that Rihanna so cruelly denies us; Sade signing to 4AD; Lana Del R&B.
Kathryn Mohr, Waiting Room (The Flenser)
From: San Jose, California
RIYL: A young Cat Power keeping warm around a flaming oil barrel during a nuclear winter; shortwave-radio séances with the dead; whispering in tongues.
Kilynn Lunsford, Promiscuous Genes (Feel It)
From: New Jersey
RIYL: disco PJ Harvey; cabaret Suicide; electroclash Beatles.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Phantom Island (pDoom)
From: Melbourne, Australia
RIYL: ELO soundtracking ‘70s blaxploitation flicks and cop shows; southern prog-rock; elaborate narrative concept albums about space travel and seafaring adventure that still manage to clock in at under 50 minutes.
Little Barrie & Malcolm Catto, Electric War (Easy Eye)
From: Nottingham, UK
RIYL: Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac and Ege Bamyasi-era Can forming their own Blind Faith-style supergroup in 1969; blues-rock albums where the drummer is more in charge than the guitarist; MOJO-core.
M(h)aol, Something Soft (Merge)
From: Dublin, Ireland
RIYL: Kim’s Sonic Youth songs fed through a paper shredder; Wet Leg going through a Neubauten phase; distorted frequencies that make you feel like you have IBS (including, but not limited to, songs called “IBS”).
Marie Davidson, City of Clowns (DEEWEE)
From: Montreal
RIYL: cranky Kraftwerk; raving against the machine; robots reprogrammed to kill other robots; Daft Punk Comedy Jam; LCD smash-system.
Population II, Maintenant Jamais (Bonsound)
From: Montreal
RIYL: Tame Impala back when they were just trying to be Dungen; a Quebecois King Gizzard; Pink Floyd: Live at CBGB. (For more, read my Pitchfork review of the album.)
Pulp, More (Rough Trade)
From: Sheffield, UK
RIYL: Disco 2025; 61-year-olds singing about sex in a way that doesn’t seem too pervy; uplifting songs about loveless relationships; subtle yet essential Chilly Gonzales cameos; the way they said the future’s meant to feel.
Sharp Pins, Radio DDR (K Records)
From: Chicago
RIYL: Guided by Voices signing to Flying Nun; crystalline jangle pop blaring through crappy transistor radios; the second coming of long-lost Toronto lo-fi heroes Hershel Savage and the American Flag.
Slow Reader, Soft Eviction (self-release)
From: Hamilton, Ontario
RIYL: The Breeders after six beers; Veruca Salt after six more; The Go-Go’s back when they were still sharing bills with the Germs; bubblegrunge mash notes to Canadian Final Destination stars; NSFW anthems.
Ty Segall, Possession (Drag City)
From: Los Angeles
RIYL: The Slider if it was made by John Lennon; glam rock for the conservatory; acoustic Jimmy Page more than electric Jimmy Page; randomly dropping the word “choogle” into everyday conversation.
Yves Jarvis, All Cylinders (Next Door)
From: Montreal via Calgary
RIYL: The Toro y Moi/Fleet Foxes split seven-inch of your dreams; the Cindy Lee of funk; John Mayer’s “Helpless” reborn as an Around the World in a Day-era Prince track; songs about peeling down Alberta freeways to hurry home to see your girl that sound like dainty Dreamworks-era Elliott Smith tunes if he listened to as much There’s a Riot Goin On’ as Abbey Road. (For more, read my Pitchfork review of the album.)
ENCORES
Honorable mentions:
Alien Boy, You Wanna Fade?
Circuit des Yeux, Halo on the Inside
Comet Gain, Letters to Ordinary Outsiders
Dutch Interior, Moneyball
Eliza Niemi, Progress BakeryFranz Ferdinand, The Human Fear
Lifeguard, Ripped and Torn
Saya Grey, SAYA
Sparks, MAD!
Stereolab, Instant Holograms on Metal FilmFavourite reissue: Lotti Golden’s Motor-Cycle (1969)
This is a free newsletter, but if you really like what you see, please consider a donation via paid subscription, or visit my PWYC tip jar!