Luge’s fourth full-length album keeps you on your toes. From the slinking bass tones to the band’s absurd technical command over their intricate time signatures, the Toronto four-piece’s latest bounds from mathy art-punk into groovy, crushing riffs. Vocalist Kaiva Gotham’s sometimes foolish, sometimes deadly serious (and sometimes Latvian!) lyrics guide listeners down the rabbit hole. For Luge, all that disparate complexity boils down to “having fun, just being young and saying fuck.”
Featuring Cindy Lee, Nemahsis, Wyatt C. Louis, and more — These Canadian artists all commandeered our headphones this year in a compelling way.