Sunglaciers in the Age of the Algorithm

On Spiritual Content, the Calgary post-punk outfit explores art, allegory, and life in the smartphone age.

By Em Medland-Marchen

Art by Sophia Pan

Published on March 24, 2026

A recent cold snap has brought piles of fresh snow and ice to the streets of Calgary. Inside Angel’s Drive In, the natural charm of Evan Resnik adds a halo effect to the community of Bowness. “I’m part of the brain and the fibre in the goo,” he says of his role as lead vocalist, guitarist, songwriter and producer of Calgary-based post-punk band Sunglaciers. “[Mathieu Blanchard] is the brains and the bones.”

In this Frankenstein-like construct, Resnik leads a merry band of four in a post-punk outfit that’s become something of an institution in Calgary’s indie scene. Tissue, muscle fibre and sinew are cultivated by Resnik, while Matt brings a steadfast heartbeat on drums. By their side, the nimble arms of Nyssa Brown (vocals, guitar) and ever-faithful legs of Kyle Crough (bass) complete the creature that is Sunglaciers.

The four-piece has been going strong in Calgary for more than a decade, and their fourth full-length, Spiritual Content, drops March 27 via Mothland. For a record that explores modern-day life through a cacophony of allegorical vocal melodies and atmospheric sound — floating somewhere high up in the cotton-candy-coated prairie sky — Resnik’s demeanour is surprisingly down-to-earth.

“I think we’re taking a bit of a different approach with this record,” says Resnik on Spiritual Content. “It’s a little bit simpler, focusing more on universal themes and universal personal feelings… we’re using a lot of allegorical as well as personal stories to really try and lock in on a particular feeling during a song.”

That emotional range lingers on topics such as the relentless pursuit of artistic craft, abandoning everyday comfort, rejecting yes-men and cultivating mindfulness in Calgary’s brutal winters.

As Resnik talks, the glint of a silver nose ring and matching earrings brings a particular sort of eclectic charm to his abstract vision. He dons a simple blue-collar work shirt, like something you might see on a mechanic in a local Alberta-owned auto shop.

There’s nothing pretentious about Resnik, and it’s deeply satisfying to hear him tackle sophisticated topics and kaleidoscopic abstractions with precision. It’s the very opposite of what you might expect from an art punk project that describes itself as “pop alchemists,” and within a Canadian indie scene that loves to sip their coffee with one pinky out.

“I think a lot of us look at what’s going on in the world, and we think that it’s new,” muses Resnik. “Whereas if you just read a couple of history books, you can see the same themes repeating themselves over and over… You know, who we are as a species. I think a lot of what’s going on these days is a different iteration of the same things.”

Resnik draws inspiration from J Dilla to Nina Simone. He pays homage in unexpected ways, including to Eddy Grant on track seven, “Ballad for Eddy.”

“I watched a few Dilla documentaries and features over the last few years, and I’ve always found them really interesting — the way he works with samples,” says Resnik. “And it came up time and time again: anytime anyone came over to his house, he was in the basement working. He would tell his friends he’s going to do this until he dies, and that’s exactly what he did… I found that very inspiring. I feel like I’m lucky to have something in my life which I really enjoy, and I’m going to do it for as long as I’m doing anything.”

Of course, longstanding Calgary collaborators also play a major role. Producer and guest musician Chad VanGaalen adds synthesizers, vibraphone and electric piano to the mix, while local photographer Sebastian Buzzalino brings his own take to the record’s dreamy cover art.

“Seb is the best,” gushes Resnik. “He’s so easy to work with, so talented. He’s got great vision, and he just says yes to everything. Not in the yes-man kind of way… [but] he’s always down to work on wacky ideas with us, and we love him for that. It’s kind of the same thing with Chad. This is the third record he’s been involved with, and it just keeps getting easier and more fun. It seems like our musical tendencies kind of know where to lean on him — and I think he’s learned the same about us — so our collaborations have become really, really easy and smooth.”

A postmodern take on art pop isn’t just the driver of Spiritual Content — it’s also present in the record’s photographic themes. On the cover, a femme figure can be seen, surrounded by a glimmering body of water with her shoes and socks placed carefully on a nearby rock. But rather than drinking in the beauty of her surroundings, she’s looking down at a phone that shimmers in her hands.

“The phone has become each of us in our individual universe,” explains Resnik. “The smartphone is an incredible device. The world runs on this technology, and it’s important… but it does suck you in, and it does warp the way you perceive your world. We’re kind of governed by our devices, and our vices. It used to be just our vices.”

It’s a relentless panoptic churn vying for our attention, and like the distorted atmospheric noise rock on the record, it adds a static buzz to the background of our lives.

“I just think as long as we’re paying attention to the way we act in the world — the way we respond to stimuli, the way we respond to other people — that seems, at least for me, to really settle things down in the periphery,” ponders Resnik. “Sometimes you can feel like you’re in the middle of a storm, and just focusing on those intentional baby steps in your own mind can really help in slowing and quieting.”

Despite the chaotic nature of the record, community is at the heart of everything Resnik does, and he’s quick to shout out other Canadian acts.

“With all this information available to us at all times, there’s no one leading voice in any genre,” says Resnik. “You could even argue there are no genres anymore… that being said, I think a lot of the folks on our label [Mothland] are doing really, really cool shit… Bands like yoo doo right, La Sécurité, TVOD — they’re all making super cool sounds. There’s also some good, more hardcore stuff in Calgary that’s really picked up over the last few years… A lot of young people are picking up guitars again and getting loud, which we love to see.”

Through the noise, it all comes back to experimentation for Resnik — the magic that comes from getting in a room together with your bandmates and fiddling around with knobs, pedals and sounds.

“That’s my candy zone,” Resnik says with a laugh. “I love making drones and loops and just playing in and around those.”