In 2016, after the release of their seventh album, Home on Native Land, the tape stopped rolling on the Hidden Cameras. A reissue of their debut album as a full band came in 2023, and, now, the Toronto indie-pop darlings are back with more of songwriter Joel Gibb’s self-described “gay folk church music.” Bronto enlists the likes of Pet Shop Boys and Erasure’s Vince Clarke for a pivot into celebratory synth-pop pivot, with arrangements by original violinist Owen Pallett.
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Liquid Mike: Hell Is an Airport [self-released]
Vocalist and guitarist Mike Maple began Liquid Mike in 2020, and he’s already onto his fifth album. He’s also got a lot more bandmates, as the Marquette, Michigan, quintet comprises synthesizer player and vocalist Monica Nelson, drummer Cody Maracek, bassist Zack Alworden, and guitarist David Daignault. The group’s new album, Hell Is an Airport, is classic pop-punk, and Maple’s voice is not a far cry from Mark Hoppus’. The 14-song release includes “Groucho Marx,” “Selling Swords,” “AT&T,” and “Claws.”
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Verses GT: Verses GT [LuckyMe]
Verses GT is the duo of Jacques Greene and Nosaj Thing, two producers synonymous with the elegiac 2010s dance music that now informs various strands of pop, as well as descendants like Overmono. Back with their debut collaborative LP, Greene and Jason Chung strip their trademark sounds down to the fundamentals, with strobing synths and ambient atmospheres occasionally jolted by UK garage and 2-step beats. George Riley features on the single “Your Light,” with Kučka and Tyson making appearances elsewhere.
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