New music review with singles from Hot Garbage and Girl Tones
- Julia Mason aka The Decibel Decoder
- Jan 20
- 3 min read
Our weekly fix of the best new music as Julia Mason (aka The Decibel Decoder) brings us her new music review with singles from Hot Garbage Wewu and Girl Tones Volcano
Artist: Hot Garbage
Track: Wewu
Canada's Hot Garbage venture into gnarly noise rock with new single Wewu released via Mothland. The four-piece turned to producer Graham Walsh (Holy F*ck) and mastering engineer James Plotkin (Khanate), to wield a dissonant scorcher where overdriven guitar and foreign synthesizers collide with a frenetic rhythm section that alternates between binary and tertiary beatmapping.
Throughout this inspired cacophonic foray into darkened post-punk, an eerie feeling of entrapment prevails as the cryptic lyrics hint at an escape plan. Calling on the driving rhythms of dark post-punk and motorik krautrock, Hot Garbage seamlessly work shining melodies and swirling textures into deliberate, brooding arrangements. Fans of Sonic Youth, Broadcast and 70’s era Iggy Pop should no doubt find a familiar pull into their raw sound, which draws inspiration from a wide and eclectic range of musical genres and art forms.
Hot Garbage have toured their intense live sets throughout Canada, the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom, including stops at festivals such as LEVITATION, Freakout Fest, Purple City, M for Montreal, Sled Island, and Pop Montreal. In addition to touring in support of contemporaries L.A. Witch and Frankie & The Witch Fingers, the road-hungry quartet has also shared stages with Osees, Ty Segall, Geese, Mdou Moctar, Wand, Kikagaku Moyo, JJUUJJUU, and Dead Meadow.
After catching them live, Ben Lemieux at Quip Magazine concluded that: “the band understands the theatrically implied expectations of the genre, striking a perfect balance between the gossamer vocal quality of early shoegaze and the cranked-up, guitar pyrotechnics emblematic of the 60s and 70s rockers.”
Hot Garbage Live Dates
February
12 - Montréal, QC @ Taverne Tour (w/ Protomartyr)
20 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace (TBA)
March
12-18 - Austin, TX @ SXSW
* * *
Artist: Girl Tones
Track: Volcano
Girl Tones have released their first single of the year titled Volcano. Headstrong and unyielding, but making diamonds under pressure, the sister duo lay out their exact path. In 2026, it’s ride or get off the horse. The band’s singer Kenzie said that Volcano is about: “How helpless it feels when chaos strikes. One thing I’ve learned is to flip chaos on its head and make something new out of it. Pressure isn’t always a bad thing.”
Girl Tones are a high-energy rock duo brought to life by two sisters named Kenzie and Laila. Both classically trained musicians, Kenzie transitioned from cello to guitar and Laila from piano to drums in an effort to electrify sentient beings from this galaxy to the next.
Their debut releases were produced by Brad Shultz of Cage The Elephant and released via his label Parallel Vision in partnership with Big Loud Rock.The band join Amazon Music’s list of Artists to Watch for 2026. They are amongst peers such as Fcukers, Florence Road, Folk Bitch Trio, NewDad and more.
Wasting no time getting back out on the road, Girl Tones will join Dexter and The Moonrocks for a West Coast tour beginning later this month. Then in March, they will then team up with Peter McPoland for his tour dates. Girl Tones will be a Showcasing Artist at SXSW, and as festival season continues, they can be seen at The Great Escape in the UK, and back in the US at Bonnaroo, Bottlerock, Treefort and Outside Days.
Girl Tones Live Dates
January
22 - The Knitting Factory - Spokane, WA*
23 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA*
24 - Midtown Ballroom - Bend, OR*
27 - Virginia Street Brewhouse - Reno, NV*
29 - Cornerstone Craft Beer & Live Music - Berkeley, CA*
30 - Goldfield Trading Post Roseville - Roseville, CA*
February
5 - Pappy & Harriet's - Pioneertown, CA*
6 - House of Blues San Diego - San Diego, CA*
7 - Troubadour - West Hollywood, CA*
March
3 - The Shelter - Detroit, MI +
5 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL +
6 - Majestic Theatre - Madison, WI +
7 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN +
9 - Slowdown - Omaha, NE +
10 - The Truman - Kansas City, MO +
12 - Beer City Music Hall - Oklahoma City, OK +
13 - Tannahill’s Tavern and Music Hall - Fort Worth, TX +
14 - The Echo - Dallas, TX +
16-17 - SXSW - Austin, TX #
25-29 - Treefort Music Fest - Boise, ID #
May
13-16 - The Great Escape - Brighton and Hove, England #
22-24 - Bottlerock - Napa Valley, CA #
31 - Outside Days - Denver, CO #
June
14 - Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival - Manchester, TN #
*supporting Dexter and The Moonrocks
+supporting Peter McPoland
#festival date
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