New Music Round up: Penny & the Pits, Ev. G, Spirit Desire, Goopsteppa, and more

The week following Sled Island has been filled with recovery and reminiscing. In true Sled fashion, we are overwhelmed with new favourites and can’t stop talking about the artists we saw. Fortunately for us, these musicians aren’t letting their foot off the gas anytime soon, so we are able to stay on top of their new releases as they pop up. This week, it includes the debut album of Penny & The Pits and a matured EP from Spirit Desire. However, we can’t lose sight of the rest of the music world, so we decided to throw in some new releases that may have flown under the radar during Sled Island chaos.

Last weekend we saw the New Brunswick band Motherhood perform on Sled Island stages. This week, bassist, keyboardist, and vocalist Penelope Stevens has released a debut album under a solo project name—Penny & the Pits. Still taking inspiration from her role in Motherhood, the band features on three of the tracks on her debut album, Liquid Compactor. We hear the same feverish art rock sanded into a feminine pocket, but that doesn’t mean it's less aggressive, just refined in certain ways. Stevens paints with her music in “Pool Party” and steps into a psychedelic space filled with vermillion skylights and phthalo waves. In “Headcrusher,” we hear visceral punk influences with washed out and angsty vocals backed by a high energy band composition. Overall, this album is definitely worth a listen. If you’re already familiar with Motherhood, it’s even more interesting to see Steven’s sound removed and magnified within her own creative direction. 

After making their Calgary debut this past weekend, Toronto-based Spirit Desire has quietly crept their way into our rotation. The emo-punk-indie-rock quintet makes music out of sheer passion, and this culminates in their latest EP, Pets, released on June 13. Of their four newest tracks lies “Shelly’s Song,” an instrumental which highlights their indietronica Q-chord/synth sound. They also include a re-recorded version of an old song, “It Is What It Is,” which was initially released as a demo in 2021. With increased production quality and four more years under their belt, this song has reached its final form for us to enjoy. Also resurfacing is one of their hit songs “IDC” from their 2017 album Adrian.  A lo-fi, angst-soaked brand of punk, but in Dead Pets, they released a sequel under the title “IDFC.” Despite its slower tempo, the music seethes with frustration and emotional tension, trading speed for a simmering intensity. Finally, we have their EP’s titular track which explores themes most people can relate to—losing a friend. It's punk stripped down and blurred at the edges, where big feelings ache under a murky, reverberant surface. And beneath all of that we still hear echoes of the kids they were in 2017, who wanted nothing more than to jam with their friends and hoped one day someone might listen. 

Slowing it down, Vancouver’s Passion Mango dropped their fourth studio album on Friday, Clean Slate. Their sensitive style is like if shoegaze and indie rock met at a West Coast house party and started talking about their feelings. Clean Slate can best be described as grief with groove, as they sandwich sun-drunk sadness with moments of joy. The album's second song, “Again,” is a perfect example of upbeat riffs with heavy emotional undertow. The title track is woven with the atmospheric textures of Dream, Ivory. Imagine an overgrown backyard, a cheap speaker crackling with indie rock, and someone quietly falling in love or falling apart. This album tows the line, just as much of Passion Mango’s work does, but we can see this becoming a favourite for daydreamers, dusk-dwellers, and dawn-risers. 

We’re also thrilled to feature the debut single from Ev. G, an immersive introduction to a new voice with deep creative roots. Produced by his brother Brock Geiger and longtime collaborator Will Maclellan, “Belladonna” is cinematic and features an RnB edge, anchored by Ev’s introspective lyricism and elevated by a dream team of performers including Gabe Noel (Kendrick Lamar, Youth Lagoon), Ethan Gruska (Phoebe Bridgers, Bon Iver), Clea Anaïs, and Kane Ritchotte. Recorded between Studio B in Calgary and the iconic Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, “Belladonna” is fully formed, radiating the confidence of a project years in the making. The music video, co-directed by Brock and Mitch Nybo, leans into neon-drenched visuals, layered projections, and a moody sense of intimacy that mirrors the song’s emotional pull. We're psyched to help introduce Ev. G to the world—this one’s special.

This week, Alexander Engel, known by the stage name Goopsteppa, also released his fourth studio album titled Ponderosa. The now Vancouverite was Montreal-raised, and elements of both cities can be found in his spectral style. Having started music in 2007, he has shared sonic psychedelic epiphanies across the world, including major stages like Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Shambhala’s Grove stage. He also draws inspiration globally and infuses his work with different genres, most commonly UK hip hop, to produce a sound referred to as ‘gangster ambient.’ In his latest release though, we hear a matured production style that is intricate yet easily palatable. The spatial nature of this soundtrack is meditative as it blends the electronic side of deeb dub with the natural ambience of drums, bells, and breathing. Easy to get lost in and equally easy to tune out, this album has been on repeat as a background track, a lullaby and everything in between. 

Coming from Calgary, YO MATTEO returns with a brooding new single, “DOWNPOUR,” released on June 13. Since 2020, Mathew Bryant has been steadily carving out a space for his solo work under the YO MATTEO moniker, exploring the darker edges of alternative and emo rap. While he’s also known as one half of the electronic duo NYTEMODE, his latest single signals a deeper dive into work that is reverb-heavy and hazy. This song feels dreamlike or drugged-out, emphasizing atmosphere through a unique blend of lo-fi textures. With its slow pace, and drenched emotional weight, the track captures a side of Bryant that’s more vulnerable, raw, and washed in reverb—proof that his solo evolution is far from over.