by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Following the release of last year’s From The Wreckage EP, Toronto trio Motorists are ready to release their full length debut, Surrounded, due out September 3rd via a trio of labels, Bobo Integral, We Are Time, and Debt Offensive Records. Continuing down the path that their EP set upon, the band continue refine their blend of jangle pop, motorik rhythms, and power-pop sheen, bringing a focus to the lyrics amid a tight framework. The vibes are light and breezy but the subject matter of the record isn’t quite as carefree as the band focus on the tension inherent in life and the feeling of being stuck, no matter where you are. It’s a sentiment that can lead to stagnant thoughts but the band offer the counterpart of sun-shining melodies and punchy pop earworms that make these ideas feel more welcome than they ought to.
“Surrounded,” the album’s title track and opener, takes a more angular approach than much of the record, honing in on the post-punk element of the band’s sound. The vocals are delivered in a spoken word diatribe that finds the narrator unable to find their peace anywhere they go, from the city to the burbs and back again. It doesn’t matter where they are, there’s a feeling of being surrounded in all environments, that inescapable pull. While the song darts into it’s unflinching groove, there’s no steely coldness to Motorists’ punk, this one is full of lively charm and upbeat reflections.