Grown-Ups

Making that leap from the freedom of adolescence to adulthood and all of its sucky responsibilities and realities is an unpleasant changeover, and Calgary's Grown-Ups know this. They know this so well in fact, that they've used it as the theme for their debut, a seven-song cassette they're also giving away digitally on their website. Basking in the current lo-fi renaissance, this trio bang out sludge-covered punk anthems for the not-so-disaffected-youth. Using the great, disenchanted transitional period almost as a motivational speech to get over the never-ending bummers matches their snappy, melodic style. "Body Break" harkens back to the childhood reminders that we should "stay fit, have fun" and do our "Participaction," as Joanne and Hal so often instructed us. They even have their own self-titled theme song, which along with angsty downer "Hate Yr Life" help bring the message of hard-to-swallow realism home. It's difficult not to love that this all comes for free but if you can grab a copy of the limited-edition tape featuring a slapdash Garfield illustration, you'll dive even deeper into the nostalgia Grown-Ups represent. - Cam Lindsay, Exclaim

The early-90s caused a massive identity crisis. We can’t spank our kids anymore? Generation X? Divorce? Bored teenagers started manifesting themselves in major cities as opposed to burrowing in the corners of rural-anything. Addicted to entertainment, they yearned for the kind of on-demand content the internet now provides. My generation had no fathers; we nested in the bussom of a confused media conglomerate and lost any sense of conviction. We stole from our friends and made out with boys-and-girls in public. We smoked weed in the alley and threw rocks at cats. We played music to our friends over the phone and the conference-call was the greatest invention ever. We had nothing to do and all the time in the world. We were aimless and bored. Which is why the Grown-Ups make me feel wistful. Their first cassette is the ultimate 90s summer-bummer, wonderfully lost in an innocent teenage vortex of shit-culture and why-won’t-she-date-me losertude. It’s your basement anthem for listless junkies who just want to have fun. The Grown-Ups get it; being an adult is all about being a kid and growing up really sucks. Especially in the 90s. Brilliant. - Aaron Levin, Weird Canada

With another formerly "dead" format—that would be vinyl—making such a big noise in recent years, the reemergence of tapes as a viable format—coupled with MP3s of course—seems on the one hand hilarious and on the other totally inevitable. And esthetically, cassettes lend themselves well to the exuberant and lo-fi punk of Calgary's Grown-Ups, the crunchy, hissy sound perfectly suited to driving around in your girlfriend's 1983 Mazda 323 with the sunroof open on a summer's day. And even better, the song "Body Break," with its call-and-response chorus of "Stay fit and have fun! / Participaction!" will remind you of a time when you weren't a grown up. - Bryan Birtles, Vue Weekly