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Artist Spotlight
Hot Garbage

Interview by Dean Andersen

The band Hot Garbage

Meet Hot Garbage, a band from Toronto who blend post-punk, garage and psych rock. For the last decade they’ve been occupying a dark corner of Canada’s underground scene, but not limited by it – they’ve toured across Canada, the United States and Europe, and shared stages with the likes of L.A. Witch, Mdou Moctar and Frankie & The Witch Fingers.

 

Over this time they’ve released two albums and a slew of EPs and singles, and crafted an auditory identity that fuses clever, rhythmic repetition with psychedelic textures and noise, and a darkness that has led the band to describe their own music as Vampire Rock. We caught up with vocalists (and siblings) Juliana and Alex Carlevaris and spoke about their creative evolution, touring, and being on the MOTHLAND label. Pop on their latest single SPUN and read on.

For someone discovering Hot Garbage for the first time, how would you best describe your music?

 

Vampire Rock, or someone somewhere said Garage-Noir.

 

A lot of your music balances repetition and groove with moments that feel like they could fall apart. What drives that tension, and how do you know when a song has found the

right balance between control and chaos? Do you ever really know?

 

We don't like for things to be too clean. For us, every song feels different – tuning into and playing around with those dynamics is an enjoyable part of the process. Sometimes we write very simplistic rigid songs, but we also like to go out there and explore textures and scapes. We try to let the songs take their natural course, and you sort of do know when the balance is right.

Hot Garbage performing live

Your live shows have built a reputation for being really immersive and almost physical experiences. When you’re on stage, what are you hoping people feel walking out of the room afterwards?

 

The hope is that people feel a bit challenged or provoked by the experience. It's also cool if they were able to connect with the energy and find some kind of meaning within it, something that resonates after the fact.

 

Your music often feels very “live” and immediate, especially compared with a lot of modern rock music that can often sound overly polished. What is it about recording live off the floor that excites you?

 

Life isn't overly polished, so we don't like for our music to be either. We are trying to share a moment, not a perfect idea. Moments are often imperfect, but there is substance and authenticity within those moments that is really beautiful.

Hot Garbage the band together in a selfie

Many post-punk bands lean into darkness or seriousness, but there’s something almost playful and unpredictable at times in your music. How important is experimentation and spontaneity to the band creatively?

 

Experimentation and spontaneity are very important to us – it's really fun to explore that collaborative process. Working that way allows you to shift into new spaces which is stimulating because you're responding as you're writing in real time, which heeds unexpected results. There are also songs we write on our own before bringing to the rest of the band, but it's often the stuff we collaborate on from the beginning that feels the most exciting and like "us".

 

Your latest album Precious Dream (2024) feels somewhat darker and more expansive than RIDE (2021). Did anything consciously shift for you creatively while making Precious Dream, or did that evolution happen naturally?

 

I think we started becoming more conscious of creating things that were closer to what we as people wanted to listen to, as opposed to things we were just writing in certain moods. We honed in on a through-line between those things, trying to strike a balance between examining the music from an outside lens and pure self-expression. It also felt like writing music with some darkness gave some weight to the project. With what's been going on in the world, it just felt like what needed to be written, and it didn't sit right to be creating anything too celebratory or surface-level.

Toronto seems deeply embedded in the DNA of the band. How has the city shaped the way you make music, and what did the DIY scene around you teach you in the early years?

 

We more or less grew up here and obviously music is a reflection of your environment so the vibe of the city has definitely shaped us. We have been really lucky to be a part of a supportive and positive wave of artists and grow close with other bands in the community like Kali Horse, Mother Tongues, Vypers, ZONES, Luge, Gloin, and many more. 

 

There are so many people who push and inspire each other, the bar is always getting raised - it's very symbiotic. We all love each other very much and it's a great feeling to go out and see your friends do something great, talk about ideas, bounce things off each other. There's a constant exchange of energy that we are really grateful to experience here as artists and people.

A man at a mixing board

You’ve been on the MOTHLAND roster for a few years now. Do you have any favourite label-mates and are there any that have had a significant influence on the band?

 

They're all great, genuinely. Every single artist brings a different but really cool energy and flavour to the label. We've probably played the most with Yoo Doo Right and have had some amazing times with them, they are an incredible group. Alix Fernz is a good friend and beautiful soul, and we always have his music on heavy rotation. Same with Truck Violence, Atsuko Chiba, La Sécurité. Gloin (obviously, as our Toronto-contingent counterpart) have been friends for like a decade at this point, and they have an amazing energy on and off the stage. We shared an apartment with CDSM and Seulement at SXSW which was legitimately one of the most fun and hilarious experiences we've had. 

 

To be honest, it's really hard not to shout everyone out - there are some bands on the label we haven't had a chance to play with or spend as much time with yet, but we listen to all the Mothland stuff a ton. The label really feels like a family and we feel very lucky to be a part of it.

Hot Garbage performing live

Where is your favourite place to play, your favourite place to eat, and your favourite place to get a beer in Toronto?

 

To play – hard to say...for us it's more about the energy of the show itself than the venue. Places like Garrison and Baby G have felt like home for a long time, we also really enjoy spaces that have an intimate, DIY energy. To eat – there is too much good food in Toronto to go off here but shout out Loga's Corner momos. To drink – we don't really drink but The Embassy has a solid selection of non-alcs and great DJ's / vibes.

 

You’ve toured across Canada, the US and Europe now. Have you noticed differences in how audiences respond to the band depending on where you’re playing?

 

Definitely. Every place is so different, there are noticeable cultural differences in how people absorb music. Toronto can be a tough city in terms of getting crowds moving, so we often feel that other places are more vocal and physically engaged with the set right off the bat.

Have there been any particular shows or tours you’ve been on over the last few years that changed the way you think about the band or your music?

 

Any time we've done a run of shows with another band, it's been very inspiring and influential. On one of our first US tours, we supported L.A. Witch for a few dates, and getting the chance with a band with more experience taught us a lot - they were super sweet and welcoming. Later on, we did a run with Frankie & The Witch Fingers and not only were they super locked in as a band every single night, they also taught us a lot about handling life while being in a band and how to become more self-sufficient in terms of managing your own production and creative process. So, a lot of direct musical influence, but also a lot of important knowledge about the lifestyle of being a touring artist.

 

Every band has a crazy tour story, what’s Hot Garbage’s crazy tour story?

 

This might not be that crazy depending on where you're from, but on an early tour we accidentally ended up on the wrong side of the tracks and kind of narrowly escaped being robbed by hopping a curb and driving all night into the next state after a brief car chase. That was how our "no off-brand motels" rule started.

Hot Garbage posing together

I saw one interview mention David Lynch in connection with the band, which makes a lot of sense sonically. Are there particular filmmakers, writers or artists whose work resonates strongly with Hot Garbage creatively?

 

David Lynch, Harmony Korine, Tarkovsky, Jim Jarmusch, Wim Wenders. Any weirdo art with a heavy / dark / visceral / pretty / all of the above vibe.

 

What’s next for Hot Garbage, and what excites you the most about where the band is heading next?

 

We are finishing an album and also writing a new lineup of songs. Our longtime drummer started a family and moved out to the east coast, so we are writing with a new drummer in some new spaces that feel novel and exciting. We're playing Purple City in Edmonton in the fall and a few other shows this year, and have a bunch of new music coming down the pipes that we're really excited to share.

You can find Hot Garbage on Instagram, Spotify and YouTube.

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