Toronto’s cult-veteran quartet Luge weave danceability through their ceaseless maelstrom of genre denial. Each member brings their own taste and timbre to the table where ‘what-if’ chops song structure into a malleable goop still wriggling with ear-worming riffs. Their adolescent blend of curiosity and cheek holds true since Luge's inception in 2015. They continue to dive into unmapped sonic territory, leaving no inspiration untapped and with the chops to pull it off. Their sound knows no bounds, fearing only a co-worker uttering the unholy, ‘what kind of music do you play?’
Stu Mein’s drumming and Cameron Fraser’s bassing are the broth that binds Luge’s infinite spice-blend, locking into gridded topography throwing heavy, complex grooves straight at your head. Tobias Hart’s fizzing guitar freaks over the dance virus in a treble-drenched click-matrix that occasionally breaks into lucidity only long enough to bring you the riffs you need and the lines to lead. Finally, in this chaos, Kaiva Gotham arrives just in time to tame those discordant rhythms that threaten to doppler into nothing. Gotham brings hooks that rip flesh. Her voice and synth both hold the key to Luge’s puzzle box, pray she allows you a glimpse of its answer. Glimpse it loud if you can.
Luge has toured the DIY scenes of Canada and the United States, filling up your local house venues and dive bars with a live performance that The Ontarion aptly describes as “controlled chaos”. Notable appearances include opening for acts like Otoboke Beaver, Tropical Fuck Storm, Guerrilla Toss, Palm, and Model/Actriz. Luge's latest release ‘I Love It Here, I Live Here’ (2023) is their third full-length album. Exclaim magazine claims it “takes complexity to a whole new level” while building on Luge's strengths of “accepting life, giving love and being weird with exceptional pomp and eccentricity”.
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“From the slinking bass tones to the band’s absurd technical command over their intricate time signatures, the Toronto four-piece’s latest bounds from mathy art-punk into groovy, crushing riffs. Vocalist Kaiva Gotham’s sometimes foolish, sometimes deadly serious (and sometimes Latvian!) lyrics guide listeners down the rabbit hole. For Luge, all that disparate complexity boils down to “having fun, just being young and saying fuck.””
“Luge approach pop music with an exacting technical skill that sets their music wildly apart from their Toronto rock peers. But In Head Boy, their loping percussion and ambling guitar approach precision while also layering in levels of playfulness. Kaiva Gotham’s almost spoken vocal performance makes the circular, repeated lines sound both obsessive and delightfully unhinged. ”
“ Luge isn’t messing around about messing around. (...) the Toronto band are sticking to their strengths — accepting life, giving love and being weird with exceptional pomp and eccentricity.”
Shared stage with:
Lightning Bolt, Otoboke Beaver, Tropical Fuck Storm, Guerrilla Toss, Palm, Model/Actriz, Water From Your Eyes, YHWH Nailgun