Canadian musician Keegan Powell makes songs that explore the mystery of pain, the release of demons and how through it all, life actually may be some kind of miracle. Start with 2019's lo-fi experimental EPs Is+Was and Headspun, doused in reverb, guitar solos and electronic drums. Lines from songs like “All That Is and Ever Was” describes the mundane process through one’s day “Can’t quite decide how to pass the time/Forever on call to be great”. On “Previous Pain” from 2022, Powell melancholically sings “Tonight everybody wants you/To be a star and sit upon your throne”, foretelling if anything, the record garnered his first bout of serious airplay, racking up five radio single rotations on SiriusXM Radio. The soothing acoustic howls that made Powell’s sophomore record, Fear Be Gone, a college radio staple across North America proves something very clear-Powell has never stayed in one spot artistically. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because he is incapable of it. If evidence of this is his past work, Alien Radio is the sentencing in which nails his hand to the coffin. Released In 2024, the compilation assembled previously released and unreleased tracks from Powell’s archive, spanning recordings from the years 2016-2019. The tracks are a glimpse into an artist trying to overreach his ability and achieving it, only to forget about it altogether. Unearthed years later, what remains is an ultimate companion piece to his current released work. The results are crystal clear pop songs in the guise of quarter life angst that make for some of the most exciting rock music heard this decade. After playing and touring throughout 2024, Powell has unleashed his live band Keegan Powell and The Jetpacks. With their first and unabashedly fierce display of live showmanship, the two-song EP opens with 2019’s “Beginning Of Life” from ‘Is+Was’, closing with 2023’s “My Maker” from ‘Fear Be Gone’. The band weaves through eccentricities that any classic rock band has displayed, while being firmly rooted in the modern howl cries of the 21st century.
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Throughout their short yet tumultuous career, Teenage Kicks refused to pander to passing fads and trends. They choo=se not to be defined by a token “Rock and Roll” outfit or a boisterous social media presence, but instead by the quality and honesty of songs, or the heart that they contain. Come what may, Teenage Kicks rejected what is passing for success these days in exchange for the chance to represent rock music without irony and cliché. If you are willing to give Teenage Kicks your attention, you can expect to receive only their truest expressions.