Today we’re excited to share the sophomore album from emerging Torono band, Plastic Handgun. The bedroom post-punk project of Mark Giovanni, the new album comes in the wake of huge changes for the Canada-based songwriter.

It’s a record that reflects on the end of a long-term relationship, the encroaching impact of climate change, and the long road of battling mental illness. There’s shades of contemporaries like Preoccupations in the stuttering and heavy programmed drums, the propulsion of classic Deerhunter, and the melancholy of early-Cure albums.

The project of Toronto-based independent artist Mark Di Giovanni, Plastic Handgun has been creating music for over 10 years, shifting from experimental electronic to more structured rock. After a string of EPs and digital releases, the 2015 LP Involuntary Memories marked this turning point, blending genres and layering sounds to create a hypnotic whole. The follow-up album, Gatekeepers, is his first work in 5 years and continues his foray into art rock with an apocalyptic tinge.

Of Gatekeepers Giovanni explains :

““‘Gatekeepers’ is an album about the struggle to stay hopeful when overwhelmed by anxiety; about living and losing, but still finding reasons to fight.””