Sum and Substance Are Flying the Flag for Canadian Midwest Emo.
- TOP8 Scene
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Photo: Steve Nash
Who are Sum and Substance? Let us put you on.
The Canadian band is self-described as Mathrock/Midwest Emo-inspired, and one thing we know is that they’re rad. After spending time with their music, it's safe to say they're one of those bands you'll wonder why you weren't listening to sooner. At TOP8 Scene, we're used to hearing about Canada's incredible pop-punk and metalcore scenes, so stumbling across a band leaning into Midwest emo sensibilities immediately caught our attention. We caught up with Alex, Jeff, and Mim to talk about how they came together, Canada's emo roots, and what's next.
So, where did Sum and Substance begin? “Jeff and I were in a metalcore band ages ago.” Says Alex, “Initially, Jeff and I ran into each other again, and I told him I wanted to make some music. We were drafting ideas I came up with on a DAW at my place. We did this weekly for a little while until Jeff, through his network, found some others that were interested in joining us.”
While Midwest emo is technically tied to a place, it's clear that it's much bigger than geography. What matters is the vibe, not the location, when it comes to the genre and the scene. It has become more of a sound than anything. “It's also more associated with suburban identity than with a geographic location. It's grown so far outside of Midwest America since its inception, even to places like Indonesia and South America.”
Canada's contribution to emo deserves way more flowers than it often gets, and they're quick to point out that some of the genre's biggest names came from right here. “Bands like Silverstein and Alexisonfire are some of the bands that made hardcore-emo music popular, and they are both from Ontario, so that says a lot about Canada's contribution.” The band shares. “We are also all heavily influenced by BILLY Talent, and they had a HUGE role to play in the popularity of emo during the time we were kids. Canadian emo definitely has a different aesthetic and sound, but we love mixing and matching multiple conventions within the genre. That's definitely one of our strengths.”
Of course, we had to ask which Canadian bands deserve more love; they pointed back to the MuchMusic era, a time that shaped how so many Canadian kids discovered alternative music, us included. “Any of those Canadian bands from the MuchMusic era of around 2005-2007. That's when we all started listening to music more seriously.” Another notable band comes from Montreal called Gulfer. “They are so so essential to modern emo, especially in Quebec. They really nailed that sound, and it's sad they're no longer around.”
Speaking of Gulfer, they made the list of Sum and Substance’s TOP8 bands in the Scene:
Gulfer - really catchy melodic riffs with some shoegaze mixed in.
The Fall of Troy - Alex's personal biggest influence. Pioneered that "mathy" guitar sound
Dance Gavin Dance - Big vocal influence with Jonny Craig, Will Swan also writes amazing riffs
Erra - Been digging them a lot lately. Good screamer, the guitarist Jesse is also a great vocalist.
Tennyson - Great electronic producer. Really layered, intricate songs, especially off their Like What ep.
Macseal - Nailing the really catchy guitar riffs with the Midwest emo aesthetics. Really dig them.
Avec Plaisir - More pop-punky math sounds, but also really good. Really dig them. Local band from Montreal also.
Intervals - also deserve more recognition as really being the pioneers and driving force behind this type of 'guitar-first ' approach that we go for.
When it comes to songwriting, they shared that there is a stronger cohesive theme musically than lyrically. “A lot of [our] songs are about different experiences we've each had interacting with life and art.” The songs that they write range from many different experiences: “we have a breakup song, another about a poem, and another about an experience our singer had with his mental health. If anything, the lyrical theme would be the same as any artist with meaningful lyrics, which is persevering hardship through poetry.” And if you're wondering whether there's a feel-good anthem hiding somewhere in their catalogue…It’s as emo as it can get. “We don't really have any happy songs, haha.”
If you’re just finding out about the band, they recommend that you check out their song ‘Kind’. “It's the first track we wrote as a band, and we think that's going to inspire more of our sound from this point forward with our next releases. We have been writing more technical proggy music that resonates more with ‘Kind’ than it necessarily does with our latest EP.”
That same track is one that got listeners curious about the metaphor in the track “the chorus continuously repeats 'your name starts with kind.’ People have asked us what the metaphor is there, but it's more of a story about an ex whose name literally started with that syllable.”
While 'Kind' offers a glimpse of where the band is headed, their latest EP wraps up with one of our personal favourites, ‘So What.’ “We really liked the process of making this EP since each of us got to write the lyrics to one of the songs and ‘tell our own stories' that way and have them all come together musically. ‘So What’ was Mim's song, which was inspired by our tendencies to do stuff that we regret and feel bad about afterward, and that everyone does that to some extent.”
The band just came off a mini-tour that promoted their latest EP, which you can check out below. The tour included a stop at Toronto’s NXNE Music Festival, which is a huge milestone. “We were so honored to be chosen for that, especially considering the headliners were some huge names in music such as MGK, Fionn, Sophia Powers… we could go on. Needless to say, we're a little tired haha.” The band will be taking a break from shows for a few months, but don’t worry, they’ll be busy recording new tunes. “Our goal is to release 3 more songs within the next 6 months, the first of which might be coming sooner rather than later…”
Before wrapping things up, they had one final recommendation for anyone reading. “Go check out Parapariah. That band is amazing”
TOP8’s take?
Canada’s alternative music scene is slept on, and Sum and Substance proves that. They're carrying pieces of Canada's underrated emo legacy while creating a sound that is unmistakably their own, which they should be more than proud of. Between Kind, So What, and more music already on the way, we'd recommend having them in your rotation. They're only getting started.
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