Upcoming Releases

SMUG LLC is the latest solo project from Drew Thomson, a Canadian musician based in the Greater Toronto Area. Known for fronting acclaimed bands like Single Mothers and The Drew Thomson Foundation, Thomson has earned two prestigious Juno Award nominations and built a respected career as a singer-songwriter. Over the years, he has toured extensively, sharing the stage with notable acts such as Title Fight, Touche Amore, PUP, The Bronx, Quicksand, Dave Hause, Off With Their Heads, and many others. Now, Thomson introduces SMUG LLC with the release of his debut EP, New Exciting Doom, out Friday, October 3 via Anxious and Angry.

With six full-length LPs released on Dine Alone Records and over 20 EPs—either self-released or through labels like Secret Voice, No Sleep Records, and Deathwish Inc.—Drew Thomson had always fronted full bands. But during the pandemic, it felt like that chapter might have come to an end.

“The concept of a ‘laptop band’ was born during those months and years when going out wasn’t really an option and collaboration felt impossible,” says Thomson. With no other creative outlet, he downloaded a free version of Ableton Live and began experimenting. That led to samplers, drum machines, and synthesizers—and the realization that a full band and live experience could live at his fingertips. “The laptop is the instrument. I write all my songs on it. They live there,” he says.

He began writing loop-based, minimalistic songs, manipulating drum samples through a Roland SP-404, layering in simple basslines, and writing lyrics over them. Those early experiments became the foundation for SMUG LLC, culminating in the debut EP, New Exciting Doom—a six-song romp through the belly of where we were yesterday, where we are today, and where we just might be heading next.

“It’s about internal and external struggles and how they intertwine,” Thomson explains. “Lyrically the album is kind of like looking out a window into the litter filled streets, seeing a reflection of yourself in the glass. Can things get worse? Can they get better? Is it all perspective? Is this a new doom, or has it always been here, lurking just around the corner, waiting to swallow us whole?”

Songs like “Shoulda Died” look back on partying and alcoholism through the lens of long-term sobriety, while “Campaign Finance” reflects the frustration of knowing only so much is within your control. “Little Gusts” is simple and fun—and it reignited Drew’s passion for songwriting. “It was the first song that started this new era for me and set the tone for what SMUG LLC would become,” he says. Musically, the EP blends analog and digital drum loops, basslines, synthesizers, and samples arranged together in a simple mosaic of chaos and hooks.

Thomson began posting songs to Instagram, performing live vocals over backing tracks he’d created. The posts caught the attention of close friend and Off With Their Heads frontman, Ryan Young. “Ryan called me one day and basically said, ‘These songs are cool, you should do something with this,’” Thomson recalls. “I still had the idea of touring with my laptop in the back of my mind.” That conversation quickly turned into a plan: “He said, ‘Get a record together, I’ll put it out, and I’ll take you on tour.’” And just like that, Smug LLC was thrusted out of Thomson’s bedroom and into reality—soon to be taken on the road across America.