Ontario’s HANDHELD Release 1st Album in 14 Years ‘A Canadian Tragedy’

Ontario, Canada’s HANDHELD Release 1st Album in 14 Years ‘A Canadian Tragedy’

Stream The Album Here

Watch The “Leaving Candyland” Video Here

“11 tracks worth of songs about love, irony, coverup, scandal, folklore and tradition all with a Canadian twist.”

“Short, to-the-point, poppy skate punk which “has been refined to the purest form of the genre.”- Exclaim!

For Fans Of: Face To Face, Bad Religion, NOFX, Rise Against, and Millencolin

Ontario Canada skatepunk band Handheld is back with the album “A Canadian Tragedy”, marking its first LP in 14 years.

The band’s latest video “Leaving Candyland” pays tribute to fellow Canadian, the late great actor and comedian John Candy.

Of the video, the band says, “We wanted to pay tribute to the great human that was John Candy and honour his life in a unique way. We picked 6 of our all time favourite John Candy roles which included: Barf from Spaceballs, Gus from Home Alone, Chet from The Great Outdoors, Del from Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Yosh of The Schmengie Brothers (SCTV) and Uncle Buck from you guessed it… Uncle Buck. Then for each character we shot an homage to our favourite scenes, sprinkled in some punk rock flavorings and what you get is one hell of a good time. This video is definitely big in Sheboygan.”

Handheld formed in 1998 in Ontario, Canada. Fast punk rock, CHECK. Sing along melodies, CHECK. Single kick pedal, CHECK. For fans of Face To Face, Bad Religion, NOFX, and Millencolin. Handheld released 6 Albums/EPs from 1998-2008 and then took a 10 year hiatus. A few members went on to form Curbside. Handheld reformed with the same line-up +1 in 2018 with the goal of playing a few reunion shows. Cue the Pandemic and the inability to play live shows, so the band wrote and recorded a new album, which brings us to ‘A Canadian Tragedy’ , which is out now.

Of the new LP, the band says, “Yes, Sorry we know we are friendly folk full of maple syrup and cheese curds. But Canada is not without its fair share of issues. A Canadian Tragedy is full of songs about love, irony, coverup, scandal, folklore and tradition all with a Canadian twist. 11 Fast melodic punk songs written with sing-along melodies and lyrics that make you go hmmm.”

Handheld will perform two shows with MUTE in Quebec City this September. See dates attached.  

Title: A Canadian Tragedy

TrackList
Double Double DUI – 3:16
Leaving Candyland – 2:40
On the Fly – 2:23
Flip the Scrip – 2:20
School is in Session – 2:19
Bend the Iron – 1:58
Group of Six – 2:20
Somewhere Over Kentucky – 2:37
The Log Driver’s Waltz – 2:41
Life of a Hitman – 2:42
Coming Home – 4:20

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