Brat Star – Southern Ontario Gothic
Canada’s breakout alt-pop visionary Brat Star has released her debut album Southern Ontario Gothic.
Entirely self-written and largely self-produced, the album offers insight into the ever-developing world of Brat Star, whose vividly specific explorations of the mundane reveal a broader universe of emotional resonance. It’s the little things around which her world orbits that see the musician collage together a series of vignettes drawn from her own stream of consciousness. Brat Star’s songs are less sardonic than they might outwardly appear, at their core radiating the optimism that comes with chasing a feeling. Southern Ontario Gothic is a crystallization of this particular moment: a soundtrack to put on for all the euphoria and disappointments that come with living a regular life, and the small things that make it feel extraordinary.
Brat Star reps the 6 to the hilt, drawing from all walks of artistry associated with her chosen province of residence, with Drake, Shania Twain, and Emily Haines serving as musical references. Inspired by the literary subgenre of the same name, Southern Ontario Gothic brings together a series of vignettes drawn from everyday life and lived experiences. The title references a movement often associated with small-town Ontario and writers such as Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood. Brat Star began writing the album in the winter of 2024, with its first single, “David Fincher”, approaching each song from the title outward and treating each vignette like a first-person narrative essay. The intensity she once found in her time as a DJ is redirected into the lyrics themselves, emphasizing cohesion and specificity as each song takes on a different persona within the world of the project. That approach grew from her interest in ordinary, everyday subjects and the Warholian process of making them worthy of a song’s objecthood, as heard on “Artizia Sweater” and “Dirty Hokas”. This prismatic veneer of urban romance is projected through the teaser film she directed alongside legendary Canadian multidisciplinary creative Norman Wong ahead of the record’s release. Brat Star will host three release parties across New York, Los Angeles, and Toronto in support of her debut album.
Brat Star is a Canadian writer, producer, and visionary hailing from Montreal, Canada, whose evocative lyricism has set her apart as the next in the line of underground pop provocateurs, receiving cosigns from the likes of Clairo, Isabella Lovestory, Woesum, and Mackeeper. She began her career DJing while interning for a corporate law firm in downtown Montreal. After graduating from law school and moving to Berlin to work for 032c magazine, Brat Star became well acquainted with the German deconstructed club and experimental techno scene, centering world-building and storytelling through her DJ sets as a primary mode of expression. After gaining heavy traction and touring internationally across Europe, Asia, and North America, including at festivals like Primavera Sound, Brat Star released her debut EP Voice Notes in 2020, refocusing her attention on songwriting and narrative building while working closely with fellow Toronto pioneers Loukeman and Dyltwosix. Outside of music, Brat Star has been featured as the muse for Barcelona-based brand Paloma Wool’s latest campaign, which included a line of accessories embossed with lyrics from her standout single “Margot Tenenbaum.” She has also played supporting slots on Mechatok’s 2026 Canadian tour and at the Toronto stop of Fred Again..’s USB002 run.
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