Pup is about to take Canadian pop-punk to the next level
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Pup's new album, Who Will Look After The Dogs, is the cherry on top of an already great week for Canadian pop-punk.
Released today, it comes on the heels of a national revelation that our new prime minister is a certified Down With Webster fan — and about a month after Sum 41's last live performance ever at the 2025 Juno Awards.
But will this renewed interest in Canada's contributions to the genre be a blip, or the start of a new wave?
Today on Commotion, culture writer Niko Stratis, rapper/author Rollie Pemberton and music journalist Emilie Hanskamp join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to discuss the new album from Toronto punk band Pup, the resurgence of early 2000s Canadian pop-punk, and the joy of seeing Prime Minister Mark Carney get down with Down With Webster.
We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player.
WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube:
Elamin: Emilie, Pup are one of those bands that seem to get more and more popular with each record. Next week they head out on this big European tour. They're gonna be playing five homecoming shows in Toronto in July. You're a long-time Pup fan. What got you into them?
Emilie: Well, I'm from Montreal. I moved here about nine-ish years ago and had my own insular scene thing going on here. I didn't know who Pup was…. And at a time — I mean, still we're dealing with a problem where you kind of try to divorce yourself from your inner Canadiana — and I was introduced to this hyper-local, super popular, beloved band, went to a show, almost got absolutely annihilated in the pit and fell in love with them.
Fell in love with the self-deprecation, the self awareness, that sharpness of that self awareness. And I think we'll talk about their evolution a little later, but they haven't changed in that way, which is why I've stayed with them. They're about my age, mid-30s, and we've evolved kind of together in this really comforting and cathartic way. I just admire and love that they've stayed true to that, through and through.
Elamin: Two things. One, people from Montreal never miss an opportunity to let you know that they're from Montreal, and I just want to admire the dedication to that.
Emilie: I promise it's not the only time it's going to happen.
Elamin: And two, you know who does not try to divorce themselves from their inner Canadiana is Niko Stratis. I think she has a Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald tattoo on her body. Is that correct?
Niko: It's a full back piece, yeah. You see the ship slowly sink down.
Elamin: This is a derailment, and I'm gonna get back to Pup. OK, so the band has been at it for over a decade. They've built this incredibly loyal following, and they have this really high-energy music. After hearing this new record, how would you say they've evolved, Niko?
Niko: Well, I'm from the Yukon. I feel like we're just going around and talking about where we're from.
Elamin: Sure are.
Niko: But you know, I was a punk rock kid and I grew up with what we would consider to be a Southern California skate-punk style. And when I was kid, I never expected this music would grow up with me…. And to my surprise in my adult years, it has kind of happened, and Pup is one of those bands that is really doing that, right? They are evolving not just sonically but also in their songwriting, how they are approaching talking about mental health, and the self-deprecating and all that.
Even that sort of evolves as you get older and as you have a deeper understanding of yourself. You don't really grow old in punk rock; that was never supposed to be a thing. So it is interesting now to be old and be like, "Oh, this music can still be for me." Even though it is still very youthful. It is still very loud and fast and angry. We can still be loud and fast and angry, and be older and still have concerns and worries. It is a really beautiful, fun thing. Like, it is both sad and also about Olive Garden.
Elamin: Rollie, I mentioned that the Pup are playing those five shows in Toronto this summer. You are opening one of them, you're opening July 18 at Danforth Music Hall. Let's talk about the fact that they have used their shows quite often as platforms to go, "Hey, you've got to meet our friend and listen to them because they mean something to us." Talk to me about the importance of Pup in the larger Canadian music ecosystem.
Rollie: Pup, they're one of those bands that at first you start seeing them blowing up, and you're like, "Wow, I'm surprised that they're Canadian." They're just popping, and I really appreciate the connection they've cultivated with their audience. They've been grinding, and you feel like they're progressively getting bigger and bigger. They keep tying into that emotional connection with their fans, and I feel like they are just best practices for a band in 2025.
I feel like they use their platform probably better than most bands out there. They're putting up the trans flag, having really diverse artists opening for them…. They don't have to do any of that. That's something that I just really want to point out: they make a conscious decision to platform other people themselves. And I think it's a really special thing.
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