With his sophomore solo EP, Paid For Pain—following last fall’s debut EP New Exciting Doom—Canadian musician Drew Thomson tightens the screws on SMUG LLC, turning his laptop-born post-punk project into something sharper, heavier, and more emotionally direct. These four new tracks—11 minutes total—sound settled into their own unease leaning into storytelling and introspection, pairing minimal, loop-driven rhythms with lyrics that stare straight at loss, love, and the mess of circumstances you don’t get to choose: “On a mission vision // Somewhere in my soul // Can’t get it outta me // Faster than it wants to grow” (from the title track). Built from drum machines, samplers, and synths (but with an undeniable rock feel, rooted in the early 2000s), this release turns endurance into momentum.

Paid For Pain is out digitally via Anxious and Angry.

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