Toronto band Dogwhistle have just released their debut EP Textile Waste, out now on Endnote Records. Alongside it comes the band’s first single, “First Person Shooter,” a harsh and heavy track that mixes noise rock and post-hardcore with loud guitars, driving bass, and shouting vocals.
The song attacks modern war, video game violence, and how people grow numb to killing through screens and technology. It also points to how military ideas show up in everyday life, from online recruiting to police violence. One line quotes anthropologist Margaret Mead: “War is only an invention, not a biological necessity.”
Dogwhistle formed in spring 2024 after two of its members met at a protest outside a police station. The group mixes influences from 90s bands like Snapcase and Unsane with harsher sounds like Uniform and Godflesh. The result is loud, groovy, and scary, in a way that feels real and urgent.
The EP opens with a noisy intro before launching into a track called “no more tickets to the funeral,” built around a mechanical-sounding drum and bass rhythm. The goal, they say, was to make something that felt unsettling and urgent. Lyrically, they take on topics like global violence, police brutality, and labor abuse. In their words: Subtlety is dead. Scream louder.
One band member, KMK, also uses the lyrics to speak out about queer issues and the ongoing genocide of Palestinians. They point out that queer people are often told to ignore global suffering for the sake of “progress,” but that ignoring the past, like the HIV/AIDS crisis, is dangerous and cruel.
Dogwhistle’s music isn’t just noise. It’s a protest. The EP is streaming now on Bandcamp, the “First Person Shooter” video is on YouTube, and limited edition tapes are available through Endnote Records.
