The Bare Minimum On Punk Today, Toronto, Their Dystopian Single “Doomed City”
Punk Head: ‘Doomed City’ sounds like a love-hate letter to Toronto. When you were writing it, were you trying to vent, document, or just laugh through the madness?
Cam Gray (Vocals/Guitar): We actually started by writing a full-on dystopian concept album about Toronto. It was bleak in a very “everything is despair” kind of way. The problem is, that’s only half the story. Toronto will let you down but behind the condos, traffic jams, and disgraced mayors, there's something worth saving.
Punk Head: The title track feels like a whole generation’s anxiety put to a beat — what does “doom” mean to you in this context?
Cam Gray (Vocals/Guitar): “Doomed City” is about living in a city of 7 million and feeling completely isolated because the only way you interact with it is through consumption. You swipe, tap, buy, and then you leave. That’s the “doom”. Not zombies or apocalypse, just a slow erasure of community disguised as convenience.
Punk Head: You’ve got that classic skate-punk energy but your songs have real storytelling and social bite. How did you find that middle ground between fun and fury?
Cam Gray (Vocals/Guitar): Someone smarter than me once said, “A revolution without dancing is not a revolution worth having.” I feel the same way about punk. If there’s no fun, then you’re just a smug jerk yelling homework at people. The riffs need to hit as hard as the message.
Punk Head: Toronto’s punk scene has a reputation for being both thriving and under siege. What’s keeping it alive right now — and what’s slowly killing it?
Cam Gray (Vocals/Guitar): Rising rents, disappearing venues, and vanishing third spaces are slowly strangling the scene, but part of it is on us too, stuck scrolling instead of showing up. What keeps it alive is the same thing that always has: the kids giving their energy, time, and anger.
Punk Head: The line between musician, activist, and community builder seems pretty blurry for you. Do you see that as part of being punk in 2025?
Cam Gray (Vocals/Guitar): If we’re not supporting the scene, then we’re just making content, and for me that’s a nightmare. This EP made me stop caring about “success” in the industry sense; that’s for posers. I just want to be screaming in a basement with the weirdos keeping this thing alive. Punk in 2025 means building something real with your own hands, outside of corporations, algorithms, or anyone else’s permission.
