Toronto-based psych-punk outfit Wine Lips have released “Projector”, the lead single from their forthcoming fifth studio album, TV Dinner, which is scheduled for release on 28 August via Stomp Records.
The new track introduces the next phase of the band’s evolution while maintaining the high-energy sound that has helped establish Wine Lips as one of Canada’s most successful independent rock acts of the past decade. Combining elements of garage punk, psychedelic rock and alternative rock, “Projector” also marks the first lead vocal performance from drummer Aurora Evans.
The single arrives as the group continues to build on a growing international profile. Over the past ten years, Wine Lips have amassed more than 45 million streams, secured placements in film, television and video games, and toured extensively across North America, Europe, the UK, Hong Kong and China.
Drawing influence from the raw intensity of 1990s garage punk while retaining the psychedelic edge that has become central to the band’s identity, “Projector” delivers a fast-paced and uncompromising introduction to the upcoming album. The song channels the energy associated with influential garage and punk acts while showcasing the band’s trademark combination of distorted guitars, driving rhythms and relentless momentum.
“Projector” wastes no time making its intentions clear. Driven by Evans’ commanding vocal performance, the track takes aim at the kind of person who projects their insecurities, frustrations, and baggage onto everyone around them. Every sneering lyric lands with purpose while the band barrels forward behind her in a glorious racket of overdriven guitars and barely contained momentum. It’s direct, cathartic, and impossible to ignore.
The track provides listeners with an early preview of TV Dinner, a 13-song collection that explores many of the social and personal pressures shaping contemporary life. According to the band, the album addresses themes including burnout, addiction, doomscrolling, job dissatisfaction, housing challenges and the persistent anxiety that accompanies modern living.
Rather than adopting a reflective or subdued approach, Wine Lips continue to embrace the loud, chaotic and energetic style that has defined their catalogue. The record aims to transform everyday frustrations into an intense and cathartic listening experience.
Recorded at The Sugar Shack in London, Ontario, with longtime collaborator Simon Larochette, TV Dinner was intentionally produced with an emphasis on spontaneity and authenticity. The band chose to preserve imperfections and unexpected moments rather than pursue a highly polished studio sound.
That approach reflects the group’s broader philosophy toward recording and performance. By allowing mistakes, unusual ideas and unplanned developments to remain part of the finished product, Wine Lips sought to capture the immediacy that has become a defining feature of their live shows.
The result is a collection of songs that feels alive, unpredictable, and wired directly to the energy that has made Wine Lips such a formidable live act, an energy they’ll carry back onto international highways this fall with a tour supporting Death From Above 1979 and another European run already on the horizon.
The forthcoming release also signals a shift in perspective for the band. While earlier records often leaned into surreal and psychedelic themes, TV Dinner is rooted more firmly in the realities of everyday life. The album reflects a world increasingly shaped by digital distractions, rising living costs and a constant flow of information.
If previous Wine Lips records often felt like psychedelic escapes from reality, TV Dinner keeps its feet planted firmly on the cracked pavement outside. It’s a record built for an era of glowing phone screens, rising rents, information overload, and endless noise. “Projector” is the opening shot. Loud, urgent, and impossible to ignore. Warm up the microwave. TV Dinner is almost ready.
With TV Dinner set to arrive later this summer, “Projector” offers a clear indication of what listeners can expect: a fast, abrasive and unapologetically energetic record from a band continuing to expand its international reach while remaining committed to the raw sound that first earned it a devoted following.
