Weed

From the kind of music they play, overloaded stonergaze with a heavy Dinosaur Jr. and My Bloody Valentine influence, you might think the Vancouver-based duo of Will Anderson and Kevin Doherty were referring to the medicinal and recreational herb when they named their band Weed. They insist it's a verb, as in to get rid of (something harmful or superfluous). They started playing together in 2010, eventually releasing a four-song EP titled Gun Control that featured new member Hugo Noriega. The three-piece recorded a full album, Deserve, which was released by Couple Skate Records in 2013. Their next record, 2015's Running Back, was solid enough to impress Lefse Records, who agreed to release it. ~ Tim Sendra