WHEN I’M GONE Is Maiden Lane’s Fuzz-Pedal Funeral for Polished Punk –

Someone may want to check on Maiden Lane’s fuzz and overdrive pedals after the Ontario solo punk rock project recorded WHEN I’M GONE, one of the seminal singles taken from their third LP, BOUDIN MEDICINE. The grungy skate-punk aesthetics of Fidlar scathe their way into the feverish, scuzzy electricity of this short but serrated release, making the track feel like a gig poster plastered basement wall suddenly learned how to bite.

Hit play, and the artificial gloss of modernity is instantly scoured away as Maiden Lane rolls with all the rabid punches, harking back to the nostalgia of no-wave’s first crash to the shore of safe punk. Yousif Abusitta, the artist and producer behind the project, lets the guitar-driven aggression come through with total conviction, throwing groovy bass lines, melodic hooks, and raw-throated conviction into a sound built for rooms where sweat collects on the ceiling.

Since forming Maiden Lane in 2022 with The Black Cat Project, Abusitta has kept expanding the project’s political bite and garage-punk volition through releases including Pay The Man Before His Sweat Dries, Marijuana, I Pray To This Guitar, Tunnel (Dig Until I Die), and Lap Dog. WHEN I’M GONE carries that same refusal to sanitise the moment, bringing BOUDIN MEDICINE’s ferocity into focus.

WHEN I’M GONE is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast