Altered by Mom Announce Debut LP ‘BETTER’

Toronto’s agents of chaos, Altered by Mom, announce the release of their debut LP, BETTER, due out on September 5th. The album features ten catchy, well-crafted rock songs with a rebellious edge and a sense of humour. They’ll be celebrating the release the only way they know how: with explosive riffs, big feelings and sick frickin’ hooks at a blistering hometown show at The Rivoli on release night.

The album includes recently released singles like “Knee High Sox” – an empowering track about the ultimate revenge outfit. Throw on your knee-highs and celebrate looking damn good! It’s all about power, strength, confidence, overcoming fear, and owning your success. Also featured is “Sucking On A Lemon” – a cheeky anthem about the party sourpusses who just can’t have a good time… and how this band is definitely not afraid of them. Upbeat, cool, catchy, and confident. Their single, “OK OK,” just jumped into rotation on SiriusXM’s “The Verge.” This cool, gritty song is all swagger, an unapologetic anthem about owning your space. Energetic and anthemic, it hits just as hard as its wrestling-themed video, which has racked up almost half a million views. Ding ding.

Fronted by JUNO-winning songwriters Gina Kennedy (bass/vox) and Devon Lougheed (guitar/vox), with Max Trefler on drums, Altered by Mom is a posi-vibes alt-rock band proudly disrupting the rock n’ roll status quo with a strong female voice at the helm. The band’s formation is a classic story of East meets West – the Canadian version. Devon (beekeeper, Hey Ocean!) had just moved to Toronto from Vancouver to start playing in a new band, while Gina had arrived from Halifax to make it in the big city. With the Canadian music scene being so small, it was probably inevitable that they’d cross paths. When they did, they started playing music together and haven’t stopped since. Max joined the mix about four years ago, and now they’re unstoppable!

Altered by Mom is proudly flipping the script on what rock bands are “supposed” to be. Loud, queer-friendly, and refreshingly unbothered, they are busting down the boys’ club door with punk grit and hooks that cut deep without ever playing it straight. Rooted in DIY hustle (yes, they dropped 52 songs in a year), they’ve grown into a full-force live act with big-stage swagger and fearless heart. Centering queer and non-binary voices, Altered by Mom brings the chaos, charm, and confidence of a band that knows exactly who they are: a rock group redefining the genre on their own terms, in their own time.

Altered by Mom ‘BETTER’ album artwork

They have commanded stages from Hillside Fest in Ontario to Giantstock in Nova Scotia and Reeperbahn in Germany. They’ve opened for artists like Dear Rouge, Matt Mays, Limblifter, and Bif Naked, and co-written songs with members of Bush, Mother Mother, and Aysanabee (contributing multiple songs to the latter’s 2024 JUNO-winning album for “Songwriter of the Year”). In 2023, the band signed a publishing deal with Arts & Crafts!

BETTER Track Listing:

1. Knee High Sox
2. OK OK
3. Sucking on a Lemon
4. Even Better
5. Queen of My Mental Health
6. Wasted
7. Cat in a Cage
8. High Rise (feat. Ashleigh Ball)
9. Better How You Are
10. All of Those Dreams