Hey have you heard? 5 N.L. bands worth giving a listen to

It's the 25th anniversary of MusicNL this week so we're taking a look at some local bands on the rise. 

Here are five bands that you should keep your eyes — and ears — open for. 

Goon 

Adam Hefferman (guitar), Keith Harding (drums), Ross Connolly (bass), Andrew Wicks (guitar), and Clair Hipditch (vocals).

They're a little heavier and describe themselves as "doomgaze," and progressive rock.

"We started to try and pull together some songs we hoped would sound like greasy-biker rock and roll," Hefferman said.

But that changed pretty quickly.

Goon is comprised of a more mature musical team, and you can hear that in their carefully crafted sound — which they spent months working on, before playing live.

"Being in those bands that used to work [songs] out a couple of weeks before playing those shows … we're in a position where everyone is very busy and we all have adult careers and at this point it's harder to get together," Hefferman said.

The learning curve of past experiences has taught them all one thing.

"We just want to make sure people hear it the way we intended it to be heard," he said.

Hipditch's vocals are an interesting juxtaposition against the striking, heavy-rock music wall behind her.

"There's a lot of influence from Black Sabbath, King Crimson, and Queens of the Stone Age," Hefferman said.

Where'd the name Goon come from?  Well it was an accident.

Inspired by the Paper Beats Scissors album Go On, when a friend of the band saw it at a show and misread it as Goon, the name stuck.

Goon hasn't recorded any tunes yet but you can keep an eye on the band here.

Why you need to hear Goon: a mature loud band, great for angst of any age.

Property

Sarah Harris (guitar), Jack Etchegary (guitar), and Liam Wright (bass).

They describe themselves as an "angular-pop" band. "We don't do a lot of strumming, a lot of it is based around a riff or a groove," said Harris, a lifelong musician who fronts the band.

Property's songs are mainly guitar riffs with electronic backbeats born out of an RPM (Record Production Month) project with Jack Etchegary last February.

Harris is no stranger to the music scene, she's already been in more bands than you can count on one hand.

"I started taking violin lessons when I was 5, and I started performing trad when I was about 11 or 12," Harris said.

"We've gotten a range of emotions, a lot of people have expressed that they like it, that it's interesting and something they haven't seen in St. John's before," she said.

Property's original sound comes from electronic backing, which has been controversial for some.

"I guess a lot of people miss the energy that a drummer gives, the push and pull of some rock or pop music, but we like the machine," Harris said.

The drum machine became key in keeping the band minimal while also adding a more textured sound.

"We like being kind of robotic and latching on to the sequence."

Property recorded its first full-length studio album in Montreal this past February with plans to release in November.

Why you need to hear Property: edgy pop music with intricate musicality and thoughtful lyrics.

Newspaper Fashion Show

Jacob Quinton (vocals/guitar), Jeremy Gillam (lead guitar), Aaron Beswick (bass/keyboard), John Purchase (keyboard/guitar), Zakk Sullivan (percussion).

Newspaper Fashion Show got its name from exactly what it sounds like, an event from Jacob Quinton and Jeremy Gillam's high school days where people created costumes from newspaper.

The long-time friends just released their first full-length album A Rope Against The Sun.

"A large theme throughout the album is communication and how we tend to not use it sometimes, when a bit of communication could solve a minute problem that becomes a lot bigger," Quinton said.

Their brand new album is your formulaic pop/indie-rock. It has some fun jams which is what you'd expect from a band who formed over a phone call at 2 a.m. on George Street, in St. John's.

"I think our sound owes a lot to indie-rock bands such as The Strokes and the Arctic Monkeys," Quinton said.

What kind of night should you prepare for if you're heading out to see Newspaper Fashion Show? "A long one," he said.

"We like to keep it pretty high energy."

Why you need to hear Newspaper Fashion Show: relaxed, catchy hooks, dance music for when you just want to chill.

The Kubasonics

Brian Cherwick (vocals and multi-instrumentalist), Maria Cherwick (violin), Jacob Cherwick (drums), Darren "Boobie" Browne (guitar), Matt Hender (bass).

The Kubasonics have a 20-year history but are still new to Newfoundland and Labrador.

The St. John's iteration of the band began two years ago when Brian Cherwick and family moved east.

And they've brought something we've never had before — Ukrainian folk music.

Now, this isn't your regular folk music, no lone acoustic guitar here. 

"When I got to Newfoundland I started showing up at different things playing these weird instruments," Cherwick said.

That weirdness attracted locals musicians Darren "Boobie" Brown and Matt Hender to join forces with Cherwick.

But not just one Cherwick. The Ukrainian folk band is a bit of a family affair. Brian is backed by his kids Maria and Jacob.

"First of all the high level of energy, and the other thing people are amazed by is the level of musicianship," he said.

"Besides playing everything kind of fast and loud and there's always lots of intricate musical stuff going on." 

Their fifth album Kubfunland is the first created in this province. With fun in the name it's a hard album to pass up.

Why you need to hear The Kubasonics: just the right amount of weird, party music, accompanied by expert musicianship.

Town House

Mellyssa Vey (vocals/guitar/keys), Tyler Stanley (drums), Mike Dray (bass), Curtis Smith (guitar).

Town House got its name from just that.

The band came together by living together — driven by writer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mellyssa Vey who moved from her parents' home in Holyrood to — you guessed it, a townhouse in downtown St. John's. 

"We had intention to record our first album in March of 2016," Vey said. 

"But the studio we were recording at had flooded, his entire basement was full of water so we had to put it on hold." 

It wasn't until February 2017 when their album Floods, was released. 

"We were a band for a year before we even played a show," Vey said.

The band has a more mature sound than many who are newer to the scene, rehearsing and refining before their reveal.   

"I feel like our music is a bit more thought provoking. It's not music you would just put on to feel good, it's not upbeat and it's not dance-y," she said.  

In November, Town House plans to head to Toronto for the Indie Week music festival. 

"We were very eager when we first started to put music out there for people to hear because we were just so excited, and felt like it was a little bit different than what was already happening in the music scene," Vey said. 

In 2018 the band is hoping to head back into the studio. 

"We have lots of new music written," she said. 

"But if we've learned anything from the last time around it's that anything can happen." 

Why you need to hear Town House: dreamy, ethereal indie-rock with introspective lyrics in case you want to light a candle and mellow out.