Shiv and the Carvers are choosing action over perfection

Photography by Paddy Burn There is something exhausting about living in a world where you can witness almost anything yet still feel powerless to change it. For Shiv and the Carvers, that contradiction is the heart of Always Watching, the Toronto punk band’s debut full-length album: a record about surveillance, institutional violence, and the strange intimacy of having the world’s horrors delivered directly to your devices.“I’m looking at my phone constantly and I’m seeing the worst things possible unfold in front of me,” says vocalist Shiv Scott, describing how the past three years of watching events in Gaza shaped the record. Social media gives people access to realities that traditional media ignore or downplay, she explains, but with an uncomfortable catch: “I am aware that I’m also being watched.” That tension runs from the opener, “Daddy’s Always Watching”, to other songs that question the systems around us and address religion, oppression, police brutality, and more. Sign up to Best Fit's Substack for regular dispatches from the world of pop culture Musically, Always Watching is as direct as its subject matter. 11 songs fly by in just over 38 minutes, built on big, heavy rif...