Songs of the Week: April 04 - 10, 2022

“Washed Away” by The Darcys

I was really excited this morning, knowing that I’d get to share the new single from The Darcys, and then I woke up to news that their van was broken into!
The culprit only stole an iPod Touch (lolz) but caused $1000 of damage to the van! BOO!

SO, here’s two things you can do - listen to the awesome new song, “Washed Away”, below (and stream it on your preferred playform) and buy some merch from the duo. I got two vinyl, a hat , (plus Kirk and I both got socks) at their Vancouver show last week. I recommend one of everything!

• Christine

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“Never Been” by Darkometro

What happens when you combine Maia Davies (of Ladies of the Canyon) and Patrick Krief (of The Dears and, uh, Patrick Krief)? Darkometro.

“Never Been” is the first single from the collaborating pair, who are long-time friends, and blends Davies’ gorgeous voice with Krief’s fuzzy guitar.

Maia Davies says the song “is a place created where wild love feels safe. This naively beautiful aspiration I carry around, that just a touch or a look to someone can electrically forge all the highs of love. It’s a moment I’ve lived but never maintained. So in this song my fantasy comes to life, somewhere to drink too much wine with someone, party and kiss and have it never end.” And Krief adds: “The sounds of ‘Never Been’ were created as if scoring a movie, one of a murky night, of low visibility, with high lush vocals calling through it. I wanted the bass to feel wooly and warm like a blanket over the whole thing. Summoning Bowie's cacophony on ‘Heroes’, I layered guitars and synths forever, til they grungily and joyfully become one thing.”

Here’s hoping that this is just the first tease of things to come, and we get more from the pair real soon.

• Kirk

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“Trash Bag” by Deanna Petcoff

I have a feeling that a lot of people who have simply existed for the last two years are going to relate to the latest from Deanna Petcoff, “Trash Bag”.

The incredibly charming and catchy song was written at the beginning of the pandemic, Deanna says “as a little tongue in cheek moment. I was starting to see someone new in the throes of the pandemic, and I had to cancel on them almost every time we had plans because I was having an anxiety attack or a depressive episode or a chronic pain flare and couldn’t get myself out of bed. I didn’t want them to view me as a sick person, and I wanted them to still want to see me when I got better. This song came out of nowhere one day while my roommate was doing laundry and moving around bags of garbage that we hadn’t been able to take out in a few days because neither of us had our shit together. In the end I hope this song resonates with anyone that has a mental illness, chronic illness, or anything that prevents them from feeling normal, healthy, and cute.”

“Trash Bag” is off Deanna Petcoff’s latest album To Hell With You, I Love You which came out this past Friday, and you can check out the very fitting video below!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: March 28 - April 03, 2022

“We're In It Together” by Rich Aucoin

If you follow Rich Aucoin on social media, you may have seen his call for guest vocals for a new song. Well, people certainly stepped up, because last week we heard the results with the aptly named single, “We’re In It Together”.

The song features a choir of 99(!) people including members of Planet Booty, TWRP, and Ninja Sex Party. And in true Rich Aucoin fashion, it’s a high energy, uplifting tune that I can’t wait to sing along to live (on May 1 at Fortune, here in Vancouver!)

• Kirk

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“Nervous Breakdown” by Pink Mountaintops

You know, I was JUST thinking about Pink Mountaintops the other day, during a particularly nice sunset in Vancouver when the sun hit, you guessed it, the mountaintops and turned them pink.

Well with this cover of “Nervous Breakdown” by Black Flag, it’s more like PUNK Mountaintops.
Sorry, I’ll stop.

In any case, the song will be on their next album Peacock Pools, which will be released on May 6th, while the band heads out on tour starting this month.

• Christine

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“I’m Sorry” by WiL

You may know WiL for his intense acoustic guitar skills — to the point where his moniker on most platforms is ibreakstrings — his brand new single “I’m Sorry” is a piano-driven tune, for a sweet, apologetic love song.

WiL says “I think in any relationship, being lovers, best friends or both, you say things you just don't mean. We all get complacent or cranky at times. It's human nature to have bad moments, or days… the important thing is to know how and when to say I'm Sorry."

“I’m Sorry” is off his sixth studio album The Gold Mine, which will be out on May 13th. And if you have a chance to see him live (like for instance at Guilt & Co. on April 25, among other dates on his website) I highly suggest you do it!

• Kirk

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“Pressure Mind” by Cancer Bats

“Pressure Mind” is the final track to be released by Cancer Bats ahead of the album dropping on April 15th!
And if you enjoy sipping coffee while you listen to some hardcore punk rock, then you’ll have to grab some of the band’s own roast!
Pressure Mind Coffee roasted by Anchored Coffee Roasters from Dartmouth, NS is available online!

Maybe the band will bring some to the merch booth while they’re on the road, including two shows in Vancouver at the Rickshaw Theatre on the 21st and 22nd of this month.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: March 21 - 27, 2022

“Viral” by Matthew Barber

I was super surprised to get this new song from Matthew Barber in my inbox, as we haven’t had anything from him since 2018!
”Viral” is exactly what you think it is about - “the accelerated world we live in. A world in which technology grapples with nature and ingenuity spawns unintended consequences” (says Barber).

No news in the press release about more music, as Barber has spent the last few years being on the producer side of music, but here’s hoping!

• Christine

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“Patterns” by Stars

We’ve still got a couple months before Stars release their latest album, From Capelton Hill, but the band has given us another pair of new songs to dig into before then!

“Build A Fire” is a thumping, dancey tune that was “written in a fever dream of Covid-19 paranoia and restlessness, somewhere in the middle of last year,” according to Torquill Campbell.

While “Patterns” is a little more atmospheric song about connections. Amy Milan explains “Friendship is the only boat that will float you across the storm. With your friends you create the ethos to shield all that tomorrow will throw at you. Some Patterns can be changed. Some Patterns are sacred geometry and will never change. Only what loves will remain.” And what better way to exemplify that than with an appearance from long-time friend-of-the-band, Murray Lightburn of The Dears!

Listen to “Build A Fire” right here, and check out the video for “Patterns” below!

• Kirk

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“Totally Fine” by Pup

So the new album from PUP (coming out on April 1st) is called THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND, and this video for their latest single “Totally Fine” definitely leans into that.

It features the band selling out and entering the corporate world with some evil plans up their sleeves.

And in the video description they say: “ARE YOU CONFUSED BY OUR NEW VIDEO? DO YOU NEED ANSWERS?? DOES YOUR LIFE LACK MEANING??? CALL US 323-570-0388. We have all new menu options.”
Admit it, you’re curious… definitely give it a call.

• Christine

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“Everything Is Fine” by Skye Wallace

Between the title of the new Pup song and the title of the new Skye Wallace song, is… is everyone alright?

For Skye’s answer, you’ll just have to have a peek at the video for “Everything is Fine” below, an oddly heartwarming tale of a swamp creature just trying to get through the day and do their best.

The video matches the song’s raw vulnerability, so have a watch below!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: March 14 - 20, 2022

“What In The World” by The Bros. Landreth

How about a pretty little love song to start your week off?
The latest single, “What In The World” from The Bros. Landreth’s upcoming album Come Morning, imagines a world without love. It’s super soft, flowing, and has really pretty guitar throughout.

The new album (due out May 13th) documents their journey and growth from ‘non-stop touring musicians to husbands and fathers’.

• Christine

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“The Way You Love” by TITUS BANK

Last week, TITUS BANK announced his debut EP, and gave us a little teaser, too. Produced by BIG KILL, the new single "The Way You Love" showcases Titus's captivating vocals and catchy hooks.

Bank says: "I wrote this song almost on a whim, just to ease the urge in me to write big, loud, overemphatic love ballads. I love “love”, so this song is simply me standing on a mountaintop screaming to my wife that I love her love. This was produced by BIG KILL and it really turned into something incredible since my original demo was just a simple beat, piano and vocals. The sound is floaty but also extremely groovy and just feels great. The bass done by Parker Bossley pretty much unlocked this song to be a duel of sorts between a beautiful ballad and an absolute bop."

The new EP doesn’t have a concrete date yet, but look for it in April out on Everything Forever!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: March 07 - 13, 2022

“Worm ft. Dill The Giant” by Royal Canoe

Surprise! Out of nowhere, Royal Canoe dropped a brand new album this past Friday.

Vault (2011-2021) is exactly what you may expect from the title; as the band puts it, it is a “collection of 10 songs that were pulled from a long list of unreleased demos, b-sides and oddities that have been accumulating on our various hard-drives over the past decade. These songs are the underdogs, the overachievers and the almost-fits that we just couldn’t quit. During this past winter we dusted off old backups, scoured mp3-vaults and even went back to the studio to finish up a few tracks that were uncompleted but long-time favourites of the band. For us, each song on Vault feels like a brief journal entry that captures a simple, but meaningful moment from the past decade of us making sounds together.”

Along with the new album, the band dropped a video for “Worm ft. Dill The Giant” with trippy stop motion animation courtesy of MIMI and lyric animation from the band's own, Matt Schellenberg.

Take a peek below!

• Kirk

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“Palm Slave” by Art d‘Ecco

Piano AND Saxophone?! You sold me right there Art d’Ecco!

“Palm Slave” give me major 80’s-vibes, but with a mix of experimental and chaos. Of the song itself Art says it’s "a cautionary tale about obsession, and how a misguided search for meaning and purpose, may lead some to very dark places”.

The full album will be coming out later this year, and the band are making their way down to SXSW, as well as a few other winter festivals. Last time I saw them live was at the Constellation Festival in 2019!, so hopefully there is a Vancouver date soon too.

• Christine

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“Devastatingly Mediocre” by Deanna Petcoff

Okay, this one came out last month, but the first time the latest single from Deanna Petcoff hit my ears was the other day. And from the raw catchiness to the biting lyrics and even the hilarious title, “Devastatingly Mediocre” hooked me immediately.

Not only that, but the backstory is equally great. Petcoff says she “wrote this song when my friend was dating the most boring guy alive. He really was so normal, met the bare minimum of being a decent person, and yet she was so infatuated with him. At first I wrote this as a joke because I always called him devastatingly mediocre just to tease her, but when I showed it to my band they loved it and we decided to make it something real. I think it actually holds a lot of meaning for a lot of people– it’s so easy to fall in love with someone just because you want to be in love, regardless of whether or not it really works.”

The single is off her debut album To Hell With You, I Love You, which is out April 8th on Royal Mountain Records.

• Kirk

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“Fuckboi” by Common Deer

Speaking of catchy songs with biting lyrics and titles that tickly my fancy… Common Deer just released their latest single “Fuckboi”.

The band’s latest single is a blast of synth energy, and singer Sheila Hart says: “I was going through another near-relationship falling apart, and feeling justified in my anger and resentment. After reconsidering the situation, I reluctantly realized that I may have been the problem after all.”

“Fuckboi” is off the album MAXIMALIST, which comes out April 1st, and also features songs with names like “Negative Thot” and “LonelyFans”, so it should be one to watch out for!

• Kirk

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“Sweet Dreams of Otherness” by Alexisonfire

Oh, I’m INTO THIS!

I was super excited to hear that Alexisonfire was putting out new music and hitting the road, and even more excited to find out that Matt Kelly (who has been playing with City and Colour as of late) performed on the record as well. Petal Steel on an AOF album?! I need to hear this.

“Sweet Dreams of Otherness” (which will be on the full album titled Otherness) is a BANGER, and I can 100% see the band starting their sets with this song.
Oh, and I almost forgot that Jay Baruchel directed the video for the track. Check it out below.

• Christine

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“Lonely Bong” by Cancer Bats

Okay, we might as well stay on the loud-band-from-the-Niagara-Region (my home turf) train.
Especially since the video for “Lonely Bong” by Cancer Bats includes a cameo from Alexisonfire’s Wade MacNeil!

In the video the Bats are trying to find new ways to connect with the kids (guys, if you’re old, I’m old), and fill in the lead guitar space left by founding member Scott Middleton (spoiler alert, it’s Stevis Harrison of Fever 333).

Cinnamon Challenge anyone?

• Christine

Songs of the Week: February 28 - March 06, 2022

“Reckoning” by Arkells

You thought just because Arkells put out an album six months ago they were going to slow down? Nope. Aside from an extensive tour planned, including playing this year’s Juno Awards, the boys from Hamilton are releasing yet another album, aptly titled Blink Twice.

“Reckoning” is the first taste of the new album that is somewhat of a companion album to Blink Once, with frontman Max Kerman saying “The title of Blink Once was born from the song “Reckoning,” and lyrics “blink twice, there’s gonna be a reckoning. If you listen to the outro track of Blink Once - “Last Night I Heard Em’ Sing” - we hint that there’s more coming. Kind of like a post-credits scene in a movie. “Reckoning” is the beginning of what’s next.”

Crank the volume on this Monday morning (or… whenever you happen to be reading this) and enjoy.

• Kirk

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“To Talk About” by The Weather Station

Speaking of “companion albums” and “quick turnarounds”, last week we got another tease of the newest album from The Weather Station, How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars.

Out this coming Friday, the album is a companion to last year’s Ignorance (which was just nominated for a Juno!) with songs that were written at the same time and deal with a lot of the same emotions and themes: disconnection & conflict, love, birds, and climate feelings.

The latest song is the absolutely gorgeous “To Talk About”, featuring Tamara Lindeman’s incredible vocals tempered by a soft piano, and joined by Ryan Driver.

• Kirk

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“Out of Nowhere” by Anyway Gang

When your super group band has 4 lead singers, it’s always fun to see who is taking the lead next. In the case of Anyway Gang’s new single “Out Of Nowhere”, that’d be the one and only Sam Roberts.

The second most exciting part of the press release was the tease that the band would be announcing tour dates on March 11th - so be on the lookout for those!

By the way, I could only watch the video for about 3 seconds before I immediately got motion sick, so it’s a mystery to me - but hopefully you can enjoy it.

• Christine

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“Matilda” by PUP

I honestly don’t even want to write anything about this track because PUP’s lead singer Stefan did it best:

“Matilda is the name of my favourite guitar. She was a gift from my friend Ryan, after watching me accidentally break the only guitar I owned in the middle of a long tour,” says Backbock. “I had no money to buy a replacement, and Ryan’s act of kindness is up there on my list of ‘nicest things anyone’s ever done for me’. I played Matilda nonstop for 7 years at every PUP show, even when my bandmates started complaining that she sounded like shit. As the band got bigger, the pressure to sound better was building and so I bought a ‘good’ guitar and played Matilda less and less. Before I knew it I hadn’t played her in over a year. I wrote this song based on this intense feeling of guilt and sadness and shame and nostalgia and regret, watching her rot away in a corner. I love this guitar and I love Ryan and wanted to do right by them, and I felt like I’d failed them both. I convinced the band that Matilda deserved one last rip on a PUP record, and I played her during the bridge of this song. It sounds so shitty. But good shitty. Great shitty. For me, it was the most joyful and cathartic moment in the entire making of this record.”

PUP has added new tour dates, but the Vancouver one hasn’t been rescheduled yet - I’m eyeing April 7th as it is right before 2 Victoria shows. Cross your fingers!

• Christine

Songs of the Week: February 21 - 27, 2022

“Strange Times” by Blonde Diamond

One of my most anticipated albums of this year is the as-yet-unnamed (and un-dated) debut full length from Blonde Diamond.

The latest tease of that album comes from the new single, the breezy “Strange Times”. The band says the song “was (somewhat obviously from the title) written mid-pandemic, when the world felt like it was at a standstill. The entire idea originated from this feeling of living in a surreal dream, but we took the story away from the reality of what was happening in real life and transported it to an extravagant, fictional tryst that is taking place while the world is ending. It’s a nihilist fantasy of living life as a luxurious lie, because it’s all going to end anyways I suppose, so why not enjoy it while we can!”

Have a listen below!

• Kirk

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“In The Name Of (The Garden Version)” by Basia Bulat

Last week, Basia Bulat released The Garden, a new album with reimagined versions of a collection of songs from across her past albums.

The “Garden Versions” feature new orchestral arrangements by the likes of Owen Pallett, Paul Frith, and Zou Zou Robidoux, and let me tell you… this whole album is absolutely gorgeous.

Check out the new rendition of “In The Name Of” below, but be warned: you will want to listen to the full album immediately after.

• Kirk

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“Sleepyhead” by Terra Lightfoot

First new music from Terra Lightfoot in 2022 is here with the track “Sleepyhead”.
The lullaby-esque tune is about love for children and parents balancing their lives with them.

The song, which was recorded in her living room, and had strings added on later, seems to be a standalone track at the moment, but hopefully news on more new music soon.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: February 14 - 20, 2022

“Pretenders” and “Snowy Owl” by Stars

Drop everything, there’s brand new music from Stars! It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the Montreal group (unless you subscribe to their Patreon, where they frequently post demos and teases) and now we have not one, but two brand new songs to hype their upcoming album, Capelton Hill.

The pair of tunes encapsulates the band perfectly, with “Pretenders” being a raucous, high energy love letter written from Amy Millan to the rest of the band; and “Snowy Owl” a more tender, acoustic track, with Amy and Torquil Campbell trading off vocals.

Capelton Hill comes out May 27th, or if you want more new music from Amy or Torq, both have been taking personalized commissions(!) on their respective twitter accounts, if you have a spare $1000.

• Kirk

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“RIP To Us” by Kelland & Willa

I’ve missed hearing Willa’s voice so much - although I do hear it almost daily with those Rogers commercials - but I was so excited to see she collaborated on a new track with (Vancouver-based artist) Kelland.

“RIP To Us” is a danceable banger of a break-up song, and the two artists compliment each other nicely.
I’d be down for a whole album between these two!

• Christine

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“Parade” by Frontperson

When Frontperson released their debut album in 2018, I was really hoping the collaboration between Kathryn Calder (New Pornographers, Immaculate Machine) and Mark Hamilton (Woodpigeon) (also, no relation) would not be a one-off.

So I was very happy to hear the playful pop-tinged “Parade” last week, and even happier to see it was the first single and title track for a new album!

The album was recorded on Vancouver Island, right near where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were staying, though reportedly "attempts to get some guest vocals proved unsuccessful."

Parade will be out April 29 on Calder's own Oscar St. Records!

• Kirk

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“Lights Of The City” by Pink Mountaintops

It’s been eight years (yes, EIGHT) since we’ve had any new music from Pink Mountaintops, and quite frankly I thought about this every time the sunset hit the mountains on the North Shore…
But that all ends now!
”Lights of The City” is the first new track from the band (created by Black Mountain frontman Stephen McBean), and the new album, Peacock Pools, is set to be released on May 6th!

If you want to hear from McBean’s brain on what happens in the video below, here you go:
“Lincoln Heights hilltop sunrise riff’n’bang sparks spree of vengeance by disgruntled ex-bass player turned cyborg tinkertronic handsome man, Ken The Walnut.

Obsessed with Pink Mountaintops demise The Walnut’s sinister plot almost succeeds in a Don McClean sized wave of rock’n’roll destruction.

Thankfully, Emily Rose’s Phantom of The Park summoned superpowers save the band group combo and with some collective post-dress rehearsal concert magic the former low frequency fiend is defeated. Let the rock prevail!”

• Christine

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“Stay” by The Bros. Landreth

Last week The Bros. Landreth dropped a brand new single, “Stay”.

The lead single off their upcoming album Come Morning, Joey Landreth says "Stay playfully explores a difficult topic for artists — wanting to settle and put some roots down. Though written from the perspective of a touring musician, anyone who’s looking to shift gears can relate."

Have a listen below, and mark down May 13th for the album’s release.

• Kirk