Songs of the Week: May 30 - June 05, 2022

June 06, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“Little Trophy” by Hyaenas

“Little Trophy” may be the first single from the new Vancouver band Hyaenas, but you may recognise the members — Sophie Heppell, Jessie Robertson, Jen Foster, and Luvia Petersen — from other bands (or two, or three) around the city.

The new group promises songs that are “written through a queer feminist lens; exploring meaningful themes from acceptance to vigilance, celebrating a love of nature, witchcraft, and social justice” and the incredibly catchy “Little Trophy” exemplifies that, with lyrics rebelling against the sexual objectification of women.

Have a listen below, and keep an ear out for more from the band in the future, as they have an EP coming soon!

Kirk

“Shine On” ft The Skints AND “Something Lost + Something Found”
by Bedouin Soundclash

It’s been a LONG time since we’ve heard something new from Bedouin Soundclash, but the band is officially back with two new tracks!
”Shine On” features Marcia Richards of British reggae-punk band The Skints for a bouncy, groovy tune, and “Something Lost + Something Found” is reminiscent of “When The Night Feels My Song” and is equally as catchy.

No news in the press release of a full album to come but it sure feels like it. The band is heading out on the road to several festivals, including performing at the Vancouver Craft Beer Festival on July 9th!

Christine

“Cemetery Blues” by A Family Curse

Last week, the father-daughter duo of A Family Curse announced their self-titled debut album for July 27, and dropped the first single, “Cemetery Blues”.

Comprised of Kandle and her father Neil Osborne (of 54-40 fame), the collaboration began a few years ago when Neil and Danny Michel recorded some instrumentals together, which were forgotten until Neil passed them on to Kandle, who breathed new life into them. From there, they decided to complete a whole DIY album where the two played and recorded everything at home.

And if “Cemetery Blues” is any indication, I can’t wait to hear the rest of the album!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: May 23 - 29, 2022

May 30, 2022 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day

“Dig Me Out” by Miesha and the Spanks

Last week Miesha and the Spanks debuted their latest single, "Dig Me Out", a tribute to the recovery of the 215 child remains discovered at the Kamloops Residential School in May of 2021.

Miesha -- who is is a mixed Secwépemc First Nation woman -- painfully shares, “I wrote this song to process everything I was feeling: the grief, the horror, the anger, and the helplessness. Like most Indigenous kids, I already knew the history of abuse that came with the assimilation these schools offered. I saw it first hand reflected in the generational suffering of my family. My Grandmother survived Tk'emlups Residential School, sent there after her two older sisters died at St. Eugenes, the one closer to our home. Unlike her sisters, she made it back home, shamed and pregnant. As the numbers piled in from all across Canada, gaining more press and social media attention, survivors and their relatives shared their stories, again, because they’ve been doing this for years while no one listened, and I read them all. I found myself in a very dark place, absorbed in my Grandmother’s story and so many like her, and it was very difficult to dig myself out.”

Have a listen below, and all All sales of the track go towards the Indian Residential School Survivor’s Society.

Kirk

“Guess I’m Going To Hell” by Lowell

I’m used to super fun, catchy, upbeat songs from Lowell, so when a synth-y ballad started playing I almost gasped.

I know this woman has range, but “Guess I’m Going To Hell” is a GORGEOUS song and definitely raw. While the music is flowing and pretty, the lyrics are about struggles, mistakes and demons.
Give it a listen.

Christine

“Every Time You Cry” by Matthew Barber

Matthew Barber just announced his new EP, No Singing or Dancing, (sounds like COVID times to me!), coming out on July 22, 2022.

His latest single “Every Time You Cry” is a “confessional plea to understand and accept that tears don’t always come in the same ways to different people - at least not when others are around" - says Barber.

Christine

Songs of the Week: May 16 - 22, 2022

May 23, 2022 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day

“Hypernormalization” by Rich Aucoin

Love myself an instrumental track from Rich Aucoin! They always have such a great build-up and his new track “Hypernormalization” is no different.

He just announced his new album Synthetic: Season 1- set for release in October 2022 and says that he performed all the synths on the first 9 tracks “but on Seasons 2-4 will be joined by a couple hundred fellow synth enthusiasts.”
Seasons 2-4!!! The plan is to release them every 6 months for the next 2 years. Super exciting.

Better yet, just like his last album United States, if you preorder the physical album, you can get the digital version right now. So excuse me while I go listen to the whole thing…

Christine

“Patrick Bateman” by Housewife

New name, new song, same stunning vocals & catchy songwriting.

“Patrick Bateman” is the latest from the duo of Brighid Fry and Pascale Padilla, who were previously known as Moscow Apartment, but recently changed their name to Housewife.

They say the new song “is about putting bad people on a pedestal and romanticizing evilness. The ultra-capitalist business imagery fell into place once we started writing the song. We wanted to tell a story of someone who is a ‘bad actor’ and hides parts of themselves to appeal to others, but their true intentions are slowly revealed.”

Check it our below, and catch them here in Vancouver at the Folk Fest in July!

Kirk

“Doomscroller” by Metric

Strap in, because this new song from Metric is a ten minute(!) epic.

The latest single from their upcoming album Formentera, “Doomscroller” shares its name as their upcoming tour and promises to transport you into a “high speed chase through the wild terrain of modern life."

I recommend shutting off the lights, and let the song — as well as the video directed by Justin Broadbent — just wash over you.

Kirk

Songs of the Week: May 09 - 15, 2022

May 16, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Lucky Few” by Tim Baker

Tim Baker is back! In his first new release since 2020’s Survivors EP, Baker dropped the brand new song “Lucky Few” last week.

An unsurprisingly gorgeous, piano-driven tune, “Lucky Few“ is about longing for people and the attempting to make connections. Tim says "This is a song that grew directly from these years of social isolation. It’s about missing people, and missing the power of connection, shared emotion and music. The rhythm section and I performed it live off the floor (the second floor of the Fogo Island Inn to be exact - an incredible piano they have there, among a lot of other incredibles), and I later added violins and a little choir of friends at home."

Check out the video — co-directed by Tim and Newfoundland cinematographer Jamie Miller — below!

Kirk

“Past Life” by Arkells feat. Cold War Kids

Take some Arkells.
A dash of Cold War Kids.
Add in a pinch of Will Forte.
Mix it all in a karaoke video.
Watch for 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

Kirk

“Unseen” by Harrison Brome

Vancouver’s Harrison Brome just announced a 5-song EP titled Strange to be released on June 17th. And with it comes a new track “Unseen” which reflects on “feelings of frustration, self-doubt, and rejection that can come along with breakups”.

Harrison is such a talented artist, and is one whose genre I couldn’t even begin to nail down. Give it a listen.

Christine

“On and On” by JEEN

JEEN might just be the hardest working musician in Canada right now. She released a self-titled album in 2020, and then Dog Bite in 2021, and is already announcing a third album is as many years, Tracer due out on October 21.

The first single, “On and On” is a gritty rockers, and JEEN revealed, “I wrote ‘On and On’ last spring/summer when nothing felt worth it anymore…everything was grinding me down when I was working on this one. On and On is about breaking points and falling down more times than you’re willing to get back up.”

Check out the cool lyrics video below!

Kirk

“Faith In Doubt” by Holy Hum

Last week the sophomore, full-length release from Holy Hum, Let It Be Desire, was announced and released digitally (physical released in the fall).
The album explores “what it means to yearn, to accept, to question, and, ultimately, to become” and kicks off with “Faith In Doubt”.
It’s 17 minutes long, so buckle in!

Christine

“The Other Man” [Sloan cover] by Twin River

You know me, I love a good cover! And last week, Twin River dropped their version of Sloan’s “The Other Man”.

The live video sees the Vancouver band put their own spin on the classic song (which, fun fact, is allegedly inspired the real-life love triangle between Sloan’s Chris Murphy, Leslie Feist, and Broken Social Scene member Andrew Whiteman!)

Kirk

Songs of the Week: May 02 - 08, 2022

May 09, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“My Mother’s Hand” by Jill Barber

This past weekend was Mother’s Day, and to commemorate the day, Jill Barber released a gorgeous, heartfelt song called “My Mother’s Hand”.

Though it was released ahead of Mother’s Day, the song was actually written for Jill’s mother’s birthday, after realising she had forgotten to send a card. Jill says "I wrote this song on my Mother’s birthday last year, and quickly recorded a rough demo and sent it to her as a voice note. We are very close, but live very far apart and hadn’t seen each other for over a year. I wanted to express my gratitude to her in the best way I know how, through my music. I am a mother myself now of two young kids and I sometimes worry that I’m not doing as good a job as she did with me… but I know she set the example I will always strive for, and I wanted to thank her with this song."

Have a listen below!

Kirk

“Gimmie Spirit” by Dear Rouge

New video and track from Vancouver’s Dear Rouge this week. “Gimmie Spirit” from their album Spirit that was released last month was directed by non other than Steve Bays, and follows the band around a party, and some beach fireworks.

If if you want to see them perform live, you’ve got a lot of chances coming up. They open for Vance Joy on May 27th, headline Friday at the Constellation Festival on July 22nd, and then are opening for Metric on August 13th!

Christine

“3 Sisters” by The Rural Alberta Advantage

Hot off the release of their recent EP The Rise, The Rural Alberta Advantage have released a brand new video for the song “3 Sisters”

The video — directed and animated by Jared Sales — follows the band’s tour van across the country, going from show to show. Sales stated, "We wanted to show the synergy a touring band has with each other, their audiences and the landscapes between them. Stylistically, we told the story from a bird's eye view and using 3D animation was the most effective way for me to bring it to life."

And you can catch the band with their van this summer on tour, including a date here in Vancouver opening for Broken Social Scene (or, if you find yourself in California next week, you can see them in LA with me!)

Kirk

“Part of Me” by Blunt Chunks

Even if you haven’t heardthe Toronto-based Blunt Chunks before, you may be familiar with some of the faces involved. Fronted by Caitlin Woelfle-O'Brien (of Jaunt), the band also features members of of The Weather Station, Luna Li, Hooded Fang and more! And not only that, but their latest single “Part of Me” features vocals and piano from Broken Social Scenester Brendan Canning.

Dubbed a “narcissistic anthem” by Woelfle-O’Brien, the song features her voice soaring to a crescendo, where it’s joined by a choir of others. Have a listen below, and check out the self-titled EP out now!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: April 25 - May 01, 2022

May 02, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“All Comes Crashing” by Metric

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve heard new music from Metric, but last week they released the lead single for their brand new album!

The buzzing synth and crunchy guitars of “All Comes Crashing” is the first taste we’re getting of Formentera, due out on July 8th.

Frontwoman Emily Haines says “Not everyone has a conventional life with conventional relationships,” says front woman Emily Haines. “All Comes Crashing” is a love song that goes beyond romantic love, it’s an expression of solidarity with whoever it is you would want to have beside you in the event of catastrophe. It might be your best friend, it might be your blood brother or your dog. The song is dedicated to those you consider your family, whatever that looks like for you.”

They’ve also announced a pretty extensive tour for later this year, including Canadian dates (like August 13 here in Vancouver) with Dear Rouge, an absolute perfect pairing!

Kirk

“Fucking Up What Matters” by Tegan and Sara

Seems like we’re getting new music from a ton of long-standing Canadian artists right now (see above and below as well).
Well, Tegan and Sara put out a new single from their upcoming TENTH album. According to Tegan, “Fucking Up What Matters” felt like an ode to the moment in your life when you realize that you have most, if not all of the things you wanted and you start to think about what would happen if you just walked away from it all.

The twins recently jumped labels over to Mom+Pop Music, and their TV adaptation of their memoir High School is in production now. We'll definitely be hearing and seeing more from the duo soon.

Christine

“Capelton Hill” by Stars

New music from Metric and Stars in the same week?! In anticipation for their upcoming album, From Capelton Hill, Stars released the title track, “Capelton Hill”.

In classic Stars fashion, the song featured back & forth vocals from Torquil Cambell and Amy Millan, with Torq saying:

“This song sounds like an ending. And maybe it is. It's certainly a moment of looking back; at what we've done together, and what we've lost along the way. It focuses on this band’s enduring obsession: loss. The cost of loving somewhere or someone is the fact that you lose them. The last two years have taught us all a lot about loss; loss of loved ones, of time, of memories, of simple pleasures. That loss hurts. We're all hurt, and there is no way around it, you can only go through it. Whether you're ten or fifty, things change. But on Capelton Hill, maybe things can stay the same. For just one more year.”

From Capelton Hill is out May 27, and their tour kicks off right here in Vancouver on June 4th!

Kirk

“Long Way Down” by iskwē and Tom Wilson

The duo of iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (Cree Métis) and Tom Wilson | Tehoh’ahake (Mohawk) have released a few singles over the past couple of years, and now we’re finally getting word of their debut album!

Mother Love is out July 20, and that announcement comes with the latest single, “Long Way Down”. Opening with a bouncy guitar line, the song features a fantastic contrast of voices between iskwē and Tom.

Have a listen for yourself below!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: April 18 - 24, 2022

April 25, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“In Your Corner (for Scott Hutchison)” by Dan Mangan

Get ready for a heavy one from Dan Mangan. As you may guess from the title, “In Your Corner (for Scott Hutchison)” was written for the former frontman of Frightened Rabbit — who tragically passed away in 2018 — and is a direct response to their song “The Woodpile”.

Dan says “We’d only met once but Scott’s passing eviscerated me. He was my age and very close with several dear friends of mine. Either he couldn't see how deeply he was loved by the world, or he didn’t feel worthy of it. How come he could bring joy to so many people but not to himself? I remember weeping as I poured cereal for my boys that morning. This song came very quickly in the days that followed.”

Have a listen to the song below (perhaps with some tissues on hand) and be on the lookout for Dan in your town, as he starts a Canadian tour this week — with a pair of dates here in Vancouver on May 11 & 12!

Kirk

“Oh, Shadowless” by Neko Case

Surprise! This past Friday Neko Case released a digital retrospective of her entire career, consisting of 22 of the “most impactful tracks from her discography” as well as one new song, “Oh, Shadowless”.

The new song features a delightfully animated video by Laura Plansker, who also did artwork for the entire Wild Creatures album, which you can see on the website here.

Alongside the new artwork for each track, there are a series of short essays and track-by-track commentary from long time collaborators A.C. Newman, Dan Bejar, and M. Ward to David Byrne, Shirley Manson, Jeff Tweedy and Rosanne Cash, and a ton more!

Kirk

“Not Today” by Partner

“Not Today” by Partner was released last week on 4/20 and how appropriate for a rock ballad style tune.
The band wrote some songs, including this one, from their new album on Gabriola Island here in BC in 2020. T

They said that because they missed playing shows so much a lot of the songs ended up sounding like arena rock - and I’m not mad about it.
I can’t wait to hear even more!

Christine

Songs of the Week: April 11 - 17, 2022

April 18, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“Hitman” by Little Destroyer

Vancouver’s Little Destroyer dropped a brand new single last week, “Hitman” along with a video directed by frequent collaborator Connor McGuire.

The raucous song is “an off-beat commentary that touches upon the harassment women encounter in today’s society.” Frontwoman Allie Sheldan adds “Michael and Chris told me to write a story, so I wrote ‘Hitman’. For weeks, I had that recurring question in my head ‘does everybody want to hire one’? We had talked about making something that was simple, driving and to the point, like a Sleaford Mods song. Kind of funny and satirical but also really kind of not, because shit, sometimes life tries to kill you. We’ve all felt sadness turn into rage, maybe while sitting on the curb outside the local liquor store. What do you do with a breaking point? I guess in our case, you write a song.”

The song also namedrops the (in)famous Kingsgate Mall in the lyrics, so how can you not love that?

Kirk

“Don’t Trip” by Aquakultre

A new single and an album announcement from East Coast artist, and former Polaris Prize nominee, Aquakultre.
Both the new single and the album are called “Don’t Trip” with the EP set to be released in July 2022 and will sport an impressive 20 guest artists on it!
The album was originally going to be a five-song EP based on the first three weeks of a budding relationship with his partner, but now we’ve got 13 tracks to look forward to. Check out “Don’t Trip” below!

Christine

“Reckless Reckless” by Anyway Gang

Anyway Gang is back with a brand new song, AND news of their next album!

The group is comprised of the familiar faces/voices of Dave Monks (Tokyo Police Club), Chris Murphy (Sloan), Menno Versteeg (Hollerado) and Sam Roberts (uh… Sam Roberts Band), and they’ve announced their sophomore album, Still Anyways, will be released on May 6th via Royal Mountain Records.

The latest release, “Reckless Reckless”, lives up to its name with the band saying: "This song is a collection of those small leftover memories that transport you back to another world where the grass is greener and the glasses are rose tinted. I think it was easy for the four of us to all relate too since so much of being in a band is an extension of your teenage dreams. There is a lot of common experience there and if was fun picking references and lyrics together that told a story we all loved. Our respective audiences has been on a journey with us and we wanted to relive some of those sweet nostalgic moments with them. And rip a few guitar solos while we're at it!"

Kirk

“The Frequency” by Riches

International collaborators Catherine McCandless and Wynn Holmes — better knows as Riches — have released their latest single, “The Frequency”.

The duo has been releasing a slow drip of new singles since their debut album Fantasy Chapel came out in 2020, and this latest song features McCandless’ haunting voice over a dreamy pop beat, with the band describing the song as “being swept up, being in love, longing and belonging, soothing and alive. It is a calling on the ethereal to take on form, on music to bring touch and connection over the frontiers of physical walls and distances”.

No word yet on their next album, but hopefully we’ll know more soon!

Kirk