Songs of the Week: August 04 - 10, 2025

August 12, 2025 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Bloodshot” by Milk & Bone

A little funky bass and syth to start your morning!

After their 2019 JUNO win Milk & Bone had a chance meeting on an escalator with fellow JUNO nominees Chromeo, and later DM’d them about working on a project.

The two duos created A Little Lucky over the course of a few years with Milk & Bone focusing on songwriting and Chromeo on production - and it will be released in December of 2025.

The first single, “Bloodshot”, has the Chromeo-esque funk with Milk & Bone vocal harmonies and it’s a dance-able summer track for a sunny day. Excited to hear more!

Christine

“bob dylan's 115th haircut” by Ada Lea

Ada Lea thinks “Bob Dylan couldn’t have written this song / Not even if he wanted to, not even just for fun.”

That’s the chorus for the Montreal singer’s new track, “bob dylan's 115th haircut”, the final single for her new album which was released last Friday, when i paint my masterpiece.

The new track is a soft, thoughtful piece on comparisons, with singer Alexandra Levy explaining, “Sometimes I get into these moods where I feel like there will always be a gap between what I want to say, and what I actually end up writing. I start comparing myself. The mood that evening was comparing myself to Bob Dylan. And why not? In order to pick myself up off the floor after saying things like ‘I could never write a song like Bob Dylan,’ which of course, is true, I had to reverse the thought ‘could he write one like me?’ Whether or not that was a good thing, it was something.”

The album when i paint my masterpiece is out now on Saddle Creek, and she’ll be heading out on a huge North American tour next month, including a stop in Vancouver on October 25th at the Kingsway Club.

Kirk

“You Can Call Me Al” by Dwayne Gretzky

Renowned Toronto cover group Dwayne Gretzky has been packing venues with their live shows for over a decade, and now they’ve unveiled a brand new series, Dwayne’s World, which will see new covers uploaded to youtube monthly.

Filmed inside a DIY set that’s made to look like a rad 70s basement, the latest released is a fun version of the Paul Simon classic, “You Can Call Me Al”.

Check it out below, or see their previous video, Rush’s “Tom Sawyer”

Kirk

Songs of the Week: July 28 - August 03, 2025

August 05, 2025 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“So High” by Begonia

I am so excited that we’re not only getting a new Begonia song, but also news of a brand new album!

“So High” is the first single off the Winnipeg singer’s third full-length album, Fantasy Life, and is a dreamy jam that highlights her incredible vocals. Alexa Dirks says the song “indulges in playfulness but also touches on a balance I’m always searching for; Self care vs. self neglect, running away from problems vs. chasing after a butterfly. When deadmen [Matt Peters and Matt Schellenberg] and I wrote it last summer, it all came out pretty quickly and I was like ‘AHHH I've always wanted to write a song that felt like this’. Driving into a long sunset, top down, hair hitting me in the face, possibly crying…”

Watch the video below, and grab Fantasy Life when it drops out October 24 on Birthday Cake Records.

Kirk

“Little Red Ranger” and “When the Truth Comes Out” by Kathleen Edwards

We’re less than a month away from the new album from Kathleen Edwards, and we got two more teases last week, with “Little Red Ranger” and “When the Truth Comes Out”.

“When the Truth Comes Out” is a classic Kathleen Edwards banger, and she says “I wrote this for a good friend who had a lot of people fall out of her life in a short period of time. Watching her go through it reminded me: people have short memories, they love the safety of keeping the most famous person in the room comfortable, a false narrative is more convenient than rocking the boat. The truth isn’t always popular, but in time it’s the thing that you can hold on to when other’s backs are turned.”

While “Little Red Ranger” is more contemplative, which is “Part love letter to the Canadian boy who moves to LA to pursue his dreams and his heart, part holding the hand of the mom and dad wondering if their kid will decide to set down roots somewhere far away. Bird in a tree if you look away, you miss the chance to see it fly away. Life unfolds before you in real time, looking back just to see you weren’t paying attention when it was happening. This song pulls at my heart more than most songs on the record, it’s my story, it’s every parent’s story, like the follow-up to Empty Threat. Matt Sucich sang on this song before we even recorded it, and his backing vocal just sits so right with mine.”

I remember hearing “Little Red Ranger” when Edwards played an intimate show at the Biltmore late last year, and loved it then, though I’m a little sad she didn’t go with the alternate title she proposed that night: “The Leafs Still Suck”

Check out both songs below, and you can get Billionaire when it’s out on August 22!

Kirk

“Lucky” by Haviah Mighty ft. Shantel May

Haviah Mighty is back with some more new music and this time she’s teamed up with a fellow Torontonian - R&B singer Shantel May.

“Lucky” is full of funky beats and remind me of an early 2000s track, especially when Shantel’s voice kicks in.

Of the song they’re singing about “mutual appreciation in a relationship where both partners know they’re fortunate to have each other, but question whether that gratitude is truly seen. While continuing to echo themes of self-love and inner worth, the song also leans into the longing for care and validation from others.”

Excited to see if we’ll get more music, but in the meantime Haviah is gearing up to host the 2025 Polaris Music Prize gala!

Christine

“Stonehenge” (feat. Elton John) by Spinal Tap

Recently, 80’s heavy metal legends Spinal Tap reunited for a one-off show, and thankfully, documentarian Marty Di Bergi was there to do a follow up to his groundbreaking documentary that put Spinal Tap on the map.

The new documentary called Spinal Tap II: The End Continues follows David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel, and Derek Smalls as they navigate their lives and get ready for the reunion show, which featured cameos from music legends like Elton John, who joined the band for their seminal hit “Stonehenge”.

Crank the video up to 11, and keep an eye out when the documentary — and companion album The End Continues — releases on September 12th.

Kirk

Songs of the Week: July 21 - 27, 2025

July 28, 2025 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Twin Lakes” by Dust Cwaine

Vancouver drag performer and indie-pop rocker Dust Cwaine just dropped the second single off their upcoming album with the title track, “Twin Lakes”

With a frenetic urgency to it, the new song is about Dust growing up in the Kootenays & the passing of their father, as they explain: “I wrote this song about growing up in an isolated community, and the pain of being further isolated from the people within it. I realized that in death, my father had bypassed any chance to be held accountable for the things he put me through. This song imagines what it might have been like to finally say what needed to be said.”

Still no release date for the album, but you can check out the video below — directed by Luke Beach Brown & filmed at the Britannia Mine Museum — below!

Kirk

“Caught Light” by Great Lake Swimmers

The new album from Great Lake Swimmers, Caught Light, officially has a released date of October 10th - just in time to kick off their tour with Elliott BROOD!

Last week they released the title track “Caught Light”, which might be my favourite of the new music so far. The press release makes reference to photography (quite literally catching light), which as the photographer around here I can appreciate.

As for the song itself, singer Tony Dekker says it is about “a skydiver who strays off course while in the air, and then takes stock of his surroundings while on the ground in unfamiliar territory. The ‘caught light’ of the song has multiple meanings, in that it implies the metaphor of a mirror reflecting one’s life back to one’s self; the photographic aspect of light being ‘caught’ on paper and creating a physical document of the ephemeral; and also the discovery of a lack or a low reservoir, being ‘light’ on what is needed to make meaningful sense of the predicament of being lost.”

More songs with photography metaphors please!

Christine

“Lost Without You” by Luca Fogale

I have a playlist that is simply called “Morning” that I listen to almost every morning when I’m camping, and when Luca’s song “I Don’t Want To Lose You” comes on I stop whatever I’m doing and just listen to it.

When I saw the words “Luca Fogale” and “Piano Ballad” I knew I was going to love this new track immediately and I wasn’t wrong.

“Lost Without You” is beautiful, elegant and heartfelt - it tugs at my imposter-syndrome when it comes to relationships. Luca says: “I wrote ‘Lost Without You’ as honestly as I possibly could and the result was a song about accepting love at a time when I was not fully able to accept some parts of myself, in the hopes of finding a way to dismantle the patterns of thought that have held me down.”

This is his third single of 2025, so I’m hoping that means even more is coming out soon!

Christine

“midnight magic” by Ada Lea

We’re only a couple weeks away from the release of Ada Lea’s new album, when i paint my masterpiece, as she releases the third single from it with “midnight magic”.

The ethereal song is is accompanied not only by a surreal video, but a painting as well. Alexandra Levy painted it herself, and then collaborated with visual artist Clarice Hana to bring it to life in a video where “a giant creature woman births a candlestick holder, a cloud-sized egg, a piano, an enormous tube of paint and finally, she gives birth to me,” Levy explains. “The OBGYN has 4 eyes and uses 3-foot scissors to cut the cord.”

You are definitely going to need to check out the video below, and then keep a look out for when i paint my masterpiece on August 8th. Ada Lea is also hitting the road this fall for a massive tour, which includes a stop here in Vancouver on October 25th at the Kingsway Club!

Kirk

“itero” by bloom effect

Last week the Vancouver-based transatlantic trio bloom effect announced their upcoming EP oscilón, with the release of the first single, “itero”

The track is an instantly catchy, fuzzy shoegaze jam, which is described as “a melancholic anthem for love that could’ve been.”

Check it out below & let it wash over you, and you can pick up their new EP oscilón on September 19 via Kingfisher Bluez.

Kirk

Songs of the Week: July 14 - 20, 2025

July 21, 2025 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Getting Over You” by Johnny 99

While we await Johnny 99’s follow up album sometime later this year, we’ve been gifted another single titled “Getting Over You”.
It’s a softer, gentler song than the previous upbeat twangs we hear on tracks like “I Wanna Go With My Boots On”, and it works well with the thought behind the tune…

Johnny says: “Getting over someone is a season. I think many people are uncomfortable with this. Most want these hard feelings and hard times to be over as quickly as possible, not only when it's happening to them but also when it's happening to their friends and loved ones—‘Let’s just get back to normal.’ But getting over someone is a process. It can be fumbling and it can be difficult, sad, and long.”

Hopefully with this release, we’re getting closer to that full album date!

Christine

“Farmhouse” by Georgia Harmer

With her new album creeping closer, Georgia Harmer has shared another new song with the heartfelt ode, “Farmhouse”.

The single showcases her gorgeous and soft vocals, with Harmer saying, “I wrote ‘Farmhouse’ as an apology love-letter to an old friend at a time when we were out of touch. It's about wanting to feel as close as we did when we were younger, when time together was abundant and uninterrupted. I wrote it to remind her of the importance of our friendship, and also to understand and translate the natural ebb and flow of a long-term relationship, weathering time and distance.”

Have a listen below, and look for Eye Of The Storm when it’s released on August 15th via Arts & Crafts. You can also catch Georgia Harmer across Canada when her tour kicks off on Oct 30, including a Vancouver show here at the Biltmore on November 22nd!

Kirk

“Birds On A Wire” by Thunder Queens

The London, ON trio Thunder Queens dropped a rockin’ new song last week with “Birds on a Wire”.

A high energy, pop-punk-tinged tune, the band explains “We wrote this song about things a lot of people can relate to, like feeling underestimated, boxed in, and frustrated, and about the rush that comes with breaking free. Our favourite line is ‘blew out the candles of doubt for her trail full of fire’ because it’s about that turning point where you start moving forward.”

Hit play below, and crank it up!

Kirk

“Growing Out My Hair” by CJ Wiley

In honour of International Non-Binary People’s Day (which was July 14th) CJ Wiley has released a new video for their catchy bop “Growing Out My Hair”

The song is off their album So Brand New, released earlier this year, and Wiley says it represents “the moment I decided I didn’t owe anyone androgyny to be valid as a non-binary person. It’s about rejecting gender performance and expectations, and finally embracing my identity with a kind of self-love and certainty I never thought I’d have. This song is a love letter to anyone who needs it—a reminder that trans and non-binary people deserve joy, space, and representation. This is my non-binary anthem.”

Check out the video featuring a number of new do’s for the Toronto singer below!

Kirk

“Hard Lines” by The Strumbellas

The Strumbellas are back with new music! “Hard Lines” is the first new track from the band since their 2024 record Part Time Believer.

“Hard Lines” is upbeat, danceable, with catchy oo-oo-oo’s that I can hear crowds singing back at them at live shows, but the lyrics speak of burnout, disconnection and I think where the two sides meet is with the line: “I’m trying to live it up while I’m numb inside”.

The band’s pianist and vocalist David Ritter says: “Hard Lines is about picking your way through the rubble of contemporary life and the hope that we can build things together again.”

Christine

Songs of the Week: July 07 - 13, 2025

July 14, 2025 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Bars and BBQs” by Shad

Well, I found my “Song Of The Summer”!

Shad released the track “Bars and BBQs” off his newly announced album Start Anew, and while it’s mellow and breezy, it’s chock full of Shad’s classic wordplay. (My favourite being right off the top with “I’m a free spirit. Like open bars with booze.”)

The press release says: “The first verse is all playful lyricism, but the second adds layers of meaning. From the positive aspects of bars (lyrics) and BBQs (food and community) to a contrast in language: “Sickness in every CELL and there’s more addiction/From what’s stored in kitchens to us stored in prisons/That’s BARS and BBQ's”.”

The album (out October 31) is “a project about embracing change, challenging comfort zones, and seeking renewal amidst uncertainty” - which I think a LOT of people can relate to. I cannot wait to hear more of it.

Christine

“Wreck” by Neko Case

Neko Case is back! Last week the iconic singer released a brand new song, “Wreck” and announced her first new album since 2018’s Hell On.

“Wreck” is a soaring new track, a great tease for the album, entitled Neon Grey Midnight Green, which was largely recorded live off the floor in Neko’s own studio in Vermont. Case produced the album herself, saying: “There are so few producers who are women, nonbinary, or trans. People don’t think of us as an option. I’m proud to say I produced this record. It is my vision. It is my veto power. It is my taste.”

You can pick up the new album, Neon Grey Midnight Green on September 26, and Neko Case will be hitting the road with her band this fall for a lengthy tour, including a stop here in Vancouver at the Vogue Theatre.

Kirk

“Neon Cowgirl” feat. Neil Finn by Tami Neilson

Canadian-born, New Zealand-based artist Tami Neilson has released the title track from her album Neon Cowgirl, (referencing the large neon cowgirl on Broadway in Nashville) which was released this past Friday.

The song features Neil Finn (of Crowded House) and the story of what Neil and the band meant to Tami is a beautiful one:
"I wish I could time travel and play this song for past versions of myself.

The teenager sleeping on the floor on a mattress after her family band had lost everything. She got a job at the makeup counter of a local pharmacy. Her small paycheque supported all five of them for a while. “Fall at Your Feet” by Crowded House played multiple times a day through the pharmacy speakers. She sang the harmony quietly, feeling defeated and wondering if she’d ever be in music again.

The 27 year old who sat in the audience with her brother Jay in the darkness of Toronto’s Massey Hall, listening to Neil Finn and his brother Tim sing “Disembodied Voices", a song about siblings. She grabbed Jay's hand while they both cried, knowing she was moving across the world to New Zealand in just a few weeks.

2 decades later, I walked through the doors of the Ryman Auditorium to fulfill a lifelong dream of performing on that stage for the first time. Neil had invited me to open for Crowded House - the Kiwis invading Nashville! Jay was by my side, my husband and children in the wings, the Finns watching side stage, the audience were on their feet and the Neon Cowgirl shone down on us all."

Christine

“Naive” by Softcult

Ontario-based sibling duo Softcult released their latest single last week, “Naive”.

The new track is a dreamy, shoegaze vibe, with the band elaborating, “It’s about coming to the painful realization that the person, idea, or reality we trusted and believed in never really existed in the first place. This song is about the moment the scales fall from our eyes after we realize we’ve been romanticising someone or the idea of someone. After this moment we’re no longer able to see them or the world as innocently as we did before.”

You can check out the moody video below, and keep an eye out for when they hit The Pearl here in Vancouver on October 16!

Kirk

“A Scourge Laid Upon The Earth” by Mappe Of

Of course I’m going to immediately listen to a song called “A Scourge Laid Upon The Earth”.

The new track is the latest from Mappe Of — moniker of “multi-disciplinary, multi-instrumentalist and musical visionary” Tom Meikle — and comes with the announcement of a new album, Afterglades, which is an “experimental sci-fi-folk record about reckoning with the end of the world alongside the people you love.”

“A Scourge Laid Upon The Earth” swings wildly from eerily calm to chaotic post-rock, and was the last song written for the album, as Tom explains, “It felt like there needed to be a sense of weight to this chapter of the story, there needed to be some chaos as a payoff for all of this reflection. This is in many ways the extinction level event. It needed to be heavy and raucous, retribution for all of our mistakes. It’s a bit of my dormant heavy metal energy emerging from me.”

They released a a performance of the song filmed live at Catherine North, and you can grab the new album Afterglades when it’s out on September 19 via Paper Bag Records

Kirk

Songs of the Week: June 30 - July 06, 2025

July 07, 2025 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Sunshine” by Royal Wood

Summer’s in full swing, so maybe you need a little more “Sunshine” in your life?

The new song from Royal Wood comes with the announcement of his ninth studio album, Dear John. It’s an upbeat, summer jam that Wood says is “inspired by the Buddhist ideology that behind every cloud is a forever blue sky. No matter the metaphoric storm in life, peace and love are always present. Once you steer your heart with this principle, hope and faith return. I wanted the song to feel like sunshine itself. Like I had it in a bottle, and I could drink it. This is my summer jam.”

Have a listen below, and kee an ear out when Dear John drops on October 17 via Cordova Bay Records.

Kirk

“Good Luck, Babe!” (Chappell Roan Cover) by Rose Cousins

I’ve heard Chappell Roan’s song “Good Luck, Babe!” probably 100 times, so when I saw that Rose Cousins covered it, I needed to hear it.

There’s something special about a cover when it completely becomes it’s own, and this is definitely one of them. It takes the sentiments from the original and puts it into a delicate and soft reworking that creates an air of melancholy.

Beautiful job and hopefully we can hear it in October when she performs at St James Hall on the 6th!

Christine

“Pine” by Kathleen Edwards

Kathleen Edwards is giving us another tease of her upcoming album Billionaire with the stripped down, vulnerable new track “Pine”

The song came to Edwards on the road, as she explains: “On the 2-day drive from Ottawa to Nashville, a line popped in my head, ‘when we go our separate ways, the thought of you stays.’ By the time I arrived in Nashville I had written ‘Pine’ and it was the first track we put down for this album. Friends who can’t be lovers. A classic country song. At first the arrangement made me feel incredibly bare and exposed, but I now love the spare production, Jason’s super dry electric solo makes me feel like Dusty.”

It’s a gorgeous song to crank on the car stereo on a late summer night, with the windows down as the sun sets. Listen for yourself below, and note down August 22nd for the release of Billionaire.

Kirk

Songs of the Week: June 23 - 29, 2025

June 30, 2025 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Wrong, Wrong, Wrong” by Great Lake Swimmers

Every time Ontario’s Great Lake Swimmers release a new song I remember they’re going on tour with Elliott BROOD…and then I remember it’s not until October.

The latest offering is titled “Wrong, Wrong, Wrong” - a song, according to lead singer Tony Dekker about “being on the edge, in deep despair. The consolation is that it places trust in the understanding of the listener – it’s almost as if the song is speaking directly to a sympathetic friend. Although the music and instrumentation deceptively suggest a sunnier attitude, the lyrical gist is about trying to make sense of a deeply troubled world."

Really love the pedal steel on this track (played by Jimmy Bowskill) as it give the song a bit of a twang. Check it out below!

Christine

“Adore You” by Yukon Blonde

Last month, Yukon Blonde dropped their first new single in a while, and now they’ve not only released a second song, but announced a new album as well!

The new song, “Adore You” is a high energy ode to rock & roll and performing on stage, and I can already picture it as being the big closer to their set as they hit song festivals this summer, and go out on the road this fall.

Bassist James Younger elaborates, “Songs can be signifiers of a mood—they can capture something ethereal. I once told Brandon, right before a show, to "leave it all out there.” A couple of months later, he brought it up, said he liked that feeling, that call to arms. This song is about exactly that. Leaving it all out there. Playing your heart out for the people who showed up, who paid to be in the room with you. It’s a thank you to them, and to the wild, winding musical journey that brought us all into the same space, at the same time, chasing the same electric moment.”

Friendship & Rock 'n' Roll is out Sept 19 on Dine Alone Records, and you can check out the lyric video below, which needs to be cranked loud.

Kirk

“Château de sable” by Cœur de pirate

Following a three year hiatus, Coeur de pirate recently announced a new album and shared the title track. Now, she’s giving another tease with the latest single “Château de sable”

Translating to “Sandcastle”, the new song is a lush, piano-laden song with Cœur de pirate’s gorgeous vocals soaring en français.

The new album Cavale releases September 26 via her label Bravo Music, and you can check out the dreamy video for “Château de sable” below!

Kirk

“Samson & Delilah (Circa 2003)” by Matt Patershuk

On Friday, Alberta singer/songwriter Matt Patershuk announced his sixth studio album, DOG. TIGER. HORSES. and shared the opening track “Samson & Delilah (Circa 2003)”

The new single features Matt’s warm vocals paired with a folk twang, for a song with some very unexpected inspiration: the Kelis banger “Milkshake”.

Patershuk elaborates, “I took the well-worn Bible story of Samson & Delilah and brought it forward to 2003 when Kelis’ song was eating up the airwaves. Though I’m not a religious person, I love Bible stories for the same reason that I love old folk songs. The have been polished to near perfection over a long time, and the good ones distill some important element of the human experience for us to consider. This song is told from Samson’s point of view. Betrayal, deserved or not, is a large, dusty, dry pill to swallow.”

Have a listen for yourself below, and mark September 19th for the release of DOG. TIGER. HORSES. on Black Hen Music.

Kirk

“Home” by Mac DeMarco

As someone that just spent 5 days in the woods and on the water, this new Mac DeMarco song (“Home”) made me smile because the video is of him canoeing - apparently near his mom’s home in Canada. Many birds (and a seal!) make an appearance, including some Canada geese.

The new single comes with an announcement of a new record, titled Guitar, that Mac says is: “as close to a true representation of where I’m at in my life today as I can manage to put to paper. I’m happy to share this music, and look forward to playing these songs as many places as I’m able.”

The album will be released on August 22nd and you can pre-order it right now - and hopefully hear the new tracks…if you got a ticket to his sold-out show on September 24th in Vancouver!

Christine

Songs of the Week: June 16 - 22, 2025

June 23, 2025 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Babe, We'll Find a Way” by The Dears

It’s been a minute since we’ve heard from The Dears, but what better way to celebrate 30 years as a band than a new single!

“Babe, We'll Find a Way” is a classic, soaring Dears tune, with singer / guitarist Murray Lightburn explaining, “The music came down all at once, strings, guitar – melodies. It was so strong and vivid. It pines for the breakthrough, we know it’s there! It’s so tangible. When that happens, inner strength takes over. There’s a motivation, a reason to get out of bed. You can feel the sun on your face and maybe a little later a smile will take over.”

The band also announced they signed with Next Door Records as well as a spat of tour dates out east, so hopefully we’ll be hearing more from them real soon!

Kirk

“Magic Mountain” by Twin Rains

Toronto’s Twin Rains is back their third single of the year “Magic Mountain”. The name comes from a novel by Thomas Mann that the band’s Christine Stoesser read during the pandemic.
She says: “The Magic Mountain, in my understanding of it, is this intangible place where all the ideas and themes of your life culminate, like the proverbial hill you’d die on. The song’s lyrics were inspired by a charismatic figure in my life who led followers up one mountain—only to turn around and do a complete 180 and lead a following up an opposite path. The song became a meditation on the way our ideas shape not only our own lives but the lives of those around us and ultimately the earth itself.”

Accompanying the song is a black and white video that shot in Sedona of a cloaked figure walking through the rock formations (which I’ve learned from the press release are said to be “energy vortexes” -hmm!). Check it out below!

Christine

“Moose Jaw” by haftu

If you weren’t aware, I’m a chatty person and will talk to strangers and bartenders wherever I go - I always choose the seat at the bar….
Well, I’m in Ontario right now, and I stopped by Halo Brewing with my laptop to do some work, and ended up talking it up with the server and his friend. The server was wearing a band shirt, so naturally I made a mental note to look them up later.

Cut to the next day and I’m set up in the sun on my brother’s patio with my work and throw them on. The mellow sounds of Toronto’s haftu were the perfect soundtrack for my morning cup of tea in the sunshine. I listened through their debut EP CONFETTI (released in December 2024), and their two other singles and wanted more.

The track “Moose Jaw” jumped out to me with the funky opening that melted into a mellow slow jam with dreamy vocals - perfect for the hazy Toronto day around me.
If they ever head to Vancouver, I’ll be there in a hurry.

Christine

“Traded In Your Name” by The Deep Dark Woods

Last week The Deep Dark Woods not only dropped their latest single, but also announced their next full length album!

“Traded In Your Name” is a mesmerising track that frontman Ryan Boldt says was “originally written during the Changing Faces sessions, but it never quite came together the way I wanted. I remembered it during a day of recording for the new album—we ran through it once or twice, and that was it. Evan Cheadle added a beautiful harmony on the chorus—probably my favourite harmony ever recorded on one of my songs.”

You can check out the visualizer below, and mark October 3rd for when The Circle Remains releases on Victory Pool Records!

Kirk

“Quviasukkuvit (If It Makes You Happy)” by Elisapie

In honour of National Indigenous Peoples Day (which was June 21), Inuk singer-songwriter Elisapie released a brand new cover & performance of “Quviasukkuvit (If It Makes You Happy)”, filmed at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Much like the covers off her album Inuktitut, the Sheryl Crow classic was translated to Inuktitut for a gorgeous rendition, which you can watch her perform among works by Inuit artists featured in ᐆᒻᒪᖁᑎᒃ uummaqutik: essence of life, a display of selected pieces from the MMFA’s collection of Inuit art.

Watch the video below, and keep an eye out for Elisapie as she hits the festival circuit this summer, including a stop at the Vancouver Folk Fest.

Kirk