Songs of the Week: August 18 - 24, 2025
“You Know That I Tried” by Billy the Kid
Some artists are just unstoppable, and Billy the Kid is definitely one of them.
From ambitious pandemic projects, to life upheavals, Billy Pettinger finds a way to create unique and beautiful music of all genres.
Her latest project, Prelude to a New Dream, was born out of heartbreak and starting life over. She says of the first track released: “You Know That I Tried” isn’t just a song
it’s every page I read, every sentence I wrote, every session I paid for, every word I survived.”
The lyrics cracked my heart open - they’re vulnerable and sorrowful, and yet are hidden under lovely piano chords and graceful vocals.
The album is out on September 19th, and I can’t wait to share more as she releases it.
Christine
“English Harbour” feat. Jim James & Arc Iris
by The Barr Brothers
You had me at Jim James.
“English Harbour” is the latest single from The Barr Brothers, which features the My Morning Jacket frontman, as well as Arc Iris.
The song is a gorgeous hymn with incredible harmonies from James, with Andrew Barr explaining, “We’d been imagining Jim’s soaring voice on the song’s opening melody for a while. One afternoon around 4 p.m., we sent it to him before heading out to pick up our kids. By the time we got home that night, he’d sent back not only the opening melody but a fully harmonized performance from start to finish. It was one of those hair-standing-on-the-back-of-your-neck moments in the life of this record. I loved the song from the moment Brad first played it for me, but Jim’s voice brings a whole new energy to it.”
Brad Barr adds on, “One funny thing about this song—we imagined both Jim James and Jocie Adams singing on this one. I think I was actually doing my impression of Jim when I wrote the opening vocal melody. (Backstory: we befriended Jim when our band The Slip opened for My Morning Jacket in 2007, and opened for them again with The Barr Brothers around 2015. And we’ve loved Jocie’s singing and arranging since we toured with her old band The Low Anthem). One night we wrote to them both, separately, to ask if they’d be interested and available to sing on this song and they randomly happened to be eating dinner together at Jocie’s house in LA. Crazy serendipity! The two of them make this song so magical.”
You can find the song off their upcoming album (their first in eight years!) called Let It Hiss, which is out on October 17th, and also features collaborations with Elizabeth Powell (or Land Of Talk), Patrick Watson, and more!
Kirk
“Outcast” by Art d’Ecco (Eddie & Ernie Cover)
I’m still extremely obsessed with Art d’Ecco’s latest album Serene Demon - I got the vinyl at the album release show and I listen to it front to back all the time.
Needless to say, I sat straight up in my chair when the name popped up in my inbox this week.
While Art has been busy being Long Listed for the Polaris Prize and Songwriting Award, and prepping for the bands European dates, he found the time to cover the 1965 soul classic “Outcast” from Eddie & Ernie (click here to hear the original).
I was curious as to what made Art pick this track to cover and luckily it was right in the press release: “I read somewhere that it was a favourite of Lou Reed. My version is closer to the Animals 1966 cover of the song found on ‘Animalism'. I had just acquired a new resonator guitar and was looking for a way to incorporate it into a song. I’ve always loved how twangy and odd resonators sound when played like a traditional acoustic guitar. We recorded the song to tape with as much period appropriate gear as possible to keep things as raw and alive.”
I love a good cover that makes it sound like it’s an original, it’s that well done - and Art knocked this one out of the park!
Christine
“Circle Remains Unbroken” by The Deep Dark Woods
The Deep Dark Woods recently announced their new album, The Circle Remains, and last week they shared a new track, “Circle Remains Unbroken”
In true DDW fashion, it’s a haunting tune that frontman Ryan Boldt explains is “a spiritual song rooted in ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken?’ It’s a refusal to be influenced by the ridiculous fads that are being blasted into our fragile brains and the feeling that our nihilistic way of living is destroying us.”
You can listen to The Circle Remains when it drops on October 3rd, which will be followed shortly by a Canadian tour, with the band hitting the Fox Cabaret here in Vancouver on October 24th.
Kirk
“At The Same Time” by Absolute Losers
You’re going to want to crank this one loud. Charlottetown, P.E.I. trio Absolute Losers have released a late contender for the 2025 Summer Jam with their new single, “At The Same Time”
The high energy song is brimming with 90s-power-pop, and “draws from bassist/vocalist Sam Langille’s 'memories of summers spent at his grandparents’ cottage in Flat River, Prince Edward Island, where he and his brother, bandmate and guitarist Josh Langille, would dig for worms, fish for trout, and listen to their grandfather’s stories of growing up in a post-war boat-building town.” Sam elaborates: “A lot of people can relate to feeling some kind of magic when they’re with their grandparents. This place was definitely magical as a kid.”
Check out the song below, and pick up their new album, In The Crowd, on September 26!
Kirk