Songs of the Week: October 28 - November 03, 2024

“The Act of Living” by Skye Wallace

Last Friday, Skye Wallace (finally!) released their latest album, The Act of Living, and celebrated with a horrific video for the title track.

Made in collaboration with Blind Luck Pictures, the video follows a blood-soaked Skye on a killing spree, surprising their bandmates while camping in the woods, perfectly fitting the manic energy of the song.

The murderous video also encapsulates the themes of life, death, and transformation on the new album, with Skye explaining, “I was always extremely afraid of death, couldn't look it in the eye. I’d be up at night when I was 5 or 6 years old worried sick that my mom and dad would die in a car accident, or that the return of the bubonic plague was more or less imminent. A few years ago, I was present for the death of my grandfather, with whom I was very close. But instead of the dreadful moment I was expecting, it was intimate, beautiful even.”

You can watch “The Act of Living” below, and should pick up the full album right now!

• Kirk

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“Awkward Connector” by Combine The Victorious

Fun new track from Vancouver’s Combine The Victorious (who just played a set at Red Gate in Vancouver this Saturday).

Of “Awkward Connector” they say:“Sometimes things don’t quite fit in life but we manage to find our way eventually .. it’s okay to be awkward and maybe we just need an adaptor.”

Really loving the harmonies on this one and hope to catch the band live again soon!

• Christine

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“Silver Bullet” by The Matinee

Speaking of new releases out this past Friday, Vancouver roots-rockers The Matinee dropped their latest EP, End of Scene, a collection of B-sides recorded with their previous album, Change of Scene.

The EP includes their latest single, “Silver Bullet”, a perfect song for cruising around, as singer Matt Layzell describes as an ode to that ol’ reliable car:“If you've owned a vehicle so long that the driver's seat is finely contoured to the curves of your body and warmly wraps around you like your grandparents' chesterfield, if you aren't bothered by that clunk you occasionally hear when the transmission shifts going uphill, and if you have your dad's Nitty Gritty Dirt Band cassette stuck in the tape player on the dash, you probably know the feeling of talking to your ride like it just needs a little encouragement to keep going that extra mile. And it always does, somehow. It might not be the prettiest one on the lot, but hot damn, does it get you where you're going in style.”

Find the EP out now, and have a listen to “Silver Bullet” below!

• Kirk

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“Don't Let It Bring You Down (Live from The Hangar)” by Talia Schlanger

I always love when an artist selects a cover and really (like, really) makes it their own, and Talia Schlanger did just that with this Neil Young cover.
The guitar, her unique vocals (not to mention the range) and the fact that it’s also live off the floor all give “Don’t Let It Bring You Down” a brand new flavour.

The track comes from a new EP release Latent Lounge live from The Hangar - and includes two songs from her release this year, Grace for the Going, as well as the and another cover - “Chelsea Hotel” by Leonard Cohen.

The whole EP release is worth a listen (click here to hear all four tracks) and makes me want to experience her music live even more.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: January 29 - February 04, 2024

“The endLing” by Talia Schlanger

Huge congratulations are in order for Talia Schlanger on the release of her record Grace For The Going this past week!
It’s a gorgeous collection of songs and stories that make it hard to believe that is is her debut album.

The single “The endLing” was written about the extinction of a species of frog (specifically this guy named Toughie), with an “endling” being the last known living creature of a species before extinction.
Of the “Rabbs fringe-limbed treefrog”, Talia says it “had a very distinct call, and when I read the article all I could think about was how after Toughie died, nobody would ever hear that call again. What does it mean to lose a sound forever?”

Talia has a few shows on the East Coast, and an album release show in Toronto - and hopefully this means she’ll be bringing it to the West Coast soon enough!

• Christine

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“Maybe Borealis” by Nathan Shubert

If you’ve seen a Vancouver band play live, there’s a strong chance you’ve seen Nathan Shubert play piano or keys. They’ve played with the likes of Jasper Sloan Yip, Jody Glenham, No Sinner, and loads more, but for the last few years, Nathan has been focusing on their own solo piano compositions.

Last week, they released their latest, with “Maybe Borealis”, a gorgeous blend of piano and synth that feels just like the song’s namesake.

It’s their first single since last year’s album, The Moon From Here, and you can have a listen for yourself below!

• Kirk

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“Tree of Woe” ft. Damian Abraham by The Halluci Nation

Super fun new video for the song “Tree of Woe” that is part of The Halluci Nation’s project The Road To Halluci Mania with their EP Path Of The Heel.

The album is based around the wrestling character archetype (The Heel) and in this particular video Damian Abraham of the band Fucked Up, who lends his vocals to the EP, has kinda, sorta, definitely gone off the deep end. He literally has a tin foil hat on at one point.
Check it out below.

• Christine

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“a little life” by la lune

Last week, Vancouver’s la lune released their latest single, “a little life”.

The shoegaze-y song starts with a haze of guitars and vocals, slowly building to a dense wall of sound.

Check it out below, and if you want to hear it live, you can catch them at Green Auto on Feb 11th with Autonomous Apes and Floating Faces, or opening for Art d'Ecco at the Cobalt on Feb 23!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: October 30 - November 05, 2023

“So Small” by Talia Schlanger

Super exciting news this week that Toronto musician Talia Schlanger has announced her debut album, Grace For The Going, will be released on February 2, 2024.

Her latest single “So Small” is a beautiful little track, with a soothing arrangement behind her smooth vocals. And I’ll let her speak about the song itself:

“Right now, like so many of us, my thoughts are consumed by the horrors of war,” says Talia. “My heart is consumed by collective grief.” 
“So Small” was written and recorded as the pandemic years engulfed the globe in a different sort of trauma. The urgency of the song, offers a philosophical view on humanity and a perspective on our space on this planet that is deeply relevant to world events today.

“'So Small' is about finding a way to hold many truths at the same time,” explains Talia. “The idea that each of us is at once as big as the universe itself and smaller than the smallest speck of dust. This is a concept that appears in a number of traditions/faiths/systems of belief. My first window into this way of thinking was through the Jewish teachings I grew up learning as a kid. And it’s an idea I continue to cherish and explore as an adult through the western interpretations of Buddhist texts by teachers like Pema Chödrön, Joseph Goldstein and Tara Brach. For me, this sense of perspective has been life-saving.
'So Small’ addresses 'the war outside me and inside me.' I share it along with my prayers for peace, outer and inner, for all.”

• Christine

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“Part Two” by iskwē

iskwē is not slowing down; last week she released the fourth new single from her upcoming album.

“Part Two” was written along with producer Damian Taylor and Ali “Willa” Milner, and iskwē shares: “This is a song about my broken heart after a rocky relationship finally came crashing down, We should have known, and we probably did, that things would end as passionately as they began. We ran the other to the ground while simultaneously pulling each other back to our feet, but the landing got slipperier and slipperier with each recovery, until enough was enough.”

Still no word on when the new album will be out, and sadly, iskwē had to postpone the Vancouver show that was supposed to be later this week. But have a listen to “Part Two” below!

• Kirk

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“Hold My Head Up Higher” by JEEN (feat. Ian Blurton)

We’re still a couple months out from her next album, but JEEN has released the third tease by way of “Hold My Head Up Higher”, which was co-written with the prolific Ian Blurton.

The new song is a slow-burn that is the second track JEEN has colaborated on with Blutron — who has also produced her last few albums — and she elaborates, “When we were in pre-production for Gold Control, Ian and I bounced an idea he had back and forth for a couple weeks long-distance before really solidifying the song in studio rehearsals. It’s always fun collaborating with Ian, so I'm really happy we got the chance to do it again on this album.”

Gold Control is out on February 2nd, next year.

• Kirk

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“Who The Hell Am I” by NOBRO

I needed a banger to wake me up this Monday morning and “Who The Hell Am I” by NOBRO did the trick.
The band’s new album Set Your Pussy Free (or SYPF as you’ll probably see it printed, lol), was released on the 27th, and it’s non-stop rock and roll throughout.

No Vancouver tour date listed as of yet, but hopefully there’s one on the horizon, because I want to hear these live!

• Christine

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“The Matrix” by Mother Mother

Mother Mother is back! The alt-pop group has announced a brand new album, and celebrated with the release of the new single “The Matrix”.

The new tune starts in the most Mother Mother way possible with the lyrics “Baby love, baby child, you’re gonna die”, before going on to a chorus that defiantly proclaims “Fuck no!” to living in The Matrix.

Grief Chapter will be the band’s ninth album, and is out on February 16th, but you can check out the trippy video for “The Matrix” now!

• Kirk

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“Renegade” & “Can I Get Your Name” by Bend Sinister

Not only are we getting another two songs from Vancouver’s Bend Sinister, but we’re also getting a little more info on their upcoming album!

“Renegade” & “Can I Get Your Name” are two more tracks off their upcoming yet-to-be-named release, which will be out spring of next year, and follow the same boisterous, 70’s influenced groove as their last few singles.

With “Renegade”, the band says “Dog is man's best friend. We played with that metaphor in this song, starting with that relationship in mind and how perhaps it can relate to more than just our K9 pals.”

While “Can I Get Your Name” is “about that fairytale romance that stems from two strangers meeting in the crowd and finding love. With dating apps and the online world is it even possible to find love the old-fashioned way?”

We’re now heard a half dozen new songs from the album, and I can not wait to hear the rest of it!

• Kirk

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Path Of The Heel EP by The Halluci Nation

Okay, this is damn cool.
The Halluci Nation have released the first part of their new project: “The Road to Halluci Mania.” What’s that you ask? Well…

"The Halluci Nation's Bear Witness and 2oolman have always had a deep interest in Professional Wrestling ever since they were kids – loving the complex story lines that play out week after week, and seeing the underdog overcome adversity and have their chance to shine.

…Themed around one of the main character archetypes in professional wrestling – "The Heel" (a.k.a. the bad guy) – Path of the Heel follows a faction of this group, called the ALie Nation. The creator of the ALie Nation has gone from being curious about The Halluci Nation – the champion "Baby Face" tag team wrestlers – to becoming obsessed with taking them down at Halluci Mania, aiming to do so by recruiting two wrestlers into the ALie Nation.

The story unfolds through the album openers, Tree of Woe and ALie Nation (Interlude), both of which feature powerful vocals written and performed by Damian Abraham [of Fucked Up]. The theme then expands with Eater of Worlds and Atomic Drop, featuring long-time collaborators, Northern Cree, and fulled by fast paced beats with complex basslines, all brining the Halluci Nation’s classic sound into the present and beyond.

Just, wow. These songs are so good, and I can’t wait to hear this whole project start to finish!

• Christine

Songs of the Week: September 04 - 10, 2023

“Conductors” by The Rural Alberta Advantage

For the last few months, The Rural Alberta Advantage has been teasing us with some new music, and now they have finally announced their upcoming album! And along with the news comes a brand new single, “Conductors” which is a hard-hitting, true to form tune from The RAA.

The Rise & The Fall, is the first full length album from the band in six years, and features the return of original member Amy Cole, re-joining Paul Banwatt and Nils Edenloff. The album drops October 6 on Paper Bag Records, and you can check out the lyric video for “Conductors” below.

• Kirk

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“Attention” by Talia Schlanger

I love when a press release makes me do a double-take… Talia Schlanger!?…like?…the one I know from CBC Radio 3, q, NPR and more?
Yep! And its a beauty of a track too.

“Attention” is the new single from the former radio host, from her upcoming debut Grace for the Going. After leaving her job in 2019, traveling Europe writing and singing, coming back in winter 2020 ready to record (and we know what happened then), she’s finally ready to release her music to the world.

She played an intimate show in Toronto, the same day the single was released, and hopefully this means more music (and maybe more shows?) in the future, ahead of the 2024 release date/

• Christine

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“What It Takes” and “Leave the Lights On” by Bend Sinister

Not content with releasing a pair of singles a couple months ago, Bend Sinister released two more tunes last week!

“What It Takes” is a fun, tongue-in-cheek song that asks the tough questions, while “Leave The Lights On” has a (relatively) restrained, but no less infectious, vibe.

Along with the new songs, Bend Sinister also release a brand new game! The in-browser rhythm game harkens back to the flash games of yore, as you take the band on their van to their next gig. Check it out here on their website.

• Kirk

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“Who Would You Be For Me” by Metric

We’re just over a month away from the new album Formentera II, from Metric out on October 13, and we have another track from the record.

I didn’t expect the acoustic beginning of the song, but when I read Emily Haines’ description of the track it made sense:
"“Who Would You Be For Me” is a throwback lullaby set in NYC in 2002. All the action takes place in Tompkins Square Park, in a subway car, and at the café on St. Marks Place where I worked as a waitress when we were getting our start.
Automatic behaviors and patterns are often fairly easy to flag in others but can be a riddle to spot in yourself. In life and in love, all the emphasis in your mind can default to being what someone else wants until it dawns on you to consider your own desire. I could be the girl for you, but who would you be for me?”
It’s a lovely, slow burner, that reminds me of Emily’s solo work a bit, but it’s definitely got that Metric-vibe.
They’ve announced some intimate shows in places like New York, Toronto and LA, but nothing on a full tour for the new album yet!

• Christine