Songs of the Week: October 23 - 29, 2023

October 30, 2023 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Dark Angel” by Rose Cousins, Jill Barber, and Jenn Grant

Can you think of a better trio of Canadian singers than Rose Cousins, Jill Barber, and Jenn Grant? Neither could Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy.

Barber explains that she was backstage at a Blue Rodeo show last spring with Grant, when “Jim Cuddy turned to us and suggested that, along with Rose Cousins, we should form a trio... like a Canadian version of the Dolly Parton, Linda Rondstadt and Emmylou Harris ‘Trio’. The next thing we knew we were sending Rose a video message saying: ‘we're doing this, because Jim said so’.”

So of course, their first single is a gorgeous & haunting cover of “Dark Angel”, which celebrates the 30th anniversary of Five Days In July.

Hopefully we hear more from the trio in the future, but for now, check out the cover below!

Kirk

“Halloween Store” by Andy Shauf

Phewf! We got this one in under the wire…couldn’t leave out “Halloween Store” by Andy Shauf the day before Halloween!

It’s a fun, and chaotic, little song, and now it has a fun, and chaotic, little video to go along with it.

I hope you all have your costumes for tomorrow - I have to get back to work on mine.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Christine

Songs of the Week: February 06 - 12, 2023

February 13, 2023 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day

[Fair warning, this week it’s three song picks from me (Christine), and they’re alllllll melancholy. So get ready to sway, bob your head and get into some feels.]

“Miss Fort Erie” by Hayden

Back in October, Hayden released his first new music since 2015 with the single “East Coast”. Well, now we’re moving slightly west with “Miss Fort Erie” (as someone from the Niagara Region of Ontario I did a double take at the title).

The press release called him the “king of downcast Canadian indie-folk” - and this might be true, as the new track is about balancing a young family, being out on the road, and downplaying the adventures, which he’s embarked upon again with his current tour.

Speaking of, Hayden will be in Vancouver this Wednesday, performing at Christ Church Cathedral.

Christine

“Telephone” by Andy Shauf

Andy Shauf’s new album Norm, is officially out, with this latest single and music video to celebrate.
It’s funny, when I was listening to “Telephone” I was thinking “a lot of people don’t do that these days” and then I read in the press release that this is about an imagined person because Andy “hates talking on the phone” - so there we go.

If you recognize the video as similar to the one for “Catch Your Eye”, that’s because it’s the same character, animated again (in the immediately recognizable style) by Chad VanGaalen.

PS Andy will be here, performing at The Orpheum on March 11th!

Christine

“The Moment Is A Wild Place" by Gord Downie & Bob Rock

Okay, this one made me tear up, especially as it was just recently Gord’s birthday last week.
“The Moment Is A Wild Place” is another track from Lustre Parfait - the collaboration between Downie and Bob Rock, recorded from 2009 to 2016.

"They keep saying, ‘Just live in the moment / What they don't say / Is the moment / Is a wild place.”

The lyrics, written before his diagnosis, just tug at my heartstrings, along with the soaring vocals.
Such a treat to get these songs - the whole album of which will be fully released on May 5th.

Christine

Songs of the Week: December 26, 2022 - January 01, 2023

January 02, 2023 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“Repeat” by July Talk

Last month, on the winter solstice, July Talk released the latest song from their upcoming album, Remember Never Before.

“Repeat” is a slow burn of a song, with gorgeous interplay between the voiced of Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis. According to the band, the song is “a meditation on the decisions we make and the reasons we make them.”

The new album is out in a few short weeks, on January 20, and you can check out the karaoke styled lyrics video for “Repeat” below!

Kirk

“Catch Your Eye” by Andy Shauf

It was hard to keep on top of new music over the holiday but this email…caught my eye.
Sorry.
”Catch Your Eye” is the new offering from Andy Shauf, and if from his upcoming EP Norm, out in February.
About a missed connection at a grocery store, (that could be ripped from the Georgia Straight “I Saw You” posts), it’s a sweet little song, with an equally sweet animated video.

Christine

“You’d Like To Believe” by Ten Kills The Pack

A poignant and timely song by Ten Kills The Pack, “You’d Like To Believe” is a new single off his upcoming album Thank You For Trying: ACT II.
The track “addresses the daily struggles with depression and how those suffering often rationalize their state with excuses”.
Thank You For Trying: ACT II will be released on March 10th.

Christine

Songs of the Week: November 14 - 20, 2022

November 21, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Wasted On You” by Andy Shauf

It’s going to be a BIG 2023 for Andy Shauf - but he’s capping off 2022 with the release of his new single “Wasted On You”.

The song will be on his new LP Norm, will be released on February 10th, and there’s also been a HUGE tour announcement, including a show in Vancouver at The Orpheum on March 11th!

“Wasted On You”, the opening track on the new album, is a quiet little pop/love song, but I’m going to go ahead and insist you watch the video below, to get a full sense of just how good Andy is at storytelling and duality.

Christine

“Floating Like” by Arkells

One thing about albums going mainly digital, that I never really considered, is the artist’s ability to make changes at any time. Case in point, Arkells releasing a surprise new song, and adding it to their recently released album Blink Twice.

“Floating Like” is heavily influenced by the band’s love of Motown, and frontman Max Kerman says the song is about “trying to free yourself of the allure and pull of material things and finding happiness in the simple wonders of life. It was written around a sample we cut up from The Impressions and their song ‘Seven Years.’ We added as many Motown soul tricks to the production with the goal of finding the joy and lightness of those classic tunes. It’s a special song for us, so we wanted to give it its own release and runway. Blink Twice is now complete.”

The song tacks on to the end of Blink Twice, which is out now on your digital distribution platform of choice!

Kirk

“I Love You, Dwayne” by Miranda Joan

If you’re going to release a love song about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, filled with references to his entire career, I am going to listen.

If you are going to release a video for that song, filmed with a cardboard cutout of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, I am going to watch.

That’s exactly what Canadian-born, New York-based soul singer Miranda Joan did. So pour yourself a nice glass of either Teremana or ZOA, put on that Project Rock gear, cue up a Seven Bucks film to watch after, and check out the video below!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: September 20 - 26, 2021

September 27, 2021 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day

“Sweetheart” by Said The Whale

Just weeks ahead of the release of Dandelion, Said the Whale is giving us yet another tease of the new album with “Sweetheart”.

Singer Ben Worcester says the song is “an exploration of secrets. How (and why) we keep them, who we keep them from, and how they affect our relationships. This song doesn’t refer to a specific moment or circumstance in my life, but instead speaks to the idea in general - how revealing our innermost thoughts and fears can serve to weaken some bonds but other times can actually strengthen them - the beauty of sharing a secret with a lover, keeping something hidden from the world, a covenant of mutual trust.”

Have a listen below, and make sure to check out their tour dates, which include not one, not two, but three! consecutive Vancovuer shows, playing venues near & dear to the band’s hearts.

Kirk

“Spanish On The Beach” and “Jaywalker” by Andy Shauf

Whoops, i dropped the ball last week (well, I was working the election so I couldn’t post my songs!) and couldn’t express my excitement at the announcement of a new album from Andy Shauf!

Wilds was released this past Friday and is a collection of songs that he wrote when composing his last album The Neon Skyline. That was one of my favourite records of 2020, so I cannot wait to delve into this one.

The first two singles “Spanish On The Beach” and “Jaywalker’ are below for your rainy day listening pleasure.

Christine

“On The Beach” & “Oleander” by Jasper Sloan Yip

Speaking of beaches (oh, I wish), Jasper Sloan Yip released two new tracks from his upcoming double EP, Strange Calm / Blushing Autumn: “On The Beach” and “Oleander”

Both EPs revolve around the themes of life and death, and these two songs in particular are about gratitude. They’re lovely tunes and another set of ones I curled up with some tea to listen to this morning with the rain in the background.
The albums will be released on October 26th via Tiny Kingdom.

Christine

“Pourquoi faire aujourd'hui” by Lisa LeBlanc

Lisa LeBlanc has returned with a super catchy ode to procrastination, “Pourquoi faire aujourd'hui”, her first original song since the ‘016 album Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen?

A disco-tinged tune with an incredibly infectious synth line — and sparkling video to match — the new single teases a brand new album next year, and I can’t wait to hear more.

Despite the title, you should take a listen today!

Kirk

“Caroline” by Lowell

Apparently I’ve got all the slow jams this week.

Holy moley, I missed Lowell. This little nostalgic pop ballad, “Caroline”, is beautiful and showcases just how talented she is lyrically. It hits on her childhood memories of: “sleeping bags and landlines, grass stains and pool parties, sneaking into cabinets and finding your parents' booze”.

I was happy to see that this single is going to be on an upcoming album in 2022, so hopefully we’ll get more from her soon.

Christine

“Surrender” by Royal Canoe

Hot off the release of their album Sidelining, Royal Canoe is dropping a brand new video for the song “Surrender”, as well as announcing some tour dates!

Directed by Vince Tang, the video is what can only be described as a ‘dance heist’ video, with a few fun twists and turns.

The tour sees them crisscrossing the country in April of next year, including a date here in Vancouver on the 20th at the Fox Cabaret, and finishing with a pair of shows in their hometown of Winnipeg.

Kirk

“Maudlin Days (Robocop)” by Gold & Youth

Okay, so I’m just gonna go ahead and fully copy-past the story about this song, “Maudln Days (Robocop)”, from the Gold & Youth press release, because nothing I write could do it justice:

”A substantial part of the lyrics for 'Robocop' are a near verbatim transcript from when I was sucked into a conversation at a party last year with some finance bros who kept insisting they had found truth (“about, like, everything man") after doing ayahuasca together on a boys trip. The entire exchange was one of total earnestness on the part of the bros, oblivious to tact, cultural sensitivities or fashion sense (one of them was wearing a pink and gold Givenchy tracksuit into the Ayahuasca hut) and I engaged with thinly veiled contempt and entirely in bad faith in a deeply embarrassing battle of wits. It wasn’t until later, when rehashing the story with my girlfriend, a story in which I was so sure I was doing’s God’s work in raining down ridicule and condescension with a half smirk (and to be clear, this story absolutely deserved ridicule and condescension), that it became obvious that I had slipped into just as much of a caricature as they had: The Lululemon wall street jabronis vs the smug lefty band guy who claims to love humanity above all else but rolls his eyes at actual humans (even finance bros are humans after all right). Low stakes and who cares right? Not exactly profound. But, it was a great jumping off point for writing about a real sense of alienation I’ve felt in so many social situations in my life and constantly wondering how much of it has been self imposed. How often am I preemptively detaching myself from potential human connection to preserve some abstracted convictions about what my chosen friend group might say about me? Aren't these convictions about love, empathy and understanding just empty high minded rhetoric if I don’t try to actually love, understand and empathize with the actual humans in my life? 'Aren’t people all we’ve really got man?!'. Deeply solipsistic bullshit. The name of the song is equally self involved. Any time I go cold and detach my girlfriend calls me 'Robocop,' which she stole from my bandmate's nickname for me on tour. Aloof, ultra stoic, but incredibly capable of driving from Vancouver to San Diego in a single go."

See? What did I tell you?
Gold & Youth’s album Dream Baby is out November 5th.

Christine

“Something Sweet” by Graham Wright

Tomorrow Graham Wright’s album The Cost Of Doing Business comes out, and this single really is “Something Sweet”.

The track is full on 90’s goodness, to which Gram says he “really went for it”, and that “the more ‘90s affect I piled on, the more exciting it got”. I have to agree, it’s pretty damn perfect and super catchy.

Christine

“Here’s To The Future” by Sam Weber

This new tune by Sam Weber is probably the best way to end this week’s Songs Of The Week.

Beautiful, slow, and includes a mini saxophone solo (which I’m always a sucker for), “Here’s To The Future” is Sam’s first release since 2019. He calls it “a toast and a prayer to the better and brighter days ahead”, which I can get on board with.

Here’s to more music from him in the future!

Christine

Songs of the Week: May 10 - 16, 2021

May 17, 2021 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“Topanga Canyon” by Ashleigh Ball

Ashleigh Ball gives yet another preview of her upcoming album with a song about California. "Topanga Canyon" is the latest single from Before All The Magic’s Gone, which now has an official release date: June 25!
Her sophomore album was produced and co-written by Deadmen (the production name for duo Matt Schellenberg and Matt Peters of Royal Canoe) and based on what we’ve heard so far, it’s going to be a perfect album for the summer.

Kirk

“I Do Yeah” by Titus Bank

Vancouver’s Titus Bank released his debut single last week, “I Do Yeah”. Co-written with Valley out of Toronto, the song features Bank’s smooth voice soaring over a driving alt-pop beat.
The song is also the debut single from brand new label Everything Forever, started by Tyler Bancroft of Said the Whale. Aside from Titus, keep an eye out for releases from Said the Whale themselves, along with Micah Erenberg, Mute Choir, shy kids, and Big Kill (Andy & Cayne from the former We Are The City).

Kirk

“Living Room” by Andy Shauf

This song by Andy Shauf is by no means new, as it’s from one of my favourite albums of 2020, Neon Skyline. But any chance to listen to it again with a new animated video, I’ll take and that’s exactly what we got with this music video for “Living Room”.
Oh, and want some bonus awesomeness? It was directed by Anne Douris - who has done some super awesome work for bands in the past, click here to see more!

Christine

Songs of the Week: March 08 - 14, 2021

March 15, 2021 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“Crab Walking Home In The Rain” by Jason Collett

Not only are we getting a brand new song from Jason Collett — the first in nearly 5 years — but we’re getting a brand new song from Jason Collett that was arranged and produced by Andy Shauf.
The awesomely titled ”Crab Walking Homer In The Rain” sounds exactly as good as you would expect from the pair, and is the first single off Collett’s upcoming Best Of album. The album is out at the end of this week, March 19, and along with the new single, features a dozen songs spanning the singer’s two-decade career.

Kirk

“Another Dimension (feat. Cadence Weapon)” by The Zolas

Over the last year or so, The Zolas have been releasing a slow drip of new songs, with the latest being described as a post-pandemic anthem (as opposed to their usual post-apocalyptic anthems).
“Another Dimension” features a chest-thumping bassline that can’t wait to get out of the house, along with a verse by none other than Cadence Weapon. Have a listen for yourself below.

Kirk

“Machine” by Mani Khaira

Vancouver musician Mani Khaira released a new video this week for his song “Machine”. The track comes from his latest EP Face First, and if features actor and dancer Brennan Clost from Netflix’s 'Tiny Pretty Things'. Beautifully choreographed, the dancing and mood match the powerful song perfectly. Have a look below!

Christine

“Don't Wait” by JEEN

“Don’t Wait” is a fitting title for the latest single from JEEN. Released only few months after her self-titled album from last October, the song is a tease to her newest album, scheduled for this coming October.
Featuring vocals from bandmate and co-producer Ian Blurton, “Don’t Wait” is a raw anthem that needs to be cranked loud.

Kirk

“Just What I Needed” by k-os

k-os covering “Just What I Needed” by The Cars is literally JUST WHAT I NEEDED this week.
I think that’s enough said.

Christine

“Hold On” by Justin Bieber

Okay, Kirk may shoot me for this, but Bieber made a love letter video to my favourite hockey team with his new song “Hold On” and it put a HUGE SMILE on my face this week. I miss live hockey and watching in the bar with other fans so this hit me in the feels.

Christine

Song of the Day: November 4, 2019 - "Things I Do" by Andy Shauf

November 04, 2019 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day

My Facebook and Twitter timelines blew up the other day with the release of this new track, “Things I Do”, and album announcement by Andy Shauf.

You can look forward to hearing the new LP, The Neon Skyline, in full on January 22nd, and following that the next month Andy embarks on MASSIVE tour (almost 4 straight months), including a stop at the Commodore Ballroom on January 26th.

Much like the idea of his previous album The Party, Andy has a plot line for the interconnecting songs of the new effort: “the narrator goes to his neighbourhood dive, finds out his ex is back in town, and she eventually shows up”. And according to the press release, Andy ended up with over 50 songs about the same night at the bar, and whittled it down to a tight 11 song album.

I honestly can’t wait to hear more, and am so excited for this new work!