Songs of the Week: March 13 - 19, 2023
“Sink or Swim” by Blue J
Vancouver’s Blue J is back with their first new track since their debut album, A Sign Of Good Luck.
The song, “Sink or Swim”, concerns addition and the helplessness one feels in trying to deal with someone else’s issues. And, as lead singer Justice McLellan says, “caring so deeply about someone who’s struggling that you abandon yourself.”
The end of the press release said to stayed tuned and that there was more from Blue J coming soon - hurray!
Christine
“I Told You So” by Del Barber
A sorrowful tune from Del Barber this week, just over a month away from the release of his new album Almanac.
Originally writing the song from the perspective of his neighbour over the loss of her husband, the tale of grief took on a new meaning when his father passed:
"I wrote it before my dad passed—before he was even sick—but it became an anthem for me in the months after his passing…Looking back, I feel like this song was a gift from [my dad].”
Almanac will be out on April 28th, but you can see Del live in Vancouver on April 12th at the Biltmore Cabaret.
Christine
“Heartbreaker by Design” by Your ex and I
I’m not gonna lie, there are times when I’ll check out a band simply because I’m amused by their name. Sometimes those bands end up being kind of forgettable, but other times you get someone like Your ex and I.
The Montreal band wears their British post-punk influences on their sleeve with songs like “Heartbreaker by Design”, a high energy tune which is “a harrowing tale of jealousy, gaslighting and infidelity. What if you found out your partner has been secretly dating their ex for two years? The song exposes the true story behind their singer’s discovery of an ex’s double life - from deleted emails to made up receipts for so-called business trips. How much would you look the other way to stay ‘happy’?”
The song is off their recently released EP, YXNI, and you can check out the cool pop art lyric video below!
Kirk
