Songs of the Week: September 09 - 15, 2024
“Dead End” by Skye Wallace
Rat Summer might be coming to an end soon, but that just means we’re getting closer to a brand new album from Skye Wallace!
Skye has been releasing singles over the past few months, but just finally announced the release of The Act of Living. Along with the news, she’s dropped her latest single, “Dead End”. Much like those recent songs, “Dead End” was written alongside Hawksley Workman — also featuring his Mounties-bandmate Ryan Dahle on guitar — and hits just as hard.
No stranger to dark themes, Wallace explains, “This was my take on a work of fiction dictating the story of the Reaper falling in love and being very upset about it. I wanted to capture the eternal exhaustion of the infernal job title, and the wild panic that love instills in the heart of the Great Reckoner. I based the concept initially on City of Angels, where Nicholas Cage’s character is an angel who falls in love with a human and is given the choice to give up immortality and eternity in order to spend it with her. ‘Dead End’ is about a similar offer given to Death. The single is paired with an audio drama by the same name, featuring sound design by award-winning podcast editor J Strautman.”
Have a listen below and make sure to mark down November 1st for the release of The Act of Living!
Kirk
“Let The World Turn” by MOONRIIVR
This is just such a happy little track!
Super group MOONRIIVR have announced two live, off-the-floor collections called The Tascam Series EPs.
The Dorval Sessions and Live At Jenny’s Bar see the band in and around Toronto performing on front stoops, and at local businesses, and of course at Jenny’s Bar.
The first release is the track “Let The World Turn” - which was originally on the band’s debut release Vol 1.
Christine
“The Trickster” by Francis Baptiste
Francis Baptiste a songwriter from the Osoyoos Indian Band (Syilx) released a new album this summer titled Sənk̓lip, the Trickster. The album is infused with his native language, Nsyilxcən, that fewer than 100 people can speak fluently.
The title references Sənk̓lip (which means coyote), “a mischievous, flawed figure. He’s selfish and boastful. His desires get him into troubles that are often comedic.” Syilx parents use stories of the coyote to teach their children how to learn through failure, and Baptiste says the album '“chronicles his struggles with fatherhood, addiction, and depression, through the lens of the urbanized Indigenous experience”.
In “The Trickster” he focuses on the humour used to cope with dark situations or tragedy, like the humorous coyote Sənk̓lip. Check it out below, and give the rest of the album a spin (and read the stories behind each song) by clicking here.
Christine
“Quviasukkuvit (If It Makes You Happy)” by Elisapie
A year after her acclaim album Inuktitut, Elisapie has released a new cover, this time of the Sheryl Crow hit, “If It Makes You Happy”.
Like the other covers on Inuktitut, the song was translated into her mother tongue, and reimagined, this time as a dark and haunting tune. And Sheryl Crow was similarly chosen by her childhood memories, with Elisapie saying,
“An image that always comes to mind, no matter where I travel or live, is of the people dancing at the magical and dramatic Ikkarivvik Bar in Kuujjuaq. In my mind's eye, it is always Friday night, and the moon is full. Most people are either a little drunk or very drunk. The bar and the dancefloor are an escape, and people dance to forget and escape. I recognize so many faces and I can see their smiles and closed eyes as they dance.
If It Makes You Happy was so popular in the North, and it reminds me so much of when I was teenager. It played on TV and radio, and we listened to it at home. Those lines made us want to scream along with Sheryl. Her song liberates my people in the North, giving them the words to shout about being sad without feeling ashamed.
When I perform this song, it has Sheryl Crow's enthusiasm, but my Inuit sensibility slows it down, echoing the rhythm of the land.”
You can listen to the cover below, and check out the Polaris Gala tomorrow (Tuesday) night to see if Inuktitut takes home the prize!
Kirk
“Cannonball” (The Breeders cover) by Thunder Queens
Want more cover songs for your week? How about a fun cover of Cannonball, originally from The Breeders, by Thunder Queens?
Their version stays true to the original, while adding Thunder Queen’s usual bright harmonies and youthful energy.
And in more Polaris news, another reason to tune in to the Gala is to see the trio backing Jordan Miller from The Beaches, for their Polaris Gala showcase!
Kirk
