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Photo Credit: Heather Saitz

Songs of the Week: November 17 - 23, 2025

November 24, 2025 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“You Get Me By” by MOONRIIVR

New MOONRIIVR alert!

I can’t believe it’s already been almost two years since their debut album, Volume 1, and I’m so excited to get new material.
“You Get Me By”, according to lead singer Gavin Gardner is “an attempt to hold up a mirror and offer the same empathy to myself that I would offer a friend navigating the challenges of self and identity. My mind creates boundaries for who I think others expect me to be, when hopefully they just want me to be free.”

There’s no other word on any upcoming album, but the band is about to do some touring in Europe with the Rural Alberta Advantage (THAT would be a fun show), so hopefully upon their return we’ll get some more info!

  • Christine


“Devastation’s Bliss” by Larkk

Last week, Larkk not only released their latest single, but also announced a debut album!

“Devastation’s Bliss” is a haunting piano-driven number from the solo project of Dear Rouge’s Danielle McTaggart, and is the latest in a string of singles that we now know will culminate in the release of Cinders on February 13, 2026.

Have a listen below!

  • Kirk


“Margaret” by Elliot C Way

Following up his previous single from this year “Fool’s Gold” Vancouver’s Elliot C Way has released a new track titled “Margaret”, a song about his grandparents, Margaret and Nelson Beattie:
“It tells the true story of their decades-long love, and their shared life in rural Ontario that was filled with hard-won moments of resilience and devotion. At its heart, the song is a tribute to his grandmother and her quiet battle with MS, a disease that slowly changed the shape of their lives but never broke their bond. It’s also a testament to his Grampap, as told from his perspective, and his unwavering love as he stood by her side through the difficult years.

Whenever Elliot visited them on their Uxbridge, Ontario hay farm, he got to witness the kind of rural, hardworking life that made a profound impact on him at a young age—hot, muggy summers with fireflies and iced tea, and unforgettable Christmas gatherings that included hockey games on frozen ponds and snowmobile rides in the deep cold. As Elliot describes, “My grandpa was the patriarch of the family and a man larger than life. He was a humble farmer, a handyman, and the kind of father and husband any man would hope to be. I saw first-hand the power of his love for my grandmother in the care he gave her until the very end.””

It’s a beautiful and sweet ballad that you can hear live in Vancouver on the 26th of November at the WISE Hall, or the 19th of December at Green Auto!

  • Christine


“Amour Amour” by Common Holly

Montreal’s Common Holly (aka Brigitte Naggar) just released a cover of the 1970’s Anne Germain song “Amour Amour”

A beautiful and vulnerable version of the song, Brigitte explains: “This song has been in my head since I first encountered it during a film screening in a high school French class. We had the opportunity to watch Peau D'ane, a 1970's fantasy musical belonging to the infamous 'Demy-world' of director Jacques Demy. Between the chromatically whacky music, outrageous themes and whimsical visuals, I haven't been able to get it out of my mind, so a little while ago I adapted the song to guitar. This is my first time singing in French too, which is technically a language I speak, but has never found its way into musical releases until now, so this is also a nod to my home in Quebec and to my French heritage.”

Along with the new cover, she’s also teasing more music for next year, so be sure to keep an ear out!

  • Kirk

November 24, 2025 /Christine McAvoy
larkk, dear rouge, common holly, moonriivr, MOONRIIVR, elliot c way
Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week
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Credit: Mick Hutchinson

Songs of the Week: September 09 - 15, 2024

September 16, 2024 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“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

September 16, 2024 /Christine McAvoy
MOONRIIVR, moonriivr, francis baptiste, skye wallace, elisapie, thunder queens
Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week
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Credit: Jen Squires

Songs of the Week: November 06 - 12, 2023

November 14, 2023 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Brave” by Adaline

Adaline is back! It’s been a few years since her last release, but the alt-pop singer has announced a brand new EP, and released the first single from it, “Brave”.

The song is inspired by reconciling her own queerness with her religious upbringing (as the daughter of an evangelical minister), as well as stories of hundreds of LGBTQ+ people in a non-profit community she founded called Bad Believer.

She explains, “Is it worth the cost to unveil your authentic self, even if it means potentially losing the people you love? Even if it means forever altering the perception of you in the minds of the people who matter most? These are the kinds of painful, vulnerable and anxious questions grappled with in this coming out ballad. My mother and I have always been very affectionate with each other. But I also knew the narrative of queer people being an abomination, disgusting and immoral was a part of her religious, political, and cultural upbringing. I questioned whether she would hold me or "kiss my face" the same after finding out. The thought of losing our special connection was almost enough to keep me in the closet. These fears and questions are so often repeated to me in conversations with other people considering coming out, I wanted to give a voice to their feelings and concerns.”

You can find out more on Bad Believer, a community that helps people heal from religious trauma at their website, and Adaline’s new EP Hymnal will be out on March 22.

  • Kirk


“Flowers On The Fire Escape” by Moonriivr

Say it with me now…. SUPERGROUP!!!

We’ve got a new band called Moonriivr, featuring Gavin Gardiner (The Wooden Sky), “Champagne” James Robertson (Lindi Ortega, Dwayne Gretzky), with Ben Whiteley (The Weather Station), and Lyle Molzan (Kathleen Edwards).

Birthed, like many projects of late, during the pandemic, Gardiner and Robertson got together together on Robertson’s family farm and created some seriously sonic songs with a wide variety of themes from personal reflection to politics.

The entire Ep, titled Vol. 1, is out now (click here), but check out “Flowers On The Fire Escape” below - the bongos really do it for me in this one.

  • Christine

November 14, 2023 /Christine McAvoy
adaline, moonriivr
Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week
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