Songs of the Week: October 24 - 30, 2022

“Shadow of You” by Riches

This feels like a fitting song to starts today’s selection of songs, as Riches describes themselves as “the soundtrack to an imaginary folk horror film about the cult of the Creative Entity. Each song is a scene detailing one aspect of its devotional life.”

“Shadow of You” is the latest “scene” from the duo of Catherine McCandless (ex-Young Galaxy) and choreographer Wynn Holmes, a haunting song that comes from “a particularly fragile part of Catherine's vocal range”, and “represents the scene of a slow motion, psychedelic maypole ritual celebrating the entity/demon Creation.”

Have a listen below!

• Kirk

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“Meet Me At The Rio” by Dear Rouge

One of my favourite tracks off of Dear Rouge’s latest album, Spirit, was the ode to Vancouver movie theatre The Rio.
”Meet Me At The Rio” now has a music video, appropriately filmed at the theatre (with some other concert footage snuck in there).
The track is catchy, and fun, with a great sing-a-long during the chorus. A great pick-me-up for your Monday morning.

PS They’re performing at the Vogue Theatre on December 10th with Hotel Mira!

• Christine

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“Right On Woman” by Jason Collett

The new album from Jason Collett is out at the end of the week, and we got out last preview of it, in “Right On Woman”

The upbeat and breezy tune features what Collett calls “an injection of Montreal energy”, with guests like Marcus Paquin, Joe Grass, Liam O'Neil, and backing vocals by Neil Quin, Carleigh Aikins, and Meg Contini.

The album is called Head Full Of Wonder, and is out November 4th on Arts & Crafts

• Kirk

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“Scars” by dwi

We got a new single from The Zola’s Dwight Abell’s solo project dwi!
Of the song he says it is about “being brave enough to share your scars with people. It’s hard, and can get ugly… but it might save ya or somebody you love. Although lyrically this song is on the darker side of things, I wanted to make it something you could scream out loud at a party. An anthem of hope.”

There’s also an acoustic version up that I included so you could hear both!

• Christine

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“Shivers” by Self-Cut Bangs

Self-Cut Bangs started as a home recording project during the pandemic, by partners Cayley O'Neill (Dark Time) and Shawn Petsche (Napalmpom), but now they’re ready to beat the slump and release their sophomore album, Circle Around The Free

The first single off the album was “Shivers”, and aside from being a power-pop banger, it has a great JRPG inspired video, with Cayley and Shawn scouring Calgary to look for new band members while avoiding police, protestors, and other evils of the music industry. And the in-game footage was taken from an actual working prototype made by the band! Will we see a full-on Self-Cut Bangs RPG in the future? Hopefully!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: April 11 - 17, 2022

“Hitman” by Little Destroyer

Vancouver’s Little Destroyer dropped a brand new single last week, “Hitman” along with a video directed by frequent collaborator Connor McGuire.

The raucous song is “an off-beat commentary that touches upon the harassment women encounter in today’s society.” Frontwoman Allie Sheldan adds “Michael and Chris told me to write a story, so I wrote ‘Hitman’. For weeks, I had that recurring question in my head ‘does everybody want to hire one’? We had talked about making something that was simple, driving and to the point, like a Sleaford Mods song. Kind of funny and satirical but also really kind of not, because shit, sometimes life tries to kill you. We’ve all felt sadness turn into rage, maybe while sitting on the curb outside the local liquor store. What do you do with a breaking point? I guess in our case, you write a song.”

The song also namedrops the (in)famous Kingsgate Mall in the lyrics, so how can you not love that?

• Kirk

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“Don’t Trip” by Aquakultre

A new single and an album announcement from East Coast artist, and former Polaris Prize nominee, Aquakultre.
Both the new single and the album are called “Don’t Trip” with the EP set to be released in July 2022 and will sport an impressive 20 guest artists on it!
The album was originally going to be a five-song EP based on the first three weeks of a budding relationship with his partner, but now we’ve got 13 tracks to look forward to. Check out “Don’t Trip” below!

• Christine

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“Reckless Reckless” by Anyway Gang

Anyway Gang is back with a brand new song, AND news of their next album!

The group is comprised of the familiar faces/voices of Dave Monks (Tokyo Police Club), Chris Murphy (Sloan), Menno Versteeg (Hollerado) and Sam Roberts (uh… Sam Roberts Band), and they’ve announced their sophomore album, Still Anyways, will be released on May 6th via Royal Mountain Records.

The latest release, “Reckless Reckless”, lives up to its name with the band saying: "This song is a collection of those small leftover memories that transport you back to another world where the grass is greener and the glasses are rose tinted. I think it was easy for the four of us to all relate too since so much of being in a band is an extension of your teenage dreams. There is a lot of common experience there and if was fun picking references and lyrics together that told a story we all loved. Our respective audiences has been on a journey with us and we wanted to relive some of those sweet nostalgic moments with them. And rip a few guitar solos while we're at it!"

• Kirk

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“The Frequency” by Riches

International collaborators Catherine McCandless and Wynn Holmes — better knows as Riches — have released their latest single, “The Frequency”.

The duo has been releasing a slow drip of new singles since their debut album Fantasy Chapel came out in 2020, and this latest song features McCandless’ haunting voice over a dreamy pop beat, with the band describing the song as “being swept up, being in love, longing and belonging, soothing and alive. It is a calling on the ethereal to take on form, on music to bring touch and connection over the frontiers of physical walls and distances”.

No word yet on their next album, but hopefully we’ll know more soon!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: January 17 - 23, 2022

“Time is a Car” by Partner

We’ve got a new single from from Partner, that came about from a writing session on none other than Gabriola Island. “Time is a Car” is the first from that session to be released, with more to come, but I want to talk about the music video.

The band wanted to collaborate with a director, but the distance was unworkable, so as you’ll see in the video, they made the best of the circumstances and it turns out awesome. “Time Is A Car is a meta music video. A music video in a music video. It's what would have happened if Thelma and Louise escaped with all the money and drove happily ever after off into the sunset and had wonderful prosperous lives.”

(I’d honestly watch that movie!)

• Christine

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“Return to Me” by Said the Whale

Oh HELLO new Said The Whale!

I actually heard this song before the official release when Tyler played it on his radio show Discovery on 102.7 The Peak, so I was very excited for it to be launched into the world.

“Return to Me” is a stand alone single, but it came with the announcement of the deluxe version of their latest album Dandelion’s release on February 11th, which it will be featured on (as well as a remix of “Honey Lungs”).

Also, cross your fingers we’re good to go in society in March because Said The Whale are playing THREE shows (and a bonus one if you attend all 3) and I cannot wait - details here.

• Christine

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“The Ostrich” by Bad Pop

Vancouver trio Bad Pop is gearing up for a new EP, and recently released a video for their second single, “The Ostrich”.

The song is described as “a love song from the gutter”, and the video features singer Chris Connelly strutting around Vancouver, visiting a few notable landmarks, wearing a full-on ostrich costume.

As a side note, I am pretty sure I’ve passed by Chris on the street a few times in my neighbourhood, and I am now disappointed it’s never been in a bird costume.

Have a watch below!

• Kirk

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“Robot Writes A Love Song” by PUP

PUP seems to be getting more and more meta, but does it matter when every song they release ends up being a banger?

The band announced a new album called THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHE BAND, written in the summer of 2021, and “Robot Writes A Love Song” is the seconds single to be released. The song was apparently written in 15 minutes in the back of lead singer Stefan Babcock’s car.
I’m curious if it was spurred on by the car radio, as one of the lines (that made me laugh very hard) is "Black Hole Sun, on 102.1 FM, I think I'm gonna self destruct if I ever hear that song again".

I cannot wait for this album to be released.

• Christine

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“Light of Dawn” by Riches

Riches continued their release of gorgeous singles last week, with the brand new song, “Light of Dawn”.

The intercontinental collaboration of Catherine McCandless and Wynn Holmes, welcomed the new year with a song that uses “the metaphor of a maypole dance to bring sunlight and celebration into the repetitive and insular routines of our pandemic lives.”

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: November 15 - 21, 2021

“Red Flags” by Blonde Diamond

One of my most anticipated albums for next year is the debut full length from Vancouver’s Blonde Diamond, and their latest single is just reinforcing that excitement. “Red Flags” features the band’s rich sounds and singer Alexis Young’s killer vocals, and was written to help break the silence that so many people feel about speaking up about abusive relationships.

Young says: "Post the breakup of a very long relationship and at a particularly vulnerable moment in my life, through a chance encounter I found myself in a relationship that was—on its surface—everything that I was looking for. "he romance, the infatuation, the lust. It was the type of affair that you only read about in books and see in films. However, the red flags had presented themselves from the get-go and I initially ignored them. I wanted to see the good in this person, and believe that I could be a strong and positive force in their life. When it finally got to the point that I allowed myself to accept that it was abusive and emotionally manipulative, I felt stupid and ashamed that I could be so naïve and easily coerced into such a spiral of entrapment and darkness. I wanted to write this song not just as a form of healing for my own experience, but also as a message to others that you CAN walk away. That you're not alone. And that it's easy to get swept up and lose perspective when you're in the eye of the storm."

• Kirk

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“Hang in Pieces” by Riches

In the wake of Young Galaxy, singer Catherine McCandless has been hard at work with her new project, Riches, a collaboration between her and choreographer Wynn Holmes. After releasing their debut album just over a year ago, they’re already teasing their next with the first single “Hang in Pieces”.

The ethereal, shoegaze-y song “articulates the altered, psychedelic, and beautiful web of intersecting ideas, senses, and feelings within the creative process.”

Hit play below, then close your eyes and float away.

• Kirk

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“Eclipse” by Raine Hamilton

The latest song from Raine Hamilton (no relation… as far as I know) came out at the perfect time. “Eclipse” was released on Friday, mere hours before the longest partial lunar eclipse in six centuries.

Timing aside, Raine’s delicate voiced dances beautifully with the violin, for a song that was written after she witnessed a full lunar eclipse in the mid winter, saying ”it was profound. The loss of the reassuring light of the moon is a lot to handle, especially when we are already in our darkest moments of the winter. I learned a lot by sitting with the dark through that experience. There was something about enduring, moving through, and accepting that darkness that made me more able to trust my own ability to endure, move through, and accept. That winter eclipse taught me that I can make it through my own darkness, too."

“Eclipse” is from Raine's upcoming album, Brave Land, which drops on January 21st of next year, and check out the cool shadow puppet video below!

• Kirk

Song of the Day: November 6, 2019 - "Spirit" by Riches

When Young Galaxy announced their hiatus last year, I was bummed out for a number of reasons, chief among them being where/how/if I would ever hear the impactful vocals of Catherine McCandless again.

Luckily, we didn’t have long to wait, as last month McCandless announced her new solo project, Riches.

The first single, “Spirit” is darker than what you may be used to from YG, and Catherine said about writing the song: “I had been feeling like my career as a recording musician was threatened and unsustainable, and stepping into our home studio to lay down the vocal felt like it had this fear still fresh in me. Beginning to really sing it made me feel like I could run it off, fly away from it, and be totally washed over by my love of singing – completely possessed.
I wanted to create an antidote to combat that feeling of being helplessly swept away by the tides of commercialism, among other things. I had to create the thing that would drive me to unfamiliar, challenging and exciting places.”

Take a look at the video below!