Songs of the Week: July 27 - August 02, 2026

“Winning Is For Losers” by Francis Baptiste

East Vancouver Indigenous singer-songwriter Francis Baptiste is back with a brand new song, teasing an upcoming album.

“Winning Is For Losers” is a grungy anthem pulled from Baptiste’s experiences as “a washed-up, divorced, recovering alcoholic and drug addict trying to balance being a single father and being a middle-aged musician, living under the poverty line in East Vancouver.”

The song is the first single off his upcoming album, Talk To Me So I Don’t Forget, half of which is written in Nsyilxcen, an endangered language spoken by the Syilx people. There are fewer than a hundred fluent speakers, as a direct result of the Residential Schools system, and writing music in Nsyilxcen is Francis’ way of learning the language and passing it onto his son.

Check out the live performance video below, and keep an ear out for the new album out early next year.

• Kirk

---

“Smooth Sailing” by Combine The Victorious

This song is perfect timing for me as I’m heading out camping today and needed some new music!
Vancouver’s Combine The Victorious has put out a new track with major summer vibes.
Singer Isabelle Dunlop says “the sentiment of the song came from me going on a trip to reunite with old friends. I was only gone for a week and had an amazing time but I was super excited to see the airport doors slide open and [fellow band member] Mark was there on the other side. We kind of elevate when we see each other, not bad for 26 years  of marriage August 11th!”

The band will be performing an early show at Guilt and Co on August 8th if you want to check them out live!

• Christine

---

“I'm Falling Up” by CG Tears

CG Tears is the new collaboration between Clinton St. John (of The Cape May, Pale Air Singers, Florida BC), producer & multi-instrumentalist Morgan Greenwood (of Baths), and Chad VanGaalen (of… Chad VanGaalen).

Last month, they announced their debut, self-titled album and now they’re teasing a second single, “I’m Falling Up”. The glitchy synth drives the frenetic song, with the band cryptically stating, “there is a person here, and they are falling. It’s uncertain if they are falling up or down, but they are definitely changing form as this is happening.”

You can grab their self-titled debut on September 11th, and watch the video for “I'm Falling Up” below!

• Kirk

---

“Expensive Taste” by MEEK

Back in February I shared MEEK’s song “Fabulous” and said she’s one to look out for in 2026. Well, I should have taken a screenshot of the view count on the video because it’s at 2.3 million right now and 12.7 million listens on Spotify!

So I was super pleased to see another single land in my inbox, this one titled “Expensive Taste”.
As the song implies, it’s about the world of seeing opulence but not being able to afford it - “I’m just a broke ass bitch with expensive taste”.

MEEK is about to head on a US tour with Kesha and Chromeo. Major jealousy vibes of anyone attending those shows and hopefully she comes to Canada in the near future.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: July 20 - 26, 2026

“Deep Below” by Thunder Queens

Toronto teen trio Thunder Queens recently announced a brand new album, and dropped the rockin’ title track, “Deep Below”.

The new single starts as a slow burn before finishing off with a burst of energy, as singer/guitarist Violet Bruneel says it’s “a musically challenging piece for all of us, but it’s our true epic ballad.”
Clara Magnan (bass) says the song “was written to show others that they’re not alone, and that even though we all have our own unique paths, we're connected through vulnerability.” With drummer/vocalist Lola Good adding “The song is about realizing something is changing, and how letting go can feel impossible until you finally understand that holding on is hurting you too”.

You can grab Deep Below when it’s out on September 24 via Victory Pool Records, and watch the video for the title track below!

• Kirk

---

“everstranger” by Jasper Sloan Yip

Jasper Sloan Yip is officially back with new music, releasing “everstranger” this past week!

Since Jasper’s last album release in 2021, he’s started a family, and it seems that this has influenced the new work. Check out what he has to say about the new song:
“Do you remember being a kid, carried in from the car after a long evening drive, half awake or feigning sleep? The car stops, parents whisper, doors open, your seatbelt is quietly unfastened, etc etc. I do, but it’s the kind of memory that isn’t actually a memory anymore. It happened so many times, each instance collapses into a single thing you just feel rather than remember.

I’ve probably carried my sleeping son in from the car at least once a week for the past two hundred and fifty six weeks, and it is, every time, the best part of my day. No matter what difficulty or frustration I may be carrying from the preceding hours, that brief walk from the car to his bed always makes it right. ‘everstranger’ is about losing the plot and finding your way back. We often suffer alone, needlessly, caught up in a things that don’t or won’t matter. I certainly do, but I’m really working on it (grinning-face-with-sweat emoji). ‘everstranger’ shares that experience, and it helps me remember what’s actually important when I need it most.”

The press release says to “keep your ear to the ground for more new music” and I can’t wait to do just that.

• Christine

---

“Executionary” by Shiv and the Carvers

Shiv and the Carvers have returned with the brand new single, “Executionary”.

The anthemic song sees the band facing an anxiety spiral, as Shiv shares, “The terror and shame that I feel over imagining the worst case scenario is the real punishment. Worrying only causes more suffering before the actual outcome occurs. I know this, but I love to punish myself before the world does.”

No word on a new album from the Toronto group, but you can check out the lo-fi, ‘90s DIY vibes of the video for “Executionary” below!

• Kirk

---

“East of The Sun” by The Deep Dark Woods

Ontario by way of Saskatchewan band The Deep Dark Woods have released a cover just ahead of their Canadian/European tour (no Vancouver date on this one).

The song “East of The Sun” is by English folk artist Roy Harper and is, as TDDW lead singer Ryan Boldt calls him, “one of the most underrated songwriters of the 1960s”.
“He straddled the line between traditional folk and psychedelic rock. Much like Nick Drake, his music was difficult to categorize, which I believe negatively affected his career. It takes the music industry sometimes decades to catch up to what true artists are creating. His songs will be sung through the centuries ahead.”

The cover seems like it could fit seamlessly in to the band’s catalogue, including their latest album The Circle Remains.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: July 13 - 19, 2026

“backporch” by CJ Wiley

Last week, CJ Wiley announced a brand new EP, and dropped the first single with “backporch”.

The new song is a slow-burn that Wiley explains is “about asking your partner to forget the world and just slow things down for a moment with you.”

They also go into detail on the EP itself, saying it “reflects the lifecycle of a relationship and the idea that no matter how many times love kicks our ass, we always go back for more. Like some beautiful masochistic ritual we can't get enough of. Every love is different. Hits different, hurts different. I'm a very romantic writer and honestly useless without a muse. I wanted to capture what that feels like.”

You can pick up the new EP, Just Can’t Quit, on September 9th, and listen to “backporch” below!

• Kirk

---

“Holy Hell” by True Mountain Laurel

As we inch closer to the release of the debut album from True Mountain Laurel, we’re getting another tease with the latest single “Holy Hell”, a bluegrass-infused jam floated by their incredible voices intertwining.

The pairing of Haley Blais and Sam Lynch explain that the song “had to go through a bit of a metamorphosis in its initial stages before we realized we needed to stop lying to ourselves and just make a bluegrass song. At the heart of TML there’s a love of country music, and this is our homage to a genre we’ve admired for so long.”

You can listen to the song at the link above or right here, and check out the gorgeous sunset video of the duo performing the song! You can also catch them on tour across the country in the coming months, including a stop a the Pleasant Day Festival here in Vancouver on August 8th.

• Kirk

---

“Lazarus” David Bowie Cover by Kandle

I love a good cover and I love me some David Bowie - so when this cover of “Lazarus” swept through my inbox, I got very excited.

Kandle says: “It's an incredible honour to finally share our version of Lazarus by David Bowie.
His final album has always been my favourite, which says a lot considering everything he ever gave the world was gold.
We played this song every night throughout last year's tours, and somehow it never meant the same thing twice. It grew with us, it always felt powerful and deep, thrilling and haunting.”

What a nice summer treat!

• Christine

---

“The Moon The Bed” (Instrumental) by LARKK

I already loved the elegance of the album Danielle McTaggart (Dear Rouge) put together for her side project LARKK and now we are going to get a full instrumental version of Cinders.

Of the release, Danielle shares: “Larkk began as a collaboration between myself and the piano, composing instrumental pieces that eventually grew to include my voice. I am thrilled to share these songs in their original, instrumental form—returning them to exactly where they started.”

I fully plan to put this on one rainy evening and fall asleep to the beautiful tracks.

• Christine

---

“If It’s On” by Clever Hopes

Dartmouth songwriter Andrew Shaver leads an interesting life; by night he’s releasing music as Clever Hopes, but by day he’s known as Drewfus, a therapeutic clown at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, NS where he supports children and their families “through some of life's most difficult moments.”

This work has influenced his new album Even Gooder Than Tomorrow, which he recently announced with the lead single “If It's On”.

The song featured a stacked backing band that includes Daniel Ledwell and Afie Jurvanen, and Shaver says “This song started with the idea of spotting an old love in the background of somebody else’s photo, already living a life I no longer belonged to. It follows the questions that come rushing back as the lights start to fade, and wonders how long we let the past keep casting a shadow over the present.”

Even Gooder Than Tomorrow is out on September 18th, and you can check out “If It’s On” now!

• Kirk

---

“What A Time” by Strange Plants

The new song from Strange Plants may be the catchiest song about the state of the world that I’ve heard in a while.

“What A Time” is a catchy, upbeat track that belies the darker, cutting social commentary in the lyrics, with songwriter Matt Brannon explaining the irony of the title, saying “It’s slightly sarcastic. The verses aren’t describing a world that’s super great right now, so the chorus becomes this tongue-in-cheek ‘what a time to be alive.’”

Check out the video below!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: July 06 - 12, 2026

“Corydon Ave (To Meet You)” by sundayclub

Winnipeg’s sundayclub have just released their debut album SUNDAYCLUB and after hearing the previous singles (especially “Sad Summer”) I’m excited to take the whole album for a spin.

At the same time they’ve shared a new track from the record titled “Corydon Ave (To Meet You)” as well as a music video. The inspo for the song came from band member Courtney Carmichael spending time in fellow band member Nikki St. Pierre’s neighbourhood:
“Winnipeg’s Corydon neighbourhood, a culturally diverse nook in the city where Nikki spent his childhood. We’d often explore the area together, and along with being struck with the beauty of it, I became impossibly and unexpectedly struck by a new acquaintance who also happened to be from the area. Realizing the intense feelings and infatuation that quickly developed, the song took a deeply personal turn. It became an opportunity to create this world in which the two of us could be together, despite it being so fragile in reality. I was starting to explore my sexuality around this time and so there were also a lot of confusing, guilt-ridden feelings that came with it as well.”

The band has announced a few shows in Calgary, Quebec and Ontario, but alas, no Vancouver date yet.

• Christine

---

“Right Now (Bouquet Version)” by Basia Bulat

Last week, Basia Bulat announced a new companion piece to her latest album with Bouquet.

The new EP is a handful of songs off Basia’s Palace reworked as delicate, acoustic versions featuring just vocals, guitar, and autoharp, with the first song being a new version of “Right Now”.

Basia says, “I always picture a child handing me a bouquet when I hear the first chords of this recording, a hand-tied bunch of wildflowers they picked walking on their way to the park. All the thought, care and excitement of making a gift from nature, finding something new in bloom, a flurry of dandelions and sticks and violets so perfectly imperfect, so it felt like it had to be the first song of the EP.”

Listen to the gorgeous “Right Now (Bouquet Version)” below, and keep an ear out for the full EP when it’s out on August 28th. AND make sure to catch Basia on tour, including a stop here in Burnaby at the Shadbolt Centre For The Arts on September 20th!

• Kirk

---

“copycat” by Ada Lea

It hasn’t even been a year since Montreal’s Ada Lea released her last album, when i paint my masterpiece, but already we’re getting the first song off a brand new EP with “copycat”.

The single is guaranteed to get stuck in your head with its dance-y beat, as it reflects on friendship, comparison, and proximity. She explains, “In 2020, I’d just finished reading The Neapolitan Quartet. Lila and Lenu’s relationship felt like some of the close and maybe slightly unhealthy friendships in my life at the time. In the case of the quartet, Lenu is defined by Lila, her Brilliant Friend. Lenu is preoccupied by what Lila is doing, thinking… whom she’s loving. Lenu mythologises her, and in so doing diminishes herself and her work. Through the four books we come to feel that Lila is truly special and Lenu is just orbiting her. Everything seems a result of some proximity to Lila. Lila was always the source, never Lenu alone. But toward the end of the quartet, there’s a shift in Lenu as she reflects back on her life with Lila. So I wrote ‘copycat’ about that moment.”

Alexandra Levy also says for the new EP, she “wanted to combine songs that were cut from when i paint my masterpiece, as well as the ones I’d recorded a million years ago when I was just a child.”

You can watch the video for “copycat” below, and pick up the new EP, the end is a wave, when it’s out on August 12th!

• Kirk

---

Songs of the Week: June 29 - July 05, 2026

“Love Is A Shadow” (feat. Dear Rouge) by Blonde Diamond

What’s better than new music from Blonde Diamond? How about new music from Blonde Diamond featuring Dear Rouge! “Love is a Shadow” is the title track from the Vancouver band’s upcoming EP, and the incredibly catchy jam features guest vocals from Danielle McTaggart!

Singer Alexis Young says the upcoming EP is “an exploration of what it means to keep going. Spanning cynical joy, queer heartbreak, supernatural desperation, and hard-won sobriety, it probes my messy and nonlinear work of growing into a new chapter of adulthood. And while it’s not necessarily a beautifully choreographed arrival, it’s still a celebration of the series of life moments that brought me kicking and screaming to this next phase of life.”

You can check out the video for the song — featuring Danielle and Alexis and directed by Brandon William Fletcher — and pick up the new EP Love Is A Shadow on September 18!

• Kirk

---

“Blindfolded” by Nixon Boyd

Nixon Boyd’s debut solo album Every Time We Turn A Corner was released last week and I’ve already spun it so many times!

I think I said after some of the previous single releases that the vibe for me is very Andy Shauf meets Coconut Records and it still rings true. It’s an excellent summer record and I can’t wait to have it in my headphones while I’m lying on a beach.

The latest song “Blindfolded” comes with a must-watch video (the mustard though!) that was directed by his wife Anne Douris, who also did the artwork for the album and singles.

• Christine

---

“Whole Lotta Talkin” by Lisa LeBlanc

What’s better than a new video from Lisa LeBlanc? How about a new video from Lisa LeBlanc featuring puppets!!

“Whole Lotta Talkin” is an incredibly upbeat and catchy rock song that will instantly get stuck in your head, and the accompanying video follows Lisa and her dysfunctional puppet band. Director Alexandre Pelletier explains: “I wanted to tell this funny, absurd story with the utmost seriousness, as if we were watching an ultra-dramatic musical biopic.”

No word on a new album from LeBlanc, but I will definitely be keeping my ears out for more!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: June 22 - 28, 2026

“Cherry Pit” by Alexandria Maillot

Alexandria Maillot is back with a their first new music in six years(!) sharing the brand new single, “Cherry Pit”.

The song features Maillot’s dreamy voice over a synthy beat, and on their instagram Alexandria shared some heartfelt words, saying: “Being diagnosed with cancer in my twenties, just as pandemic measures were easing, meant entering into a type of prolonged quarantine that I wasn’t sure I would ever find my way out of. I have held onto this song like a comfort blanket; Hooked up to a chemo bag, nauseous and weak, the thought of music became a daydream I’d swim in over and over, poison turned to fuel.
Cherry Pit is a song. It is also a new chapter, and I am so grateful you are here to share in the turning of the page with.”

“Cherry Pit” is the first song off their upcoming album, Cryptomnesia, so keep an ear out for more!

• Kirk

---

“Concrete” by PUP

Right on the heels of PUP’s latest album Who Will Look After the Dogs? getting the Polaris Music Prize Long List nod (and the track “Hunger For Death” nabbing a spot on the SOCAN Polaris Song List) the band has released an awesome new video for the track “Concrete”.

The video is “an entirely handmade, analog stop-motion video which features 2,300 frames of animation by artists, with every frame a different page from a magazine” which took almost a year to make and gives big “UnAmerican” by Said The Whale vibes.

Apparently touring hasn’t seen the band kill each other yet (IYKYK) and they’re on the summer festival circuit right now in UK and returning to North America for late summer and early fall.

• Christine

---

“Cinnamon Heart” by King of Foxes

Edmonton’s King of Foxes recently announced their fifth studio album, and dropped a video for the new song “Cinnamon Heart”.

Produced by notable names Howard Redekopp and Erik Nielsen, the new song is bouncy & catchy, with songwriter Olivia Street explaining, “This is a song about desire: wanting everything, and not really knowing what to do with it once you get it. Remember those candygrams we used to send each other back in school? Sweet, spicy, irreverent… Everything felt heightened back then, and the song taps into that same energy: wanting too much, needing attention, chasing a feeling.”

You can pick up the fantastically named album, Someday You’ll See Yourself as Others Surely Do, A Thing to Leave Behind, on September 29th, and check out the video for “Cinnamon Heart” below!

• Kirk

---

Songs of the Week: June 15 - 21, 2026

“You Can't See Me (This Low)” by ZOON

This past Friday, ZOON (Zoongide’ewin) released their latest album HAPPY THOUGHT SCHOOL, and celebrated with a new video for “You Can't See Me (This Low)”

The new track is a catchy, lo-fi pop jam about “relapse and despair, tracking Zoon's lived experience with heartbreak, loss and recovery”.

The album is named after a school Zoon went to where he experienced racism as one of the only Native students, as he recalls: “As I got older, I realized how damaging that experience at Happy Thought School really was, especially because the name itself felt so contradictory to what I lived through there. I carried a lot of mental pain from that time and turned to substances to cope with those memories. Then, when I got a 24-track recorder, I started recording those emotions instead of burying them. At first it was hard to write about that school, but as I got older and became more confident in songwriting, it became easier to finally put those experiences into words. A lot of HAPPY THOUGHT SCHOOL came from confronting that pain directly and turning it into something honest.”

You can listen to the album now, out everywhere, and check out the video for “You Can't See Me (This Low)” below.

• Kirk

---

“Homegrown” by Mimi O'Bonsawin

This track is perfect for me this week because I’m currently home in Ontario visiting family - though the video is making me long for camping in Algonquin Park!

Mimi O’Bonsawin has released “Homegrown”, a new single from the recently announced album Evoke which comes out August 28th. Hopefully it continues with the summer vibes that this track has - I picture this playing at your next outdoor hang!

O’Bonsawin says: “this song comes from such a real place inside my heart. This is the kind of music I listen to, this is the style of music that feels like home to me. Instead of fighting the urge to fit in, we just let loose on this one. It’s my favourite way to close a concert or stir up a dance party at a festival.”

• Christine

---

“Sad Summer” by sundayclub

Now to switch vibes, here’s “Sad Summer” by Winnipeg duo sundayclub.

The shoegazey song (which will appear on their self-titled album on July 10th) “is an outpouring of youthful malaise–a candid nod to the complexities, expectations, and emotional exhaustion of young adulthood, mixed with [singer] Courtney expressing the dread she felt around the unknowns of the pandemic”.

Now this one I’m picturing you listening to it on a hazy beach day with a cold drink. Excited to hear the full album when it’s out!

• Christine

---

“Calling All Angels” ft. Martha Wainwright by Amy Millan

Two Canadian vocal powerhouses have teamed up for a classic cover, as Amy Millan joined with the legendary Martha Wainwright on “Calling All Angels”, originally by Jane Siberry and k.d. lang.

The two incredible singers recently wrapped up a short tour together, and decided to team up for the cover, with Amy explaining, “When I moved to Montreal as a young student with my first guitar, being in the orbit of the loft parties and folk houses is where I first heard Martha and her distinct, powerful and now iconic voice. Grateful to call her a dear friend, I always wanted to find a way for us to sing together. This Canadian gem of a song by the great Jane Siberry (originally sung with k.d lang) was the perfect beginning for us to get this gentle chance to convene with angels.”

Listen below to hear their voiced intertwine beautifully!

• Kirk

---

“Accidental Tattoo” by case/lang/veirs

And speaking of k.d. lang, it was a decade ago when she teamed up with Neko Case and Laura Veirs to form the appropriately named case/lang/veirs,

Now they celebrate the 10th anniversary of their self-titled album with a deluxe vinyl that not only includes a dozen live tracks from their tour, where they played each others songs, but also the brand new, unreleased “Accidental Tattoo”.

lang explains, ““Accidental Tattoo” is a song that came from a sudden creative spark that happened between all 3 of us a couple of years ago. Neko wrote the lyrics, Laura and I organized Neko’s poetry, adding arrangements and intertwining it with melodies and music. And then I worked closely with Larry Goldings on the actual production to fasten all of it into the song you hear now.”
With Veirs adding, “So much in the world has changed since this album first came out in 2016, but when I listen back, these songs still hold up to my ears. I’m proud of what we made together and am thankful for the opportunity to have been part of it. The experience challenged me, taught me a great deal, and ultimately helped shape the artist I am today.”

The album is out on September 4th, but you can hear the new tune now!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: June 08 - 14, 2026

“Out Of The Weeds” by Basset

Toronto-based folk duo Basset, made up of singers Yasmine Shelton and Sam Clark, are gearing up to release their new album, but shared a new single “Out Of The Weeds” on Friday June 12th.

The band chose June 12th (aka Loving Day) because “it is the anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling Loving v. Virginia, which struck down America’s last laws against interracial marriages. We want to honour all the people who struggled to create a world where a marriage like ours is embraced.”
The track “reflects both the kindness of strangers the duo have encountered during years of touring and travel, and the kind of love that makes you want to drop everything, take someone's hand, and chase adventures together around the world. At its heart, the song is a celebration of connection, community, and the spirit of Loving Day.”

It’s a very sweet song with a cute tour video to boot, and I can’t wait to hear more from the duo!

• Christine

---

“Secret Handshake” by Taxi Girls

Montreal’s Taxi Girls recently gave us a second look at their upcoming album with the single “Secret Handshake”.

The new song shows off a more vulnerable side of the band — about wanting a summer fling to last just a little bit longer — but it’s no less energetic (or catchy) as their first single “Say It!”

Check out the video below, and pick up the new album Static when it’s out later this month, on June 26.

• Kirk

---

“Feel Something” by Ché Aimee Dorval

Vancouver’s Ché Aimee Dorval has released the third single from her upcoming EP (due out in September).
“Feel Something” is a dreamy and catchy, but deals with complex emotions about balancing life.
“‘Feel Something’ was written about the way isolation and emotional numbness can slowly start disguising themselves as comfort or safety,” says Dorval. “It’s about shutting the world out, sleeping too much, dissociating, avoiding difficult feelings, and staying hidden away long enough that it starts to feel easier than actually engaging with life.
It can be both protective and destructive at the same time, constantly pulling things further inward, dimming the light a little more, keeping someone small, disconnected, and comfortably stuck. A lot of the song came from exploring that strange place where avoidance, depression, comfort, and dependency all start bleeding into each other.”

With the singles released so far, I’m really excited to see how the new album comes together as a whole!

• Christine

---