Songs of the Week: April 06 - 12, 2026
“aster” by cherry pick
Last week, cherry pick signed with Light Organ Records and celebrated by releasing the brand new single “aster”!
The new song is full of shoegaze-y, grungy vibes, with cherry pick sharing the song “captures the quiet unraveling of someone drifting away from who they once said they’d become. It’s rooted in that specific kind of grief—watching potential slowly fade, and not knowing how to reach them anymore.”
Check out the vibrant video — directed by Yang — below!
kirk
“What’s On Your Mind” (feat. Poolside) by Arkells
The new album from Arkells, Between Us, comes out at the end of this week and the Hamilton band is giving us one last preview while teaming up with Poolside.
“What’s On Your Mind” is a disco-infused earworm, as frontman Max Kerman notes: “We wanted a song that felt hypnotic—where the chords don’t move much, and the rhythm and melody do all the heavy lifting. It’s my favourite thing about seeing dance music live: how it can loop and loop and loop, and the longer it goes, the better it feels. We went deep into synth-world on this one.” He continues, “we toured with Poolside and saw the power of repetition. What restraint can offer to the crowd. The patience of building a song with the groove dictating everything. The song was just about finished when we asked Poolside to add some shine to it all. Our music has ended up in all kinds of places, and we hope this ends up on some dance floors.”
Between Us is out April 17th, and I hope you were lucky enough to snag tickets to their special run of intimate shows in Vancouver next month, May 7 - 9 at the Penthouse, Hollywood Theatre, and Commodore Ballroom (respectively)
Kirk
“Dopamine” by Pastel Blank
Every new song I hear from Pastel Blank makes me more and more excited for the new album.
“Dopamine” is the latest track from the musical project of Angus Watt (joined by ‘an ever-shifting cast of musicians and collaborators from Montréal, Vancouver, and Victoria’) and fair warning: it will instantly be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.
The first three singles off the album — this, “ Sweet Nic” and “Shareholder” — are the first three tracks on the album, and Watt explains they “act as siblings to each other. They’re all kind of circling around the same themes of addiction and control (or lack there of). A friend pointed out a guitar riff towards the end of 'Dopamine' is reminiscent of the 'Magic School Bus' theme song. If you find the riff, learn to play it, and send a video, I’ll give you a guest list to a show.”
Listen for yourself below, and keep an ear out for the album Unmade In Minutes when it’s out on April 24!
Kirk
