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

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“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

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“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

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“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

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“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

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“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

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“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

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Songs of the Week: June 01 - 07, 2026

“Angel So Bad” by True Mountain Laurel

True Mountain Laurel has finally released their first single!

If you’ve been following the new musical partnership of Sam Lynch and Haley Blais, they’ve played a few live shows (including one where they played their upcoming album in full) but now we have solid news with the first single, “Angel So Bad”.

The title track of the new album features their voices intertwining beautifully, backed by folk-y guitars, with Blais saying, “When we finished writing ‘Angel So Bad’, I could tell it was going to be the inspiration for the world of the project and the rest of the songwriting process. It’s tongue in cheek but earnest; it crosses its fingers while it tells the truth.”
With Lynch adding, “Although it wasn’t the first song we wrote together, ‘Angel So Bad’ felt like the true starting point of whatever this project was meant to be. The song started as a conversation about gossip, and slowly turned into a cheeky exploration about how exhausting it can feel to constantly try to be a perfectly good person all the time.”

The new album, Angel So Bad, drops on August 28th, and you can listen to the lead single below!

• Kirk

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“I Want You (To Break My Heart)” by Hawk And Steel

Victoria’s Halk And Steel are creeping closer to the release of their first album in a decade and a new single is out now.

Ain’t Never Movin’ On is set to drop on June 26th, but the second single “I Want You (To Break My Heart)” is out right now.
Their first single saw the addition of some friends on backing vocals, organ and saxophone, this one has the addition of Marc Jenkins on petal steel.

I’m excited to hear the whole collection of songs together when it’s released later this month.

• Christine

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“When You Catch Me” by Jets Overhead

Last year, Victoria’s Jets Overhead started an ‘archive campaign’ to celebrate the bands history, which included the release of a rarities and demos album, Ordinary Dreamers.

Lucky for us, while they were in the process of doing that, the band was inspired to get back into the studio and have released a brand new song, “When You Catch Me”, an incredibly catchy song with immaculate harmonies, that feels like classic Jets Overhead.

They’ve promised this was just the first new single, so keep your ears open for more to come.

• Kirk

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“Smiling” by Miesha and The Spanks

With their new EP on the horizon, Calgary duo Miesha and The Spanks has released their latest single “Smiling”.

Musically, the song is a banger that needs to be cranked, but fittingly that belies the deeper nature of the lyrics. Written as a way to work through some tough times, and having to put on a brave face, Miesha explains “For the last couple of years my mom has been fighting what's now stage 4 cancer. I've been putting on this face that everything's fine - mostly for my kids, but also just to stay sane. You wouldn't know she was sick to see her, because she's just so strong - and of course I know that's a loaded thing to say, because for all I know, she's just smiling through it as well.”

The EP VISIONS is out September 18th, and you can watch the video for “Smiling” below.

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: May 25 - 31, 2026

“love&worry” by Jasper Sloan Yip

It’s been five (long) years since we last heard from Jasper Sloan Yip. But last week the Vancouver songwriter released his latest single, “love&worry”

The new song sounds like classic Jasper, with an infectious chorus for the song inspired by being a new parent. Yip explains, “The arrival of our son caused life to compress and expand in completely different directions. The shape of our world changed and I had to find new ways of making it all fit. Four years in and I’m still struggling with that. Meanwhile, the maelstrom of the 2020s rages on in the background. This song exists somewhere in between these two extreme places. It’s about navigating this new season of life and the extreme weather that has defined it - joy, overwhelm, apprehension and revelation.”

No word of an upcoming yet, just a promise for more new music coming soon, so until then check out the lyric video!

• Kirk

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“Summer Rain” by Leeroy Stagger

This past Friday Leeroy Stagger’s latest album Pilgrimage was released into the world.
The album was co-produced with Joel Plaskett and you can hear him on tracks like “Highlands Leaving”, with Kendel Carson as well!

The last single to be released before the album dropped with “Summer Rain” - and of the track Stagger says: "Pulled over at some rest stop along the 401, feeling about as low as I could be. I’d been dodging hurricanes the whole tour, and it was hot as the devil’s bedroom. Everything felt wrong. I had to find out where I was headed. Sometimes you have to find out where you’ve been first. I hightailed it for the Laurentians with my tail between my legs. Thank God for old friends."

Leeroy has some tour dates released already including a stop at Rogue Folk Club here in Vancouver on September 26th, with more to be announced.

• Christine

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“ulysse” by Jean-Michel Blais

Last week, Montreal pianist and composer Jean-Michel Blais announced his latest album, and shared a brand new single.

“ulysse” is an absolutely gorgeous piano-driven song, with haunting vocals and swirling strings, building to a beautiful climax.

Listen for yourself below, and make sure to mark September 25th for the release of mirador, out on Arts & Crafts.

• Kirk

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“Hotel Swimming Pool” by Jia

On Friday, Jia released her debut album Technicolour, and shared a video for the latest single, the hazy & dreamy “Hotel Swimming Pool”.

Jia shared that the song “drifts like a solitary daydream on a hot summer afternoon—an escape into cool water to momentarily lift life’s quiet burdens.”

Watch the video below, and you can pick up Technicolour now from Light Organ Records.

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: May 18 - 24, 2026

“Back For Me” by Brandon Wolfe Scott

Yukon Blonde’s Brandon Wolfe Scott is back with a brand new solo single!

“Back For Me” is an upbeat and joyful song about breakups, with Scott explaining: “At its core, it's a breakup song, but not a sad one. It’s about going through the motions of moving on while quietly choosing hope. I never wanted it to feel heavy. Even in the ache, there can be momentum and positivity.”

The new tune was produced by MOONRIIVR and comes with a very Monty Python’s Flying Circus-inspired video, created in collaboration with Scott’s partner Sierra Zimmerman. Check it out below!

• Kirk

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"Cold April" (ft. Denitia & Kara Jackson) by Allison Russell

This new track by Allison Russell slipped by me recently, but on this rainy spring day, I felt like I needed it’s upbeat vibes.

Grammy Award winner Russell is back with their third studio album, In The Hour Of Chaos, due out July 10th. It features a huge list of guests including names like Norah Jones, and from today’s track her tourmate Kara Jackson, Denitia and Russell’s daughter Ida’s Explore! Pop Choir.

Of “Cold April” Russell says: “things are rough. Things have been rough before.  Cold April is not laying out the grim facts of the moment.  Cold April asks if we can let the music itself restore and recharge us. The act of singing with my sisters, Kara Jackson and Denitia, is a balm for my soul, and a wind at my back to keep on.”

• Christine

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“Blue Wave” by sundayclub

Winnipeg due sundayclub are sharing the second single off their upcoming, self titled debut full length album with “Blue Wave”.

The fuzzy, anthemic new song is named after Courtney Carmichael’s first car, a 2009 blue Pontiac Wave, and the memories shared with bandmate Nikki St. Pierre. Carmichael elaborates, “This song reminisces on the early days of a relationship in the midst of inner turmoil and uncertainty over what the future might hold. It’s about wanting to be a different, better, and more evolved version of yourself despite not being there yet, and seeking escapism in the past as a way to find solace. I felt impossibly restless at the time of writing the song and was just generally tired: tired of feeling like I wasn't progressing, tired of being patient with the record we were making, tired of feeling vulnerable and overlooked. By looking back into the past, I could escape into a feeling of wistfulness to distract myself from how frustrated I was in the present.”

It also comes with a new video, directed by Qran Zhu, which is the second part of a trilogy that started in their first single, “Camera Shy”! Check it out below, and mark July 10th for the release of SUNDAYCLUB.

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: May 11 - 17, 2026

“Hasn’t It Always” by Spencer Krug

I’m not quite sure how a new album from Spencer Krug snuck up on me, but this past Friday, the Wolf Parade (and Sunset Rubdown, and Moonface, and…) singer released his latest solo LP, Same Fangs.

And along with the album, Krug dropped a video for “Hasn’t It Always”, a lush song driven by his distinct vocals, as he explained: “The Patreon version of this song—the original version—uses piano, synth, bass, and drum machine. It’s a kind of downtempo, easy-listening number. I hadn’t yet met or worked with Maria Grigoryeva, the string arranger/performer for this album. I sent her the Patreon version of this song and asked her to replicate the bass part with her cello and the synth parts with high strings. She added her own (better) decisions, flair, talent, etc. and sent me back a demo of the chamber pop song this song was to become. I knew upon first hearing it that Maria’s contributions to the songs she plays on were going to be transformative in the exact way I was hoping. Lyrically, “Hasn’t It Always” is about reconciling past dreams with present realities; the bittersweetness, and ultimate peace, of accepting one’s own middle-age and penchant for quiet life while working in an industry, or even living in a world, that celebrates youth and volume.”

Check out the video below, and you can pick up Same Fangs now, on Spencer’s own label Pronounced Kroog.

• Kirk

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“Dreams On TV” by Hawk And Steel

For the first time in over a decade, Victoria’s Hawk And Steel is releasing new music!

Ain’t Never Movin’ On is set to be released on June 26th and the first single “Dreams On TV” is out now (including the music video below).

The twangy and dreamy track features guest vocals by Charlotte McGee, Hugh Mackie on organ and Andrew Greenwood on the saxophone (I particularly love the quick little sax solo to cap off the song).

I’ve been lucky enough to hear more of the album, and can’t wait to share more music as it is released!

• Christine

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“Wait” by Thunder Queens

Teen rock trio Thunder Queens are back with a brand new single, “Wait”, recorded with award winning producer Dave Schiffman (who’s worked with the likes of PUP, Charli xcx, and Olivia Rodrigo).

The new song is catchy & high energy, as singer/drummer Lola Good shares it’s “about needing a minute before you make a decision or a path for the future as young people. Things you can't take back, that might change your life. It's about that moment when it feels like everyone wants you to just decide but you're still trying to process things and figure out what's actually the right choice for you. We think 'Wait' is a good reminder that pausing can be strong too.”

Have a listen below, and fingers crossed for more from the group soon!

• Kirk

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“Celestial” by Gizmo

Charlottetown’s Gizmo returned last week with “Celestial”, the first new single since their debut EP Buddy System.

Channeling the East Coast of Canada from the 90s, the new song is a power-pop jam, with bassist Spencer Swaine elaborating, “I remember I was at the Charlottetown Farmers’ Market when Julien (Kitson) sent me a voice memo of the opening riff to what became ‘Celestial’. He wrote it on Halloween night and sent it to me, half-jokingly mumbling French because it sounded like Stereolab. This was in 2022. The final product ended up being a turning point for bringing new influences into the band and was the start of a new chapter for us.”

Check it out below!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: May 04 - 10, 2026

“Only The Good I Keep” by Broken Social Scene

On Friday, Broken Social Scene released their latest album Remember The Humans, as well as a brand new video for “Only The Good I Keep”.

The hypnotizing song features Hannah Georgas taking over lead vocals, and came together in a collaborative process, with Hannah explaining: “As for the earlier process of the song I was involved in, Kevin invited me to hang out at the studio with him and Dave Neufeld one afternoon and listen to some demos they’d been working on. He sent me home with a few of the tracks we heard that day, and one in particular really stuck with me. It had this simple but captivating drum and piano part. I started writing lyrics and melodies over it. I wanted to write about what my teenage years felt like… what it sounded like, what it looked like, what it felt like. It kinda became a reflection on the hardships I faced growing up, as well as the things that helped me make it through adolescence.”

You can pick up Remember The Humans now, and catch Broken Social Scene on tour with Metric & Stars, or playing the Fifa Fan Fest in Vancouver on June 26th!

• Kirk

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“Basket Weaving” by Status/Non-Status

After releasing their new album Big Changes earlier this year, Status/Non-Status has just released a new video for their track “Basket Weaving”.

The song has a collaboration with Odawa poet and artist Colleen (Coco) Collins, and the video features art by Shaela Kinting.
Of the song, the band says: “Together we explore the ancestral experience of reconnection. In this instance, to a specific teaching and blood memory; that of the traditional basket weaving process - imagining ourselves on the river bed watching our Ancestors wade into the river to select the right piece of Ash to weave. Here, we question how far we have come as a society and look back in yearning and learning - as we also re-imagine our people gliding through history in Wiigwaas Jimnaan - (Anishinaabe word for Birchbark Canoe).”

• Christine

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“Stay Stuck” by Cancer Bats

Coming off their latest tour for their Birthing the Giant 20th Anniversary, Ontario’s Cancer Bats have announced that their 8th album, Give Me Dirt, will be released on August 7th.

“Inspired by a year of travel, Give Me Dirt unfolds as both an outward and inward journey, grounded in a deep connection to nature. The songs explore leaving urban life behind, processing personal loss, and confronting environmental devastation, while also reflecting on lessons drawn from the natural world. 
Motorcycle travel forms another central thread on Give Me Dirt. From riding through the harsh conditions of the Canadian Rockies to a transformative journey in the mountains of Nepal just before recording, these experiences shaped the album’s perspective.”

Of the first single “Stay Stuck” lead singer Liam Cormier says: “The lyrics explore the idea that, at any age or moment in life, we all reach a point where we realize something has to change. Maybe it’s the path we’re on, or just the way we see things, but there’s that instant where we say to ourselves, I’M NOT WASTING ANY MORE TIME!”
It’s an infectious and catchy track that I can already picture crowds shouting the words back at them.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: April 27 - May 03, 2026

“Fill in the Blanks” by Joel Plaskett Emergency

Joel Plaskett Emergency are celebrating twenty years(!) of their current lineup by releasing their first new music since 2021.

The trio of Plaskett, Dave Marsh, and Chris Pennell are going to “Fill in the Blanks” with a new tune that is classic JPE, with catchy hooks & clever lyrics. Or as Joel describes it: “I was imagining April Wine jamming with Steve Miller but then Dave and Chris took it to Portland Street like they always do.”

The song is available now as a limited 7” vinyl single, which also includes the original, “low def” cassette version of the song on the b-side (which will be available to stream at the end of the month).

Hopefully we’ll be hearing more from the Emergency soon, but in the meantime, Fill in the Blanks by checking out the video below!

• Kirk

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“How I Know I’m Home” by Nixon Boyd

The release of the solo debut from Hollerado’s Nixon Boyd, titled Every Time We Turn A Corner, has been announced for July 3rd!

The album has been a long time coming as when it was first nearing completion, it was stolen from Nixon’s car, and it took him over a year to recreate it all.

Of the latest track “How I Know I’m Home” he says: “I know the topic might be a bit cheesy but I was an army brat growing up and was always moving around, so I spent a lot of time figuring out what home actually means."

Check it out below and you can pre-order the album by clicking here.

• Christine

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“FLUKE” by CJ Wiley

CJ Wiley is back with the first new single since their debut album So Brand New.

Co-written with Charlie Houston, “FLUKE” is a gritty yet catchy look at modern dating, or more specifically, “a deep dive into a modern romantic life that brings endless swiping, dead-end texts, and dates that fizzle before they even start. The loneliness of putting yourself out there over and over, wondering if it’s worth it. And then, out of nowhere, a total fluke: meeting someone on a whim and actually clicking. That rare moment that makes all the bullshit feel like it meant something.”

No word on a new album, but you can check out the video below!

• Kirk

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“Force of Habit” by MOONRIIVR

Extremely excited that Toronto’s MOONRIIVR are back with their first music of 2026!

Following up last year’s track “You Get Me By”, “Force of Habit” is a toe-tapping rock song that builds into a cacophonous ending. The song, as the band say, is “about letting go of the past and searching for a new way forward”.

It’s a completely different vibe from the previous release, but that gets me pumped to hear the direction of the album as a whole. Hopefully the next track will come soon!

• Christine