Songs of the Week: November 27 - December 03, 2023

“Fixing The Again” by Kevin Drew

I’ve really enjoyed Kevin Drew’s latest album Aging, as it’s given me lots of early BSS nostalgia.

The latest video for the single “Fixing The Again”, is made up of “footage partially shot and directed by Drew, the video intercuts flashing vignettes of everyday life with brief scenes made up of a variety of characters. The video is bittersweet and reflective, capturing the true essence of the human experience.”

Drew also announced a run of solo, intimate shows in January, and while there’s no Vancouver date yet, we can cross our fingers we’ll get added to the run.

• Christine

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“Hollowed Out” by Ducks Ltd.

Toronto duo Ducks Ltd. have just announced their latest album, Harm’s Way, and given us a taste of what’s to come with a jangly new single, “Hollowed Out”.

Singer Tom McGreevy says: “There was a sinkhole that opened up on Dundas West a little while ago, in an area near to where I live. It shut down the road for a month. It had a strange resonance, partly because a lot of the streets in Toronto used to be rivers and streams running down to the lake that roads were then built over. It felt like an encroachment of nature into an urban environment–the river coming back to collapse a piece of civic infrastructure, and I built the song around the feeling that evoked.”

Harm's Way drops early next year, on February 9th via Royal Mountain Records!

• Kirk

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“Make You Understand” by Chin Injeti ft. daysormay

This song slipped under my radar for a bit, but I’m glad I spotted it in my inbox!

What started as a chorus on TikTok by Chin Injeti, was then sampled by daysormay, and then finally turned into a new song from the artists.

I love when a collaboration is something organic and natural, and that’s exactly what this tune, “Make You Understand”, ended up being!

• Christine

Songs of the Week: November 20 - 26, 2023

“All My People (Elsewhere Version)” by Dan Mangan

Dan Mangan may have released his latest album Being Somewhere a little over a year ago, but he’s not done with it yet.

Over the last few months, he’s been releasing reimagined songs from the album, and the latest is the “Elsewhere Version” of “All My People”. The new rendition turns the song into a dreamy, hypnotic, acoustic-guitar driven tune, which highlights the songs already melancholic feel.

Dan says of the song, “I didn’t start with any particular plan. I just started deconstructing the song and exploring where else it might like to be constructed. I wrote this song in the depths of lockdown, wandering around my home, annoying my kids,” he continues. “It took forever to get the chords right. The lyrics right. I wrote several different choruses and bridges. Before it was even a real thing, it had lived several lives. My 40th birthday was looming in the distance. I pictured a party. This same home, full of people laughing. I pictured a huge pileup of shoes by the front door. Coats laid on the bed. It was one weird dream away.”

Check out the lyric video below, and make sure you’re at the Vogue on December 9th to see Dan live!

• Kirk

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“I Give Up” by The Royal Foundry

This one skipped by me, but the title is appropriate for the week I’m having right now (waiting for BCAA to come jump start my car).

That said “I Give Up” by The Royal Foundry was inspired by the house fire that left the duo without a home! Of it Jared says it “is about giving into the harsh reality of life so that you can become the best version possible of yourself. To stop fighting the inevitable desires to be something/someone else and to give in to your natural draw to be yourself.”

Taking this inspiration with my the rest of my day.

• Christine

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Songs of the Week: November 13 - 19, 2023

“St. Paul’s” by Kandle

With her new album coming out next spring, Kandle has released her second single, “St. Paul’s”.

The song is a dark and hynotic tune, with Kandle explaining: “I feel that the importance of making “dark” music lies in its relatability. Throughout my life I’ve connected with the words and melodies of artists like Nick Cave, Courtney Love, Nine Inch Nails, Leonard Cohen, Nirvana, PJ Harvey and Billie Holiday. These songs mirrored my own experiences of pain, misery and loneliness, and through that connection I was granted temporary comfort and self-acceptance, even if it only lasted the length of a song. I believe that much of the therapeutic and cathartic benefit of music is diminished when it’s over-explained. Rather it should be encouraged to project one’s own meaning onto a song and create one’s own connection. When lyrics resonate with you, it’s as if they can articulate every feeling you just can’t seem to find the words for. It is for that reason that I would rather say very little about this song.”

You can check out the equally haunting video below!

• Kirk

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“Running Out Of Time” by The Strumbellas

The Strumbellas recently shared “Running out of Time”, the latest track from their forthcoming album Part Time Believer, which is due February 9, 2024.

Of the song, Dave Ritter, who performs piano, organ, percussion, and vocals says: “Berry Gordy Jr. used to say, ‘Don’t bore us - get to the chorus.’ This song joins a long lineage of songs from She Loves You and Nowhere To Run to Bad Blood and Hotline Bling that start with the chorus. It’s not something we pre-determined. …But while we were making the song it felt right not to beat around the bush. I guess we didn’t want to waste any more time.

If you listen closely, maybe with headphones, you can hear one of our favourite parts of this song. Somehow producer Keith Varon and mixer Ben Allen were able to gather the background vocals together into a fuzzy choir of robot angels, especially in the final chorus. The harmonies dance and sparkle around the lead vocal in a way that makes us smile every time we hear it.”

The band has also announced a whole slew of tour dates, which happens to kick off here in Vancouver at the Commodore on February 9th (the release date!) with Michael Bernard Fitgerald!

• Christine

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“I Will Remember You” by Metric

Of all the things I was not expecting from Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, near the top of that list was Metric covering Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You”

Scott Pilgrim and Metric have a long history together; the character of Envy Adams is partially based on Emily Haines in the original graphic novels, and her fictional band The Clash at Demonhead uses their song “Black Sheep” in the film, Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Now that connection continues in the new Netflix anime, with the inclusion of this cover (no spoilers as to why, where, and when it happens, though).

And just an aside, as a long-time fan of Scott Pilgrim, I really enjoyed the show!

• Kirk

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“Making the Most of It” by Major Love

When Colleen Brown and Scenic Route To Alaska get together, they make Major Love.

The band is the collaboration of Brown with Trevor Mann, Shea Connor, and Murray Wood, and last week they shared their latest single, “Making the Most of It”.

The new song is a high energy earworm, that was written out of pandemic-times, reflecting on “the dissolution of a once vibrant existence, turned mundane; and the pressure to become a ‘productivity drone’ in place of a social life on the outside.”

Have a listen blow and good luck not getting the chorus stuck in your head!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: November 06 - 12, 2023

“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

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“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

Songs of the Week: October 30 - November 05, 2023

“So Small” by Talia Schlanger

Super exciting news this week that Toronto musician Talia Schlanger has announced her debut album, Grace For The Going, will be released on February 2, 2024.

Her latest single “So Small” is a beautiful little track, with a soothing arrangement behind her smooth vocals. And I’ll let her speak about the song itself:

“Right now, like so many of us, my thoughts are consumed by the horrors of war,” says Talia. “My heart is consumed by collective grief.” 
“So Small” was written and recorded as the pandemic years engulfed the globe in a different sort of trauma. The urgency of the song, offers a philosophical view on humanity and a perspective on our space on this planet that is deeply relevant to world events today.

“'So Small' is about finding a way to hold many truths at the same time,” explains Talia. “The idea that each of us is at once as big as the universe itself and smaller than the smallest speck of dust. This is a concept that appears in a number of traditions/faiths/systems of belief. My first window into this way of thinking was through the Jewish teachings I grew up learning as a kid. And it’s an idea I continue to cherish and explore as an adult through the western interpretations of Buddhist texts by teachers like Pema Chödrön, Joseph Goldstein and Tara Brach. For me, this sense of perspective has been life-saving.
'So Small’ addresses 'the war outside me and inside me.' I share it along with my prayers for peace, outer and inner, for all.”

• Christine

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“Part Two” by iskwē

iskwē is not slowing down; last week she released the fourth new single from her upcoming album.

“Part Two” was written along with producer Damian Taylor and Ali “Willa” Milner, and iskwē shares: “This is a song about my broken heart after a rocky relationship finally came crashing down, We should have known, and we probably did, that things would end as passionately as they began. We ran the other to the ground while simultaneously pulling each other back to our feet, but the landing got slipperier and slipperier with each recovery, until enough was enough.”

Still no word on when the new album will be out, and sadly, iskwē had to postpone the Vancouver show that was supposed to be later this week. But have a listen to “Part Two” below!

• Kirk

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“Hold My Head Up Higher” by JEEN (feat. Ian Blurton)

We’re still a couple months out from her next album, but JEEN has released the third tease by way of “Hold My Head Up Higher”, which was co-written with the prolific Ian Blurton.

The new song is a slow-burn that is the second track JEEN has colaborated on with Blutron — who has also produced her last few albums — and she elaborates, “When we were in pre-production for Gold Control, Ian and I bounced an idea he had back and forth for a couple weeks long-distance before really solidifying the song in studio rehearsals. It’s always fun collaborating with Ian, so I'm really happy we got the chance to do it again on this album.”

Gold Control is out on February 2nd, next year.

• Kirk

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“Who The Hell Am I” by NOBRO

I needed a banger to wake me up this Monday morning and “Who The Hell Am I” by NOBRO did the trick.
The band’s new album Set Your Pussy Free (or SYPF as you’ll probably see it printed, lol), was released on the 27th, and it’s non-stop rock and roll throughout.

No Vancouver tour date listed as of yet, but hopefully there’s one on the horizon, because I want to hear these live!

• Christine

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“The Matrix” by Mother Mother

Mother Mother is back! The alt-pop group has announced a brand new album, and celebrated with the release of the new single “The Matrix”.

The new tune starts in the most Mother Mother way possible with the lyrics “Baby love, baby child, you’re gonna die”, before going on to a chorus that defiantly proclaims “Fuck no!” to living in The Matrix.

Grief Chapter will be the band’s ninth album, and is out on February 16th, but you can check out the trippy video for “The Matrix” now!

• Kirk

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“Renegade” & “Can I Get Your Name” by Bend Sinister

Not only are we getting another two songs from Vancouver’s Bend Sinister, but we’re also getting a little more info on their upcoming album!

“Renegade” & “Can I Get Your Name” are two more tracks off their upcoming yet-to-be-named release, which will be out spring of next year, and follow the same boisterous, 70’s influenced groove as their last few singles.

With “Renegade”, the band says “Dog is man's best friend. We played with that metaphor in this song, starting with that relationship in mind and how perhaps it can relate to more than just our K9 pals.”

While “Can I Get Your Name” is “about that fairytale romance that stems from two strangers meeting in the crowd and finding love. With dating apps and the online world is it even possible to find love the old-fashioned way?”

We’re now heard a half dozen new songs from the album, and I can not wait to hear the rest of it!

• Kirk

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Path Of The Heel EP by The Halluci Nation

Okay, this is damn cool.
The Halluci Nation have released the first part of their new project: “The Road to Halluci Mania.” What’s that you ask? Well…

"The Halluci Nation's Bear Witness and 2oolman have always had a deep interest in Professional Wrestling ever since they were kids – loving the complex story lines that play out week after week, and seeing the underdog overcome adversity and have their chance to shine.

…Themed around one of the main character archetypes in professional wrestling – "The Heel" (a.k.a. the bad guy) – Path of the Heel follows a faction of this group, called the ALie Nation. The creator of the ALie Nation has gone from being curious about The Halluci Nation – the champion "Baby Face" tag team wrestlers – to becoming obsessed with taking them down at Halluci Mania, aiming to do so by recruiting two wrestlers into the ALie Nation.

The story unfolds through the album openers, Tree of Woe and ALie Nation (Interlude), both of which feature powerful vocals written and performed by Damian Abraham [of Fucked Up]. The theme then expands with Eater of Worlds and Atomic Drop, featuring long-time collaborators, Northern Cree, and fulled by fast paced beats with complex basslines, all brining the Halluci Nation’s classic sound into the present and beyond.

Just, wow. These songs are so good, and I can’t wait to hear this whole project start to finish!

• Christine

Songs of the Week: October 23 - 29, 2023

“Dark Angel” by Rose Cousins, Jill Barber, and Jenn Grant

Can you think of a better trio of Canadian singers than Rose Cousins, Jill Barber, and Jenn Grant? Neither could Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy.

Barber explains that she was backstage at a Blue Rodeo show last spring with Grant, when “Jim Cuddy turned to us and suggested that, along with Rose Cousins, we should form a trio... like a Canadian version of the Dolly Parton, Linda Rondstadt and Emmylou Harris ‘Trio’. The next thing we knew we were sending Rose a video message saying: ‘we're doing this, because Jim said so’.”

So of course, their first single is a gorgeous & haunting cover of “Dark Angel”, which celebrates the 30th anniversary of Five Days In July.

Hopefully we hear more from the trio in the future, but for now, check out the cover below!

• Kirk

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“Halloween Store” by Andy Shauf

Phewf! We got this one in under the wire…couldn’t leave out “Halloween Store” by Andy Shauf the day before Halloween!

It’s a fun, and chaotic, little song, and now it has a fun, and chaotic, little video to go along with it.

I hope you all have your costumes for tomorrow - I have to get back to work on mine.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

• Christine

Songs of the Week: October 16 - 22, 2023

“Lost Without You” by Shred Kelly

Fernie’s own Shred Kelly have released their new album Blurry Vision this week, and shared the single “Lost Without You” at the same time.

I was lucky enough to pop in during their recording process to take some photos of the band doing their thing, so I’m super stoked for this record.
We also go to catch them performing in Vancouver last week with Elliott BROOD, and it was a hell of a show.

The band is heading to Germany next - but you can listen to the new release by clicking here.

• Christine

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“almost beautiful” by suffer fools

Vancouver Island’s suffer fools is “a conceptual project centered on d. debased: former child star, current trainwreck, future pop messiah”, and they just released the first single from their sophomore album.

“almost beautiful” is a dreamy, hypnotic song that’s juxtaposed with dark lyrics; the catchiest song you’ll hear in a while about being fine while “watching a dream die”.

the album will be out early next year, but have a listen to the new tune below!

• Kirk

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“No Help Coming” by The Fugitives

Another new album came out this week, and this one was from Vancouver’s The Fugitives.
No Help Coming is full of songs inspired by the climate crisis, and the band went about it in an interesting way.
Songwriter Brendan McLeod, says: “Leading up to the recording, we asked environmental experts what was missing from the conversation, and they all said the same thing: no more sad songs. We know the world’s messed up. What’s missing are more invitations to get real about making changes. And to do that, we have to get less precious about the subject.” McLeod's creative partner Adrian Glynn adds, “It’s an album about resolve. It’s upbeat because there’s a lot of resolve to be found in joy. And while humans have a lot of bad things going for us, we can be pretty great at the joy part. So, let’s use it.”

It’s a super intriguing album, and hopefully you caught the band at their album release show last week, as they’re heading out on the road to support the new project.

• Christine

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Songs of the Week: October 09 - 15, 2023

“Live a Lie” by Kandle

Kandle is back with a dark and hypnotic new song called “Living a Lie”. It’s the first tease of her upcoming, self-produced album, which will be out in the spring of 2024.

The single is accompanied by an X-Files inspired video directed by Jeffrey Mitchell — who co-wrote the song, and is the Mulder to Kandle’s Scully. Kandle elaborates that “this cinematic homage still layers in some welcome levity, with epic performance pieces and considerably more dancing than an X-Files episode typically contains. Happy 30th anniversary X-Files!”

• Kirk

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“Never Grow Up” by Said the Whale

Said the Whale wants to “Never Grow Up” with their latest single. The Vancouver band recorded this new rocker at the end of August with frequent collaborator (and local legend) Steve Bays, and admit it’s the fastest they’ve ever turned a new song around, from recording to release.

Check out the video below, which is a peek behind the scenes at the process, and includes Tyler Bancroft getting not one, but two new tattoos, including one he did himself!

• Kirk

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“I'm Starting to Think I'm Bad at Parties” by The Darcys

Yay! A new banger from The Darcys!

Released on Friday the 13th, the new track, “I’m Starting To Think I’m Bad At Parties”, is about “the malaise of the human condition and confronting the monotony of daily life”.

Despite that sounding super melancholy, it’s a super fun song with a hell of a catchy chorus (“hands up, hands high, if you don’t feel like feeling lonely tonight”), that kinda reminds me of some of the songs by The Zolas. (I think I just built myself a very fun touring duo!)
Check it out below!

• Christine

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“Old Familiar Drunken Feeling” by Corb Lund

Corb Lund is back with a new song, album on the way, and a tour to follow after that.
The new record, El Viejo, pays tribute to his late friend and mentor, Canadian singer-songwriter Ian Tyson, and was recorded fully acoustically, live off the floor (of Corb’s living room).

The first single, “Old Familiar Drunken Feeling” is based on a true story of Corb being way too high off of edibles during a show.
Here’s his account of it: “It was all totally above board, the state had just legalized it, so it was kind of a novelty field trip for the band to visit the shiny new dispensary. Some songs are 'based on truth' but this happened EXACTLY as I sing it. Turns out weed ain't my thing. And eating it's even worse, it lasts forever. Fronting a band can occasionally be terrifying at the best of times, doing it high as a kite and super paranoid was hell on earth. When I started feeling like myself again in the second set after a bunch of cowboy whiskey, I confessed to the audience what had happened and offered them all their money back! No one took me up on it.  Bottom line? If this doesn't get me a Pendleton whisky endorsement, I don't know what will." 

You’ve gotta see the video below as well!

• Christine