Song of the Day: September 12, 2015 - "Other Spooky Is" by Hot Panda

I have been waiting for this for a while now. My sources have told me that Hot Panda has a new album ready to go for some time, but they were just waiting until the time was right. (My sources also continually teased me with how great it sounded). 

Well, it looks like the time is now, as the Vancouver art-rock trio has released their first song off the album, "Other Spooky Is". It's a nearly-six-minute long wild ride that careens from bouncy indie-rock to explosive grunge, with a dash of sinister robotic vocals. A lesser band, and this song would have collapsed into a jumbled mess, but Hot Panda nails it. 

I'm also looking forward to hearing this song live this weekend, as they play a free show at Queen Elizabeth Park on Sunday. They're on at 1:45pm, with The Zolas and Deli 2 Dublin later in the day. I'm hoping if I ask real nice-like, we can all get our faces painted and hop in the photobooth after. 

The song is, for some reason, not enabled to embed, so check it out over on their soundcloud. 

Song of the Day: September 11, 2015 - "Handsome Man" by Highs

Since the first time I heard their song "Summer Dress", I was enamoured by HIGHS. They put out a stellar self-titled EP last year, fulls of bouncy hooks and songs that got stuck in your head for days.

But now they are getting ready to release their full-length debut Dazzle Camouflage, early next year. The first single, "Handsome Man" is a slow-burner that starts a bit darker than usual, building to a chorus that erupts in anthemic harmonies. 

3am Playlist #12: Saturday Night Fever

Okay, I'm not sure what is going on in Vancouver, but Saturday September 12th is a VERY popular night for shows, I currently have SEVEN in my schedule. Now, I think my record for attending shows in one night is four, but that was when I was younger and had more time and energy.

So I'm going to lay out what is up this Saturday, and you click that image above to listen to some of the tunes by the artists performing. We're all over the map genre wise, so you have your pick!

1) Unbuckled in Stanley Park - The Matinee, Robyn & Ryleigh, and The Tishomingo String Band - 2:30 - 7:00pm

2) Michael J Fox Foundation Fundraiser at Vancouver Lookout - ft Bend Sinister - 6:30 - 9:30

3) Teen Daze @ Fortune - Early Show: 7:00 - 10:00

4) Nat Jay Album Release @ The Rickshaw - with Jasper Sloan Yip - 7:00 - 12:00

5) Fringe Bar at Granville Island - ft JP Maurice, SAVVIE - FREE show - 8:00 - 11:00

6) Jenny Ritter Album Release @ The Biltmore - Early Show: 8:00 - 11:00

7) Red Truck Parking Lot Series - ft Logan Mize, Me and Mae, Rod Black, Cash Crawford- 4:00 - 10:00

Have an awesome weekend!

[While Saturday is busy, so is the entire week coming up: Free concert in Queen Elizabeth Park on Sunday, Free Fringe Festival shows on Granville Island all week, the return of David Newberry on Tues, Zach Lucky is back in town too on Weds, and THEN it's Rifflandia and the touring artists perfoming here as well - check out our concert calendar for all the details.]

Song of the Day: September 10, 2015 - "Steel Sharpens Steel" by k-os

Just last week, k-os released his sixth studio album Can't Fly Without Gravity on Dine Alone Records. The album is a collision of genres, and one of the best songs to highlight that is today's song of the day "Steel Sharpens Steel (Still In Love)". It actually reminded me a little of The Stills, even before I found out that was exactly what k-os had in mind (which also explains the song's subtitle). The song is his love letter to Montreal's indie rock scene, with bands like The Stills and The Dears. 

k-os also announced a spat of tour dates, including December 9 right here at the legendary Commodore Ballroom.

(Also, I just need to take a moment to point out how much I love that poster/album art) 

Song Of The Day: September 09, 2015 - "Walk the Walk" Skim Milk

You may know Sam Davidson as the clarinet and s̶p̶a̶c̶e̶ ̶c̶l̶a̶r̶i̶n̶e̶t̶  EWI player in Brasstronaut, but under the moniker Skim Milk, he is gearing up to release a brand new album. Fittingly titled Ghosts of Jazz, the album celebrates the jazz era and the great instrumentalists and composers of the day with a collection of haunting and ethereal songs. 

The press release promises the album is speckled with "clarinet-as-you've-never-heard-it, off-kilter piano variations and the atmospheric melodies of the EWI, a breath-controlled synthesizer" and that the album "paints a unique picture on the legacy of jazz, one that could only come from a fringe clarinetist and composer like Davidson."

Take a listen for yourself, to the first single "Walk The Walk". Preferably with the lights down low. 

Song Of The Day: September 08, 2015 - "Not Dead" Fine Times

I've seen Vancouver band Fine Times perform a lot over the last few year, but we finally have some new music coming from them!

The first single that was just premiered is called "Not Dead" and will be on their new EP Bad::Better, which comes out tomorrow (Oct 9) on Vancouver's Light Organ Records.

The song is a catchy and quick 3 minute pop tune, and had me dancing in my chair.

Song Of The Day: September 07, 2015 - "Hola Les Lolos" by Bernard Adamus

I first heard of Bernard Adamus when he won a coveted CBC Radio 3 Bucky Award for "Best Reason To Learn French" back in '012. He beat out the likes of Danielle Duval, Karkwa frontman gone solo Louis-Jean Cormier, Acadian duo Radio Radio, and The Pack AD, who had recorded their song "Sirens" en français. The song was called "Entre Ici Pis Chez Vous" and was a rambling blues-pop song with ridiculously infectious piano that hooked me immediately. 

Now jump forward a few years, and Adamus is gearing up to release a brand new album, Sorel Soviet So What, teasing us with the first single "Hola Les Lolos". It keeps his francophone blues sound, but this time with a distinctly Hawaiian feel to it. 

Hear the first song below, and preorder it over on his bandcamp page, ahead of the September 25th release date.

Song Of The Day: September 06, 2015 - "Dance And Celebrate" Geoff Berner

Remember how we said recently that there are a TON of new albums coming out from artists we haven't had new material from in years (Kirk did a podcast with many of them), well we can now at Geoff Berner to that list!

Set to release on October 16th, We Are Going To Bremen To Be Musicians, will be Berner's first album in four years and according to Geoff it is “meant to be powerful cheering-up medicine that you don’t have to turn your brain off for". (You'll want to learn about what the album title is a reference to as well.)

The first single is called "Dance And Celebrate", which is all about schadenfreude (which needs no translation), hear it below: