Song Of The Day: September 18, 2015 - "Here's To The Death Of All The Romance" The Dears

Surely this has got to be a callback to The Dears' amazing song "22: The Death Of All The Romance" (which, by the way, has one of the greatest music videos ever). 

It's from their latest album Times Infinity Vol 1, which is out in one week. And if you are in Victoria for Rifflandia this weekend, you can -- scratch that, should -- see them perform today at Royal Athletic Park at 4:15pm.

And if you're not over at Rifflandia, well then I had better see you tomorrow night at the Fox Cabaret, since The Dears are hands down one of the best live bands I have ever seen. 

Song Of The Day: September 17, 2015 - "Make A Sound" by For Esmè

For Esmè was one of my discoveries this year at NXNE in Toronto, and I was lucky enough to catch them live. To say I'm excited for this album, isn't saying enough.

"Make A Sound" is the latest single from Sugar (out October 16th) and is a groovy and dreamy track - which worked so well with the weather in Vancouver this morning. 
Lead singer Martha wrote this regarding the theme: "The song is about the endless need in this industry, in this generation, to show everyone how great your life is and how exhausting that is. I catch myself feeling regret for not thinking to capture a special moment on camera, then catch myself, ‘why isn’t the moment itself enough?"

Now I feel odd knowing I'm heading off to a weekend in Rifflandia with parties and music I where I will definitely be posting photos and updates for you all (follow along on Twitter & Instagram), but then again that's my job! But I will capture it, so you can just enjoy yourselves!

Enjoy! 

3am Playlist #13: Riff Raff

Uhhh, no... not THAT Riff Raff (actually if I'm linking to anything it should be this amazing scene from Orphan Black).............. It's RIFFLANDIA!

The annual festival is once again here, with four days of music, (both at outdoor and indoor venues), in the beautiful city of Victoria.

Running today (Sept 17) to Sunday, hundreds of artists from BC, Canada, and abroad will descend on the city. With the added bonus of Break Out West and the WCMA's taking place at the same time, the festival has so many acts to chose from, it's impossible to get to them all.

We've chosen to highlight some of the main acts performing during the day at Royal Athletic Park, and a few others coming in from across Canada, in this week's playlist, which you can hear by clicking the image above, or RIGHT HERE.

Click HERE to see more info on the festival, the schedule, and the artists, and if you're stuck in Vancouver, many of the acts will also be performing in town over the weekend.

Song of the Day: September 16, 2015 - "A Simple Song" by Stars

Sweet eye of Odin, does Stars know how to craft a song that is simultaneously fucking gorgeous and utterly heartbreaking. A couple days ago they announced a new EP called Lost & Found and hit is with this, "A Simple Song". 

In the press release, Torquil Campbell said "The Lost & Found EP features a couple of very sad songs by us and quite a sad song by someone else, covered by us: "Long Hot Summer" by Style Council.” He goes on to say “When I was 16, I listened to that song 30 times a day until I didn't know where it ended and I began.”

But seriously. This song. 

Song of the Day: September 15, 2015 - "Turn Your Love" by Half Moon Run

Just over a month now until the new album by Half Moon Run is released (Oct 23), and we've got a new single and video to tide us over.

"Turn Your Love" sounds more like classic Half Moon Run, but with a bit of the new vibe that the first single "Trust" brought. So what I'm really saying is, I'm pretty damn excited for the release of Sun Leads Me On.

The band also put out a big list of tour dates - including this one in Vancouver on December 8th at the Imperial.

(Watch the video for the song by clicking here.)

Song of the Day: September 14, 2015 - "Neighbour" by Language Arts

Language Arts are back and getting ready to release a brand new album! 

Able Island was recorded last year on what the band calls their "floating studio", during a Trans-Canada tour in basements, hotel rooms, alleyways, and the back of their van, using homemade microphones, capturing the sounds of wind blowing down a stove pipe, the crackling of a fireplace, the voices of their audience, making reverb chambers out of large soup pots, and mixing as they drove through the Rocky Mountains. 

This resulted in an interesting blend of modern music with a warmth to it that is sometimes missing from a lot of synth-driven pop-rock. And this song, "Neighbour", is a great example of that. 

The album is out on the 9th of October, and they'll be here at the Media Club a couple days later, on the 13th. 

Song of the Day: September 13, 2015 - "Molotov Girls" by The Zolas

I'm gonna be honest here, the first time I heard the new track from The Zolas, "Molotov Girls", I wasn't sold. It sounded like Zach and Tom had really joined the pop movement and put their dance pants on. 

But the more I listened, the more I warmed to it. It's as catchy and clever as The Zolas ever were, and especially if you consider their single from last year, "Invisible", seems to be following their natural progression. (Though I still prefer piano over synth)

I'm looking forward to hearing more new stuff from them, hopefully even TODAY at Queen Elizabeth Park, where they are taking part in a free show to celebrate the park's birthday, because we definitely need to celebrate parks' birthdays, right?!

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.