Song of the Day: February 18, 2019 - "Can You Find Her Place" by Lydia Ainsworth

Just last week, I was wondering about when we were going to hear new music from Lydia Ainsworth, and just like that… a brand new song!

“Can You Find Her Place” is the first single off the upcoming album Phantom Forest, and Ainsworth says the song is “about Mother Nature's elusive yet powerful strength in the face of adversity. I'm singing a number of the songs on Phantom Forest from the perspective of Mother Nature and her views on humanity's hubris, however on 'Can You Find Her Place' I am using my voice as a kind of Greek chorus singing about where you can find her strength, setting the scene for Phantom Forest."

Take a listen below, and be sure to snag the album on May 10th!

Song of the Day: February 17, 2019 - "Little Star" by iskwē

Last week, iskwē released a powerful new song, “Little Star”, accompanied by an equally intense stop motion video, directed by animator Sarah Legault.

iskwē says: “Set to the drumbeat of an Anishinaabe honour song, “Little Star” reminds listeners that we still need to act on the lessons learned from the Tina Fontaine and Colten Boushie tragedies. It also gives birth to a new direction for me, as I’ll be digging deeper into the astrology teachings of my Cree ancestors and amplifying the work of thought leaders like Wilfred Buck.”

Song of the Day: February 16, 2019 - "Dance" by Tim Baker

For months now*, we’ve slowly been getting teases of the new album from Tim Baker, and now we finally get the very first single.

“Dance” comes from the upcoming album Forever Overhead and is exactly what you would be hoping for from the former Hey Rosetta frontman; his fragile voice lilting over a beautiful piano, as the song builds to a soaring finish.

The album is due out April 19 on Arts & Crafts, and he’ll also be going on a cross-Canada tour, and you’ll be able to catch him here in Vancouver at the Imperial on June 1st!

*In fact, the Side Door Session version of this song was SOTD back in October!

Song of the Day: February 15, 2019 - "Flags of Convenience" by Mounties

The bad news is, we’re going to have to wait a bit longer for the new album from Mounties — the power trio of Hawksley Workman, Steve Bays, and Ryan Dahle.

The good news is, we get another preview of Heavy Meta before it’s new April 26th release date, with a brand new video for “Flags of Convenience”.

The band says, “‘Give us convenience or give us death!’, is one of the themes running through the new Mounties song ‘Flags of Convenience’. The term is taken from a business practice of merchant ship owners registering vessels in a different country than that of the owner to avoid regulations, laws, and taxes. This underlying meaning becomes a metaphor for other behaviour from our obsession with convenience boiling all the way down to pure sex. The song and video feature a guest appearance by Limblifter drummer Eric Breitenbach.”

Song of the Day: February 14, 2019 - "Jim, Jack, Johnny, and Jose" by Nice Horse

Whether you care about Valentine's Day or not, I think everyone can enjoy -- and maybe even relate with -- the concept of bad dates. Real bad dates.

The new video for "Jim, Jack, Johnny , and Jose" features just that, following the members of Nice Horse on a string of terrible swipes (but maybe not exactly how you'd expect).

All I know is, you do NOT want to challenge Brandi to a hot dog eating contest.

Song of the Day: February 11, 2019 - "Werewolf Valentine" by Mariah Scary & The Ghoulish Cauldrons

Your favourite Halloween-themed band, Mariah Scary and The Ghoulish Cauldrons, is back with a Valentine’s Day song to melt (or maybe stab you in) your heart.

We had a “Spooky Christmas” and now a “Werewolf Valentine”… I’m curious which holiday is next, St. Patrick’s Day? Easter? Passover?

There’s a spooky video to go along with the song, which you can see below!

Song of the Day: February 7, 2019 - "Love You Back" by Metric

On the eve of their tour run, Metric has released a video for their song “Love You Back” from their latest album Art Of Doubt.

The video is full of submissions from fans singing along to the song, as well as Emily Haines in a similar style in a living room.

The band will be travelling across Canada with July Talk and the Vancouver show is slotted for April 18th at Pacific Coliseum.

Song of the Day: February 6, 2019 - "The Stone Throwers (Gone In A Blink)" by Shad

I’m still really loving Shad’s album Short Story About War, and now we have a video for the single “The Stone Throwers (Gone in a Blink)”.

I’m not going to try to break it down because Shad already did it in the video’s press release, so here you go:
““The Stone Throwers” are another character in this Short Story About a War: A metaphor for powerlessness, and for the hypocrisy of the powerful. You can read about that here. 

In line with this theme, what I hoped to capture in a visual for this song were two things: Vulnerability and Rage. The two main feelings I associate with powerlessness. These emotions are represented here in the nakedness (vulnerability) and the screams (rage) of these brave actors. Through these visuals, I hope folks will be further immersed in these two feelings. As for the hypocrisy of the powerful, I also hope that this raw representation of powerlessness will cause the viewer to consider their very personal response to seeing another person’s vulnerability and anger. Fight or flight? Love or fear? Repulsed or compelled to empathize? How do we respond to another person’s pain (or our own) and why? These are all questions I hope to raise with this song.

Lately, stories in the media of poor folks throwing stones to defend themselves from state violence have brought this metaphor to life in painfully literal ways. But I still think of The Stone Throwers primarily as a metaphor for the powerless in our midst here. “

I hope you have your tickets for his performance in Vancouver on the 21st at Fortune Sound Club because it’s sold out, and it’s gonna be a great night!