Songs of the Week: October 25 - 31, 2021

November 01, 2021 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“Lost Cool” by Holy Fuck (feat. Lucia Tacchetti)

Toronto’s Holy Fuck is getting the jump on a busy 2022, with a brand new single, “Lost Cool”.

Following their previous single “Airport Dreams” — which features Sarah Bonito from Kero Kero Bonito — “Lost Cool” continues the trend of guest vocals with Madrid-based Electro-Pop artist Lucia Tacchetti lending her pipes to the dark yet danceable tune.

The pair of songs proceed a comprehensive tour, starting February 4th right here in Vancouver, and crisscrossing the globe for the next four months.

Kirk

“Life Goes By And I Can’t Keep Up” by Dear Rouge

Dear Rouge has slowly been releasing new music from their highly anticipated next album (due out next year), and after a banger of a song in “Fake Fame”, we get a delicate ballad in “Life Goes By And I Can’t Keep Up”.

Drew joins Danielle on sharing the lead vocals on this one, and in the video the pair roam the Vancouver streets (Burrard Hotel and Granville Street being the main recognizable landmarks).

Around the 3:15 mark of the song, I got SERIOUS “Anthems For A Seventeen-Year-Old Girl” by Broken Social Scene vibes, and that makes sense as the song was born during a jam session at Brendan Canning of BSS’s home.
It’s a beautiful track, with incredibly relatable sentiments. Give it a listen or five.

Christine

“The Lullaby (My Oldest Love)” by Rose Cousins (feat. Tim Baker)

What’s better than a new song from Rose Cousins? How about a new song from Rose Cousins featuring a duet with Tim Baker?

“The Lullaby (My Oldest Love)” sees the pair of celebrated East Coasters come together for a song that was co-written after a conversation that the two had over coffee “revealed a theme that resonated deeply in both of us,” says Cousins. “Being a human is vulnerable and it's hard to remember the harsh voices in our heads are our own creations. We needed a lullaby for ourselves and that's what we made. I'm glad we recorded this duet to honour how it felt to share the experience. Sometimes just knowing you're not the only one is the greatest comfort."

Have a listen below, but make sure you’re sitting down first, because you’re going to need a chair to melt right into.

Kirk

Songs of the Week: October 18 - 24, 2021

October 25, 2021 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“Top 5” by Tokyo Police Club

After lots of new solo music from both Graham and Dave of Tokyo Police Club, we get an unreleased track from the band ahead of their upcoming tour.
The tour is in celebration of the 10th anniversary of their album Champ, and “Top 5” was written from the very same era. The song was never properly recorded until now, and the band got to use all of the skills learned over the past decade to capture it.
As Graham Wright says: ”10 years of Tokyo Police Club in one bite sized, 3-minute package!”.

Christine

“Except For U” by Big Kill

Big Kill continued their slow drip of new music last week, with “Except For U”

The destructive pop duo (Cayne and Andy, formerly of We Are The City) describe the sound as “rooted somewhere between experimental and hyperpop, synthesizing the unique sonics from a range of influences, moving from commercial pop to noise to drill to Eurodance.”

As with their last drop, the song wasn’t released alone, but alongside a slowed down version of the track, and another song called “standing in a crowded room”. Check out their website for a countdown to new music, or here for all the links you need.

Kirk

“History” by Beatrice Deer

Montreal-based "Inuindie" artist Beatrice Deer teased her upcoming album Shifting this week, returning with a brand new single.

"History" is one of the few English-speaking tracks on the album (the rest in Inuktitut or French) and Deer says the song is about “changing our focus because we may not be aware that we’re too focused on our past rather than looking ahead into our future. And it distracts us from getting in the lane to our destiny. It’s about shifting into place, a metaphor is driving. It’s hard to drive forward when you keep looking out your rearview mirror to look back into your life. Get out of your history and into your destiny."

Have a listen below, and keey an ear out for the new album on December 10!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: October 11 - 17, 2021

October 18, 2021 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day

“Dying in LA” by Gold & Youth

As it gets closer to the release date (November 5th) for Gold & Youth’s new album Dream Baby, we continue to get new music to wet our whistles.
Matt Lyall, lead singer of Gold & Youth says that the ”Dying in LA” working title was a joke, but that he never changed it, and was also a play on ('“an inevitable sequel to) Bran Van 3000’s “Drinking in LA”.

While not being about literally dying, it focuses on Matt’s dying to get OUT of LA, and back home to his partner. I seriously can’t wait for this record.

Christine

“Calle Easy” by Johnny Payne

If you’re in Vancouver, you may have been dreaming of something a little more tropical for the last few days. And that’s where Johnny Payne comes in.

The former member of The Shilohs released a new single last week, an incredibly relaxing tune called “Calle Easy” and if you close your eyes, you can almost feel the sand on your feet, waves at your ankles, and margarita in your hand.

The single is a tease of his upcoming album King of Cups, which was written, arranged, and produced by Johnny.

Kirk

“You Lock The Door, I Broke The Window” by Sam Jr.

Do you ever hear a song, and immediately picture a music video in your head? Or think of the perfect placement in a movie/tv show? Because that’s what happened to me on first listen of the brand new single from Sam Jr. (who you may know as Sam Goldberg of Broken Social Scene fame).

Maybe it’s was the vaguely threatening title “You Lock The Door, I Broke The Window” or just the general proximity to the spooky season… but upon first listen to the fuzz-drenched, methodically paced song I was picturing a horror movie villain relentlessly stalking their prey in the chilling climax to a film.

That being said, Sam Jr. describes the ear-worm of a song as much less sinister and much more anti-establishment, saying it’s “a genuine anthem-in-waiting for everyone who’s spent a lifetime being told what they should and shouldn’t do and getting absolutely nothing in return. Everyone who’s realized that ‘Do what you’re taught’ and ‘Do what they say’ are drilled into you from childhood for some nebulous Other’s benefit but definitely not your own. So the message is to not let yourself be boxed in by others and what society can try to convince you is the ‘right’ thing to do because a lot of the time it’s for the benefit of the higher-ups. ‘Go to school your whole life so you can work for my company and I can ride around in my Porsche while you grind yourself into the grave for me, thank you. I’ve always put myself in positions where I break the rules to see what’s on the other side of life. Jump the fence, break the window, be a weirdo. Fuck the masses. Question what you’re taught.”

Have a listen below and let me know what you think.

Kirk

Songs of the Week: October 04 - 10, 2021

October 12, 2021 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Recklessly” by JEEN

The new album from Toronto’s JEEN comes out in just a couple weeks, and we’re getting one last sneak peek with the latest single “Recklessly”.

It’s a gritty and driving song, with JEEN saying that “After a while, it can be hard to know whether you control your destiny or if your destiny is controlling you. ‘Recklessly’ is for when you can’t tell if you’re moving forward, or falling behind, and when it’s impossible to know where you’ll end up.”

Dog Bite was co-produced by JEEN and legendary Canadian musician Ian Blurton, and drops October 22!

Kirk

“I Give My All” by TITUS BANK

Another new track from TITUS BANK came out this week, and it was co-written with Toronto indie-pop group Valley.
”I Give My All” is about “lovers dealing with distance and embracing the mundane when together”.
In the video, Titus plays the guitar while a projection of home movies is displayed over top of him and on the wall behind him, and it even includes a proposal!
Give it a listen

Christine

“Nothing is Lost” by Luca Fogale

Luca Fogale has released an album of acoustic versions of songs from both is debut and sophomore albums, aptly named Other Ways.
The album also includes a cover of Joni Mitchell’s track “A Case of You”, but the song we have for you today is a wonderful piano ballad version of Luca’s “Nothing is Lost”.
The whole album is definitely worth a listen too - click here to stream it.

Christine

“Jungle Heart” by Adnama

Vancouver musician Adnama released a brand new single last week, “Jungle Heart”.

The tune has a simmering energy with driving bass, and vocals that seem to stalk you like the panther in the artwork.

Have a listen below, and hopefully it’s a sign of more to come soon!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: September 27 - October 03, 2021

October 04, 2021 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“Black Averageness” by Shad

This new banger from Shad is one of those songs of him that you need to put on repeat in order to get all the amazing references/lines.

While “Black Averageness” has cheeky Canadian Tire and Swiss Chalet mentions, the song as a whole is about being okay with just being human. This theme -and losing touch with our humanity as a whole - are found throughout the rest of his new album TAO. The record was released on October 1st, and definitely deserves attention from your earholes

Christine

“Better Now” by The Weather Station

It’s been a heck of a year for The Weather Station. Between TV appearances and Polaris Short Lists and everything in between, it’s almost hard to remember that Tamara Lindeman’s latest album Ignorance only came out at the start of the year.

But she’s not slowing down at all; with some tour dates looming (including here in Vancouver at the Hollywood Theatre on Nov 12), Lindeman just announced the release of a brand new DELUXE version of Ignorance. The two-LP version will include the original album, as well as live & piano versions of some songs, plus two brand new songs!

Check out the first of those songs, “Better Now”, below and stream the album on your platform of choice. OR mark November 19 on the calendar for the physical release.

Kirk

“Rose Coloured Ear Drums” by Big Kill

After months of teasing, we’re finally getting our first taste of Big Kill. Rising from the ashes of We Are The City, Cayne McKenzie and Andrew Huculiak launched the first single from their new project Big Kill last week. And “Rose Coloured Ear Drums” lives up to every promise they’ve made, an incredibly infectious “destructive pop” tune.

You can grab the song — as well as a few others — on Big Kill Future, which they’re promising is not an EP, but an album with more songs to come! Listen to those new songs here, or check out the INCREDIBLE video for “Rose Coloured Ear Drums” below.

Kirk

Songs of the Week: September 20 - 26, 2021

September 27, 2021 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day

“Sweetheart” by Said The Whale

Just weeks ahead of the release of Dandelion, Said the Whale is giving us yet another tease of the new album with “Sweetheart”.

Singer Ben Worcester says the song is “an exploration of secrets. How (and why) we keep them, who we keep them from, and how they affect our relationships. This song doesn’t refer to a specific moment or circumstance in my life, but instead speaks to the idea in general - how revealing our innermost thoughts and fears can serve to weaken some bonds but other times can actually strengthen them - the beauty of sharing a secret with a lover, keeping something hidden from the world, a covenant of mutual trust.”

Have a listen below, and make sure to check out their tour dates, which include not one, not two, but three! consecutive Vancovuer shows, playing venues near & dear to the band’s hearts.

Kirk

“Spanish On The Beach” and “Jaywalker” by Andy Shauf

Whoops, i dropped the ball last week (well, I was working the election so I couldn’t post my songs!) and couldn’t express my excitement at the announcement of a new album from Andy Shauf!

Wilds was released this past Friday and is a collection of songs that he wrote when composing his last album The Neon Skyline. That was one of my favourite records of 2020, so I cannot wait to delve into this one.

The first two singles “Spanish On The Beach” and “Jaywalker’ are below for your rainy day listening pleasure.

Christine

“On The Beach” & “Oleander” by Jasper Sloan Yip

Speaking of beaches (oh, I wish), Jasper Sloan Yip released two new tracks from his upcoming double EP, Strange Calm / Blushing Autumn: “On The Beach” and “Oleander”

Both EPs revolve around the themes of life and death, and these two songs in particular are about gratitude. They’re lovely tunes and another set of ones I curled up with some tea to listen to this morning with the rain in the background.
The albums will be released on October 26th via Tiny Kingdom.

Christine

“Pourquoi faire aujourd'hui” by Lisa LeBlanc

Lisa LeBlanc has returned with a super catchy ode to procrastination, “Pourquoi faire aujourd'hui”, her first original song since the ‘016 album Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen?

A disco-tinged tune with an incredibly infectious synth line — and sparkling video to match — the new single teases a brand new album next year, and I can’t wait to hear more.

Despite the title, you should take a listen today!

Kirk

“Caroline” by Lowell

Apparently I’ve got all the slow jams this week.

Holy moley, I missed Lowell. This little nostalgic pop ballad, “Caroline”, is beautiful and showcases just how talented she is lyrically. It hits on her childhood memories of: “sleeping bags and landlines, grass stains and pool parties, sneaking into cabinets and finding your parents' booze”.

I was happy to see that this single is going to be on an upcoming album in 2022, so hopefully we’ll get more from her soon.

Christine

“Surrender” by Royal Canoe

Hot off the release of their album Sidelining, Royal Canoe is dropping a brand new video for the song “Surrender”, as well as announcing some tour dates!

Directed by Vince Tang, the video is what can only be described as a ‘dance heist’ video, with a few fun twists and turns.

The tour sees them crisscrossing the country in April of next year, including a date here in Vancouver on the 20th at the Fox Cabaret, and finishing with a pair of shows in their hometown of Winnipeg.

Kirk

“Maudlin Days (Robocop)” by Gold & Youth

Okay, so I’m just gonna go ahead and fully copy-past the story about this song, “Maudln Days (Robocop)”, from the Gold & Youth press release, because nothing I write could do it justice:

”A substantial part of the lyrics for 'Robocop' are a near verbatim transcript from when I was sucked into a conversation at a party last year with some finance bros who kept insisting they had found truth (“about, like, everything man") after doing ayahuasca together on a boys trip. The entire exchange was one of total earnestness on the part of the bros, oblivious to tact, cultural sensitivities or fashion sense (one of them was wearing a pink and gold Givenchy tracksuit into the Ayahuasca hut) and I engaged with thinly veiled contempt and entirely in bad faith in a deeply embarrassing battle of wits. It wasn’t until later, when rehashing the story with my girlfriend, a story in which I was so sure I was doing’s God’s work in raining down ridicule and condescension with a half smirk (and to be clear, this story absolutely deserved ridicule and condescension), that it became obvious that I had slipped into just as much of a caricature as they had: The Lululemon wall street jabronis vs the smug lefty band guy who claims to love humanity above all else but rolls his eyes at actual humans (even finance bros are humans after all right). Low stakes and who cares right? Not exactly profound. But, it was a great jumping off point for writing about a real sense of alienation I’ve felt in so many social situations in my life and constantly wondering how much of it has been self imposed. How often am I preemptively detaching myself from potential human connection to preserve some abstracted convictions about what my chosen friend group might say about me? Aren't these convictions about love, empathy and understanding just empty high minded rhetoric if I don’t try to actually love, understand and empathize with the actual humans in my life? 'Aren’t people all we’ve really got man?!'. Deeply solipsistic bullshit. The name of the song is equally self involved. Any time I go cold and detach my girlfriend calls me 'Robocop,' which she stole from my bandmate's nickname for me on tour. Aloof, ultra stoic, but incredibly capable of driving from Vancouver to San Diego in a single go."

See? What did I tell you?
Gold & Youth’s album Dream Baby is out November 5th.

Christine

“Something Sweet” by Graham Wright

Tomorrow Graham Wright’s album The Cost Of Doing Business comes out, and this single really is “Something Sweet”.

The track is full on 90’s goodness, to which Gram says he “really went for it”, and that “the more ‘90s affect I piled on, the more exciting it got”. I have to agree, it’s pretty damn perfect and super catchy.

Christine

“Here’s To The Future” by Sam Weber

This new tune by Sam Weber is probably the best way to end this week’s Songs Of The Week.

Beautiful, slow, and includes a mini saxophone solo (which I’m always a sucker for), “Here’s To The Future” is Sam’s first release since 2019. He calls it “a toast and a prayer to the better and brighter days ahead”, which I can get on board with.

Here’s to more music from him in the future!

Christine

Songs of the Week: September 13 - 19, 2021

September 20, 2021 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“More Love Than Money” by Leeroy Stagger

There are hard workers in the Canadian music industry. And then there’s Leeroy Stagger. Unless I’ve lost count (and it’s entirely possible I have), Dystopian Weekends will be Stagger’s twelfth album in the last 17 years or so. And that’s not even including a couple EPs and a live album.

“More Love Than Money” is the latest single from the upcoming album, a charming alt-country tune about “making major life decisions based on happiness and intuition rather than fear. There are plenty of voices that can talk you out of a dream, but if you follow the ones that guide your heart, you realize that anything is possible - even if it means giving something up to start fresh, or at the bottom of something different. It’s about new beginnings and running off of the love of the people that support you.”

Pick up the new album on October 15th, and have a listen/watch to the video below!

Kirk

“Under The Rolling Moon” by Ducks Ltd.

This is a warning: only listen to the latest single from Ducks Ltd. if you are okay with it being stuck in your head for the rest of the day. And probably tomorrow, too.

Last week the Toronto duo shared "Under The Rolling Moon" — the latest single from their brand new album, Modern Fiction — an incredibly infectious tune that features backing vocals from labelmates The Beths.

The album is out on October 1, and have a listen to the song below (at your own risk)!

Kirk

“Free” (feat. Kinnie Starr) by Andrea Ramolo

The first time I heard this song, I was instantly struck with Andrea Ramolo’s powerfully haunting voice. “Free” (featuring Kinnie Starr) is the third single from her upcoming Quarantine Dream, and was co-written with Andrea, Kinnie, and Hill Kourkoutis.
Ramolo says "Initially, we came together as three strong and supportive women who thought we would write and sing about just that… about coming together as women and lifting each other up and supporting one another in this sisterhood. But we were moved and inspired to lift up and support more than just one another. The song emerged as a true folk song at heart, shining a light on society and exploring the falsity of freedom that only seems to exist for a few. We want to believe in the power of music and the power of coming together for change. “We can’t be free ‘cuz we’re not all free.”

The album is due out October 22, and check out the equally powerful video below, co-directed by Andrea, Kinnie, and the 8 year-old star Emilee Ann Pitawanakwat.

Kirk

Songs of the Week: September 06 - 12, 2021

September 13, 2021 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“Fake Fame” by Dear Rouge

Dear Rouge has come roaring back with a very timely single, “Fake Fame”. The song takes aim social media influencers and socialites, with a huge (and incredibly catchy) tune that takes the band’s sound to new heights.

Singer Danielle McTaggart says "Stardom is alluring and fascinating. It can also be toxic, destructive, and entrapping. Just before writing this song, I actually deleted all social media from my phone. It felt like a small act of rebellion against the anxiety and pressure I felt. In our digital age where anyone can blow up overnight, or one can buy followers and validation, what does notability mean? “Fake Fame” is our attempt to answer to this question. It examines our addiction to technology, social media culture, fast fashion, and the tension between desiring and despising fame.”

While there’s no specific date for Danielle & Drew’s upcoming third album, they tease it will be out early next year.

Kirk

“Strong” by Arkells

Do you have your tissues ready?

Arkells are on the verge of releasing their new album Blink Once on September 22nd, and after bangers and bops, this week we got a ballad.
”Strong” is written for/about their college friend Dr. Barbara Tatham, reflecting on the period of time while she was battling cancer. It’s a beautiful song about resilience and finding small moments of joy where you can.

Christine

“I'm Your Man” by The Tom Fun Orchestra

My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw there was brand new music from The Tom Fun Orchestra — mostly since we haven’t heard much from the Nova Scotian band in nearly a decade.

But if “I’m Your Man” is any indication, the group hasn’t lost a step since their 2012 album Earthworm Heart. Ian MacDougall’s growl still blends perfectly with the lovely voice of Breagh Potter, as the song builds to a bombastic finish.

Along with the single, the band put out the following tease, and I really hope it’s the latter:

“Is this just a one-off single release for a lark; or a sign of more to come? It is almost probably one or the other. Who knows. Whatever happens, we hope you like it.”

Kirk

“Chew Quietly / Clean Slate” by Megan Nash & the Best of Intentions

Last week, Megan Nash dropped a brand new song in advance of their latest album, Soft Focus Features.

“Chew Quietly / Clean Slate” is a gorgeous song that breaks down into a melancholic second half, with Nash describing the song as about “anxiety and hope and dating after a divorce and just wanting things to work out this time. It's about longing for intimacy and stability. It's about that twist in the gut when you see your crush. It's about feeling unbelievably awkward. It's about trying again.”

Soft Focus Features is out November 3, and take a look at the impressive video for the songs below, shot entirely in one take!

Kirk