Songs of the Week: February 28 - March 06, 2022

March 07, 2022 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Reckoning” by Arkells

You thought just because Arkells put out an album six months ago they were going to slow down? Nope. Aside from an extensive tour planned, including playing this year’s Juno Awards, the boys from Hamilton are releasing yet another album, aptly titled Blink Twice.

“Reckoning” is the first taste of the new album that is somewhat of a companion album to Blink Once, with frontman Max Kerman saying “The title of Blink Once was born from the song “Reckoning,” and lyrics “blink twice, there’s gonna be a reckoning. If you listen to the outro track of Blink Once - “Last Night I Heard Em’ Sing” - we hint that there’s more coming. Kind of like a post-credits scene in a movie. “Reckoning” is the beginning of what’s next.”

Crank the volume on this Monday morning (or… whenever you happen to be reading this) and enjoy.

Kirk

“To Talk About” by The Weather Station

Speaking of “companion albums” and “quick turnarounds”, last week we got another tease of the newest album from The Weather Station, How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars.

Out this coming Friday, the album is a companion to last year’s Ignorance (which was just nominated for a Juno!) with songs that were written at the same time and deal with a lot of the same emotions and themes: disconnection & conflict, love, birds, and climate feelings.

The latest song is the absolutely gorgeous “To Talk About”, featuring Tamara Lindeman’s incredible vocals tempered by a soft piano, and joined by Ryan Driver.

Kirk

“Out of Nowhere” by Anyway Gang

When your super group band has 4 lead singers, it’s always fun to see who is taking the lead next. In the case of Anyway Gang’s new single “Out Of Nowhere”, that’d be the one and only Sam Roberts.

The second most exciting part of the press release was the tease that the band would be announcing tour dates on March 11th - so be on the lookout for those!

By the way, I could only watch the video for about 3 seconds before I immediately got motion sick, so it’s a mystery to me - but hopefully you can enjoy it.

Christine

“Matilda” by PUP

I honestly don’t even want to write anything about this track because PUP’s lead singer Stefan did it best:

“Matilda is the name of my favourite guitar. She was a gift from my friend Ryan, after watching me accidentally break the only guitar I owned in the middle of a long tour,” says Backbock. “I had no money to buy a replacement, and Ryan’s act of kindness is up there on my list of ‘nicest things anyone’s ever done for me’. I played Matilda nonstop for 7 years at every PUP show, even when my bandmates started complaining that she sounded like shit. As the band got bigger, the pressure to sound better was building and so I bought a ‘good’ guitar and played Matilda less and less. Before I knew it I hadn’t played her in over a year. I wrote this song based on this intense feeling of guilt and sadness and shame and nostalgia and regret, watching her rot away in a corner. I love this guitar and I love Ryan and wanted to do right by them, and I felt like I’d failed them both. I convinced the band that Matilda deserved one last rip on a PUP record, and I played her during the bridge of this song. It sounds so shitty. But good shitty. Great shitty. For me, it was the most joyful and cathartic moment in the entire making of this record.”

PUP has added new tour dates, but the Vancouver one hasn’t been rescheduled yet - I’m eyeing April 7th as it is right before 2 Victoria shows. Cross your fingers!

Christine

Songs of the Week: February 21 - 27, 2022

February 28, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“Strange Times” by Blonde Diamond

One of my most anticipated albums of this year is the as-yet-unnamed (and un-dated) debut full length from Blonde Diamond.

The latest tease of that album comes from the new single, the breezy “Strange Times”. The band says the song “was (somewhat obviously from the title) written mid-pandemic, when the world felt like it was at a standstill. The entire idea originated from this feeling of living in a surreal dream, but we took the story away from the reality of what was happening in real life and transported it to an extravagant, fictional tryst that is taking place while the world is ending. It’s a nihilist fantasy of living life as a luxurious lie, because it’s all going to end anyways I suppose, so why not enjoy it while we can!”

Have a listen below!

Kirk

“In The Name Of (The Garden Version)” by Basia Bulat

Last week, Basia Bulat released The Garden, a new album with reimagined versions of a collection of songs from across her past albums.

The “Garden Versions” feature new orchestral arrangements by the likes of Owen Pallett, Paul Frith, and Zou Zou Robidoux, and let me tell you… this whole album is absolutely gorgeous.

Check out the new rendition of “In The Name Of” below, but be warned: you will want to listen to the full album immediately after.

Kirk

“Sleepyhead” by Terra Lightfoot

First new music from Terra Lightfoot in 2022 is here with the track “Sleepyhead”.
The lullaby-esque tune is about love for children and parents balancing their lives with them.

The song, which was recorded in her living room, and had strings added on later, seems to be a standalone track at the moment, but hopefully news on more new music soon.

Christine

Songs of the Week: February 14 - 20, 2022

February 21, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“Pretenders” and “Snowy Owl” by Stars

Drop everything, there’s brand new music from Stars! It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the Montreal group (unless you subscribe to their Patreon, where they frequently post demos and teases) and now we have not one, but two brand new songs to hype their upcoming album, Capelton Hill.

The pair of tunes encapsulates the band perfectly, with “Pretenders” being a raucous, high energy love letter written from Amy Millan to the rest of the band; and “Snowy Owl” a more tender, acoustic track, with Amy and Torquil Campbell trading off vocals.

Capelton Hill comes out May 27th, or if you want more new music from Amy or Torq, both have been taking personalized commissions(!) on their respective twitter accounts, if you have a spare $1000.

Kirk

“RIP To Us” by Kelland & Willa

I’ve missed hearing Willa’s voice so much - although I do hear it almost daily with those Rogers commercials - but I was so excited to see she collaborated on a new track with (Vancouver-based artist) Kelland.

“RIP To Us” is a danceable banger of a break-up song, and the two artists compliment each other nicely.
I’d be down for a whole album between these two!

Christine

“Parade” by Frontperson

When Frontperson released their debut album in 2018, I was really hoping the collaboration between Kathryn Calder (New Pornographers, Immaculate Machine) and Mark Hamilton (Woodpigeon) (also, no relation) would not be a one-off.

So I was very happy to hear the playful pop-tinged “Parade” last week, and even happier to see it was the first single and title track for a new album!

The album was recorded on Vancouver Island, right near where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were staying, though reportedly "attempts to get some guest vocals proved unsuccessful."

Parade will be out April 29 on Calder's own Oscar St. Records!

Kirk

“Lights Of The City” by Pink Mountaintops

It’s been eight years (yes, EIGHT) since we’ve had any new music from Pink Mountaintops, and quite frankly I thought about this every time the sunset hit the mountains on the North Shore…
But that all ends now!
”Lights of The City” is the first new track from the band (created by Black Mountain frontman Stephen McBean), and the new album, Peacock Pools, is set to be released on May 6th!

If you want to hear from McBean’s brain on what happens in the video below, here you go:
“Lincoln Heights hilltop sunrise riff’n’bang sparks spree of vengeance by disgruntled ex-bass player turned cyborg tinkertronic handsome man, Ken The Walnut.

Obsessed with Pink Mountaintops demise The Walnut’s sinister plot almost succeeds in a Don McClean sized wave of rock’n’roll destruction.

Thankfully, Emily Rose’s Phantom of The Park summoned superpowers save the band group combo and with some collective post-dress rehearsal concert magic the former low frequency fiend is defeated. Let the rock prevail!”

Christine

“Stay” by The Bros. Landreth

Last week The Bros. Landreth dropped a brand new single, “Stay”.

The lead single off their upcoming album Come Morning, Joey Landreth says "Stay playfully explores a difficult topic for artists — wanting to settle and put some roots down. Though written from the perspective of a touring musician, anyone who’s looking to shift gears can relate."

Have a listen below, and mark down May 13th for the album’s release.

Kirk

Songs of the Week: February 07 - 13, 2022

February 14, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“CANDU” by The Rural Alberta Advantage

It’s been nearly five years since we heard new music from The Rural Alberta Advantage, but last week the trio released not one, but TWO new tracks!

“CANDU” and “AB Bride” are the first in what the band is calling a “distinctly divergent course” for releasing their music. They will be putting out an ongoing series of new songs and EPs, as they're written and recorded by the band, with live shows to support them.

The new songs also see the return of original member Amy Cole, rejoining Nils Edenloff and Paul Banwatt, and if these two songs are any indication, it’s going to be a heck of a year of new music!

Kirk

“When You Turn on the Light” by Frog Eyes

Vancouver’s Frog Eyes announce their surprise return last week, releasing their first new single in four years(!)

"When You Turn On The Light," is the debut track off their upcoming album, The Bees, and features Carey Mercer’s distinctive vocals driving the melocic indir rock tune.

Mercer says: "I never made music when I was 21. I wanted to be a painter. I lived in an apartment with friends in Vancouver, and my room was full of cans of toxic enamel-marine paint. I would wake up at 3:30pm and paint on my bedroom wall, this crazed fresco, a hellish umber landscape that glittered street light reflections from the enamel paint. I had to sleep by my open window because the fumes were atrocious, and I started to deteriorate, but the fresco was really coming along.
Some of the roommates were amazing musicians, some of them passed away. I think the song ‘When You Turn on the Light’ describes walking into my bedroom in that apartment.
One time, I came home from a late afternoon walk and the building manager was standing in my bedroom looking at the painting with a look of wonder but also fear, and the fear turned to anger when I walked in. She kept her food in our fridge because her roommate kept stealing her cream cheese, and we used to dread the sound of her key turning in our lock. But it meant we could eat her cream cheese. When she confronted me about the fresco, I told her I was enriching the apartment and lied about my standing in the world, describing upcoming shows in Milan and Turin. And Toronto, for believability. She left and we were evicted a bit later but I think it had more to do with other things and not just the fresco."

Frog Eyes also be playing the Vancouver edition of the Paper Bag Records 20th Anniversary weekend, along with Frankiie and Gold & Youth at the Rickshaw on March 4th!

Kirk

“Psychic Jailbreak” by Cancer Bats

Need something to wake you up this Monday morning?!
”Psychic Jailbreak”, the new single by Cancer Bats will definitely fit that bill.

It’s the first, and title, track from their new album that will be coming out on April 15th through (their own label) Bat Skull Records. Lead singer Liam Cormier said that they “needed to kick things off with a total banger of a track that makes you want to pump your fist in the air, smash your head to the beat, all while screaming the call to action REJECT THE FALLACY OF TIME!".

Yep. That tracks!

Christine

“90 Days” by Common Deer

Toronto’s Common Deer shared the first single off their debut full-length album, MAXIMALIST last week. “90 Days” sees the band shifting from their indie rock roots to more of a synth-pop sound, but is no less catchy from their previous tunes.

Singer Sheila Hart says the new record tackles a range of raw and honest themes, from mental health, abuse, and addiction, to sexism and obsession, all with an undeniably raw vulnerability, adding "MAXIMALIST is a celebration of excess and a refusal to compromise, however misguided that might be.”

And with song titles like “Negative Thot”, “Fuckboi”, and “LonelyFans”, I am definitely intrigued to hear the full album when it drops April 1st!

Kirk

“Love Ballad” by Combine The Victorious

Happy Valentine’s Day to those that celebrate.
Here’s a little love ballad, conveniently called “Love Ballad”, by Vancouver’s Combine The Victorious.
<3

Christine

Songs of the Week: January 31 - February 06, 2022

February 07, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Alternate View” by Anyway Gang

The Canadian Indie Rock Voltron known as Anyway Gang is back! A couple years ago Chris Murphy (Sloan), Menno Versteeg (Hollerado), Dave Monks (Tokyo Police Club), and Sam Roberts (uh… Sam Roberts Band) got together to jam, and ended up releasing a self titled album and playing exactly one (1) show.

Now they’ve returned with a brand new single, “Alternate View”, a psyche-tinged indie-pop banger that’s paired with an excellent animated video from Justin Hess.

Released on Royal Mountain Records, hopefully this single is just the tease of a brand new album and, more importantly, at least one more show.

Kirk

“With You” by Mo Kenney

The first new music of 2022 from Mo Kenney came out this week with the song “With You”.
Mo says the track about their “own messy, true-to-life experience with loss, reflecting on dashed dreams, miscommunications, and moments of quiet connection”.

It’s about heartbreak and accepting something can be painful, but you’re okay with that.
Hoping to hear more from Mo in the coming months!

Christine

“Human Like You” by Adnama

Since her debut EP in 2017, Vancouver’s Adnama has been releasing a slow drip of new songs exploring a variety of sounds.

Her latest, “Human Like You”, is a dark & pulsing synth-heavy tune, that’s accompanied by a video of what appears to be an extraterrestrial being staring directly into your soul for 4 minutes.

Check it out below!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: January 24 - 30, 2022

January 31, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Endless Time” by The Weather Station

Remember that brief window of time when everything seemed to be starting to settle down and we could do things again? In that window I was lucky to catch The Weather Station perform a live show, where she teased some brand new songs.

Now we have news of an upcoming album, How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars, which is a companion piece to last year’s Ignorance. Tamara Lindeman says “When I wrote Ignorance, it was a time of intense creativity, and I wrote more songs than I ever had in my life. The songs destined to be on the album were clear from the beginning, but as I continued down my writing path, songs kept appearing that had no place on the album I envisioned. Songs that were simple, pure; almost naive. Songs that spoke to many of the same questions and realities as Ignorance, but in a more internal, thoughtful way. So I began to envision How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars, a quiet, strange album of ballads. I imagined it not as a followup to Ignorance, but rather as a companion piece; the moon to its sun.”

The album is out March 4, and you can check out the first single “Endless Time” below!

Kirk

“Hayloft II” by Mother Mother

Why aren’t there more song sequels?

After the surprise recent breakout of their song “Hayloft”, Mother Mother first released a brand new video for the song, and then decided it was time to revisit the characters of the narrative. Singer Ryan Guldemond says, “We have learned more about the story of ‘Hayloft’ through our fans that we ever could have unearthed ourselves. We began to ask, is there more to this story? And the resounding answer seemed to be ‘yes!’ It was an ambitious task to try to do justice to a story, and to characters, that have grown far beyond the initial intention of the song. We hope that the sequel in both song and video form honor and live up to what our incredible fans have helped ‘Hayloft’ to become.”

The first “Hayloft” remains one of my favourite Mother Mother songs, and the sequel definitely does it justice. Check it out below!

Kirk

“Small Talk” by Dear Rouge

After a few single releases, Dear Rouge finally has a release date for their new album!

Spirit will be coming out on April 8th, and of it the band says it is: “the most vulnerable and raw side of Danielle’s inner thoughts, and the line being thrown from these questions and deep reckonings within oneself, urging you to grab hold and hang on for dear life.”

“Small Talk”, the latest single released last week, is about looking for authentic connections in today’s world. I can get behind that!

Christine

“It’s Too Quiet” by Begonia

Another single from Winnipeg’s Begonia was released this week - which hopefully means she’s building up to a new album!

“It’s Too Quiet” is about the beginning of relationships when lots is still uncertain - it’s about when “you just want to be around someone all the time but aren't sure how they feel about you, so you second guess every text and every phone call before finally just being vulnerable (AH!) and letting the other person know how you feel.”

In March, Begonia is heading out on tour in the States, with a stop at SXSW - and let’s hope things get better here so we can see her in Vancouver once again.

Christine

“What’s Wrong With Changing?” by Wallis Bird

One of my favourite things about the Vancouver Folk Music Festival is the workshops, especially going to a workshop where I know one of the acts and then immediately being enamoured by one I hadn’t heard of.

That’s exactly what happened a couple years ago when I went to see Skye Wallace, and came out a new fan of Ireland’s Wallis Bird. So I was happy to see she had a new album on its way, Hands (Nine and a Half Songs for Nine and a Half Fingers).

Out on May 27th, the title references Wallis’ own hand, and was announced with a pair of songs, “What’s Wrong With Changing” and “Pretty Lies”.

The first (which you can check out below) is a raucous track about the inevitability of change, and the need to adapt.

Kirk

Songs of the Week: January 17 - 23, 2022

January 24, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day

“Time is a Car” by Partner

We’ve got a new single from from Partner, that came about from a writing session on none other than Gabriola Island. “Time is a Car” is the first from that session to be released, with more to come, but I want to talk about the music video.

The band wanted to collaborate with a director, but the distance was unworkable, so as you’ll see in the video, they made the best of the circumstances and it turns out awesome. “Time Is A Car is a meta music video. A music video in a music video. It's what would have happened if Thelma and Louise escaped with all the money and drove happily ever after off into the sunset and had wonderful prosperous lives.”

(I’d honestly watch that movie!)

Christine

“Return to Me” by Said the Whale

Oh HELLO new Said The Whale!

I actually heard this song before the official release when Tyler played it on his radio show Discovery on 102.7 The Peak, so I was very excited for it to be launched into the world.

“Return to Me” is a stand alone single, but it came with the announcement of the deluxe version of their latest album Dandelion’s release on February 11th, which it will be featured on (as well as a remix of “Honey Lungs”).

Also, cross your fingers we’re good to go in society in March because Said The Whale are playing THREE shows (and a bonus one if you attend all 3) and I cannot wait - details here.

Christine

“The Ostrich” by Bad Pop

Vancouver trio Bad Pop is gearing up for a new EP, and recently released a video for their second single, “The Ostrich”.

The song is described as “a love song from the gutter”, and the video features singer Chris Connelly strutting around Vancouver, visiting a few notable landmarks, wearing a full-on ostrich costume.

As a side note, I am pretty sure I’ve passed by Chris on the street a few times in my neighbourhood, and I am now disappointed it’s never been in a bird costume.

Have a watch below!

Kirk

“Robot Writes A Love Song” by PUP

PUP seems to be getting more and more meta, but does it matter when every song they release ends up being a banger?

The band announced a new album called THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHE BAND, written in the summer of 2021, and “Robot Writes A Love Song” is the seconds single to be released. The song was apparently written in 15 minutes in the back of lead singer Stefan Babcock’s car.
I’m curious if it was spurred on by the car radio, as one of the lines (that made me laugh very hard) is "Black Hole Sun, on 102.1 FM, I think I'm gonna self destruct if I ever hear that song again".

I cannot wait for this album to be released.

Christine

“Light of Dawn” by Riches

Riches continued their release of gorgeous singles last week, with the brand new song, “Light of Dawn”.

The intercontinental collaboration of Catherine McCandless and Wynn Holmes, welcomed the new year with a song that uses “the metaphor of a maypole dance to bring sunlight and celebration into the repetitive and insular routines of our pandemic lives.”

Kirk

Songs of the Week: January 10 - 16, 2022

January 17, 2022 by Kirk Hamilton in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Truth Be Told” by Skye Wallace

As excited as I was for new music from Skye Wallace, I was equally excited to see it was her first release signed to Six Shooter Records, since that is an excellent artist/label pairing!

Her new single, “Truth Be Told”, is a slow-burner about change and trying to reconcile that within yourself. Or as Wallace puts it, it’s about “all the versions of yourself you try on, all the mistakes you make, all the imperfections of finding yourself, and how impatient and downright mean you can be towards yourself along the way. For me, the song has come to represent how I grew into myself after moving around a lot my whole life, not being “from” anywhere, not always feeling a sense of belonging, and the long, long journey it took to love who I am and to be softer with myself.”

Co-written by Charlie Kerr from Hotel Mira, hopefully the song is just a tease of more to come this year!

Kirk

“Get Out Of The Game” by Sam Weber

Sam Weber’s latest single “Get Out Of The Game” is about something that a lot of people probably faced during the pandemic: career doubt.

It deals with quitting your passion job, trying something new, but ultimately returning to your job with new eyes.
Sam’s next album Get Free comes out on February 5th and if all goes well, he’s heading state side to tour for February and March.

Christine

“Take Me Home” by Shred Kelly

Last week Shred Kelly released a very cute video for the unplugged version of their song “Take Me Home”.

It features lyrics on various pieces of luggage and signs on the front porch of Tim and Sage’s home and various band member drop-by’s.

Made me want to go hang out on their porch in Fernie. Give it a watch below!