Songs of the Week: May 02 - 08, 2022

“My Mother’s Hand” by Jill Barber

This past weekend was Mother’s Day, and to commemorate the day, Jill Barber released a gorgeous, heartfelt song called “My Mother’s Hand”.

Though it was released ahead of Mother’s Day, the song was actually written for Jill’s mother’s birthday, after realising she had forgotten to send a card. Jill says "I wrote this song on my Mother’s birthday last year, and quickly recorded a rough demo and sent it to her as a voice note. We are very close, but live very far apart and hadn’t seen each other for over a year. I wanted to express my gratitude to her in the best way I know how, through my music. I am a mother myself now of two young kids and I sometimes worry that I’m not doing as good a job as she did with me… but I know she set the example I will always strive for, and I wanted to thank her with this song."

Have a listen below!

• Kirk

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“Gimmie Spirit” by Dear Rouge

New video and track from Vancouver’s Dear Rouge this week. “Gimmie Spirit” from their album Spirit that was released last month was directed by non other than Steve Bays, and follows the band around a party, and some beach fireworks.

If if you want to see them perform live, you’ve got a lot of chances coming up. They open for Vance Joy on May 27th, headline Friday at the Constellation Festival on July 22nd, and then are opening for Metric on August 13th!

• Christine

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“3 Sisters” by The Rural Alberta Advantage

Hot off the release of their recent EP The Rise, The Rural Alberta Advantage have released a brand new video for the song “3 Sisters”

The video — directed and animated by Jared Sales — follows the band’s tour van across the country, going from show to show. Sales stated, "We wanted to show the synergy a touring band has with each other, their audiences and the landscapes between them. Stylistically, we told the story from a bird's eye view and using 3D animation was the most effective way for me to bring it to life."

And you can catch the band with their van this summer on tour, including a date here in Vancouver opening for Broken Social Scene (or, if you find yourself in California next week, you can see them in LA with me!)

• Kirk

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“Part of Me” by Blunt Chunks

Even if you haven’t heardthe Toronto-based Blunt Chunks before, you may be familiar with some of the faces involved. Fronted by Caitlin Woelfle-O'Brien (of Jaunt), the band also features members of of The Weather Station, Luna Li, Hooded Fang and more! And not only that, but their latest single “Part of Me” features vocals and piano from Broken Social Scenester Brendan Canning.

Dubbed a “narcissistic anthem” by Woelfle-O’Brien, the song features her voice soaring to a crescendo, where it’s joined by a choir of others. Have a listen below, and check out the self-titled EP out now!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: April 25 - May 01, 2022

“All Comes Crashing” by Metric

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve heard new music from Metric, but last week they released the lead single for their brand new album!

The buzzing synth and crunchy guitars of “All Comes Crashing” is the first taste we’re getting of Formentera, due out on July 8th.

Frontwoman Emily Haines says “Not everyone has a conventional life with conventional relationships,” says front woman Emily Haines. “All Comes Crashing” is a love song that goes beyond romantic love, it’s an expression of solidarity with whoever it is you would want to have beside you in the event of catastrophe. It might be your best friend, it might be your blood brother or your dog. The song is dedicated to those you consider your family, whatever that looks like for you.”

They’ve also announced a pretty extensive tour for later this year, including Canadian dates (like August 13 here in Vancouver) with Dear Rouge, an absolute perfect pairing!

• Kirk

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“Fucking Up What Matters” by Tegan and Sara

Seems like we’re getting new music from a ton of long-standing Canadian artists right now (see above and below as well).
Well, Tegan and Sara put out a new single from their upcoming TENTH album. According to Tegan, “Fucking Up What Matters” felt like an ode to the moment in your life when you realize that you have most, if not all of the things you wanted and you start to think about what would happen if you just walked away from it all.

The twins recently jumped labels over to Mom+Pop Music, and their TV adaptation of their memoir High School is in production now. We'll definitely be hearing and seeing more from the duo soon.

• Christine

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“Capelton Hill” by Stars

New music from Metric and Stars in the same week?! In anticipation for their upcoming album, From Capelton Hill, Stars released the title track, “Capelton Hill”.

In classic Stars fashion, the song featured back & forth vocals from Torquil Cambell and Amy Millan, with Torq saying:

“This song sounds like an ending. And maybe it is. It's certainly a moment of looking back; at what we've done together, and what we've lost along the way. It focuses on this band’s enduring obsession: loss. The cost of loving somewhere or someone is the fact that you lose them. The last two years have taught us all a lot about loss; loss of loved ones, of time, of memories, of simple pleasures. That loss hurts. We're all hurt, and there is no way around it, you can only go through it. Whether you're ten or fifty, things change. But on Capelton Hill, maybe things can stay the same. For just one more year.”

From Capelton Hill is out May 27, and their tour kicks off right here in Vancouver on June 4th!

• Kirk

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“Long Way Down” by iskwē and Tom Wilson

The duo of iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (Cree Métis) and Tom Wilson | Tehoh’ahake (Mohawk) have released a few singles over the past couple of years, and now we’re finally getting word of their debut album!

Mother Love is out July 20, and that announcement comes with the latest single, “Long Way Down”. Opening with a bouncy guitar line, the song features a fantastic contrast of voices between iskwē and Tom.

Have a listen for yourself below!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: April 18 - 24, 2022

“In Your Corner (for Scott Hutchison)” by Dan Mangan

Get ready for a heavy one from Dan Mangan. As you may guess from the title, “In Your Corner (for Scott Hutchison)” was written for the former frontman of Frightened Rabbit — who tragically passed away in 2018 — and is a direct response to their song “The Woodpile”.

Dan says “We’d only met once but Scott’s passing eviscerated me. He was my age and very close with several dear friends of mine. Either he couldn't see how deeply he was loved by the world, or he didn’t feel worthy of it. How come he could bring joy to so many people but not to himself? I remember weeping as I poured cereal for my boys that morning. This song came very quickly in the days that followed.”

Have a listen to the song below (perhaps with some tissues on hand) and be on the lookout for Dan in your town, as he starts a Canadian tour this week — with a pair of dates here in Vancouver on May 11 & 12!

• Kirk

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“Oh, Shadowless” by Neko Case

Surprise! This past Friday Neko Case released a digital retrospective of her entire career, consisting of 22 of the “most impactful tracks from her discography” as well as one new song, “Oh, Shadowless”.

The new song features a delightfully animated video by Laura Plansker, who also did artwork for the entire Wild Creatures album, which you can see on the website here.

Alongside the new artwork for each track, there are a series of short essays and track-by-track commentary from long time collaborators A.C. Newman, Dan Bejar, and M. Ward to David Byrne, Shirley Manson, Jeff Tweedy and Rosanne Cash, and a ton more!

• Kirk

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“Not Today” by Partner

“Not Today” by Partner was released last week on 4/20 and how appropriate for a rock ballad style tune.
The band wrote some songs, including this one, from their new album on Gabriola Island here in BC in 2020. T

They said that because they missed playing shows so much a lot of the songs ended up sounding like arena rock - and I’m not mad about it.
I can’t wait to hear even more!

• Christine

Songs of the Week: April 11 - 17, 2022

“Hitman” by Little Destroyer

Vancouver’s Little Destroyer dropped a brand new single last week, “Hitman” along with a video directed by frequent collaborator Connor McGuire.

The raucous song is “an off-beat commentary that touches upon the harassment women encounter in today’s society.” Frontwoman Allie Sheldan adds “Michael and Chris told me to write a story, so I wrote ‘Hitman’. For weeks, I had that recurring question in my head ‘does everybody want to hire one’? We had talked about making something that was simple, driving and to the point, like a Sleaford Mods song. Kind of funny and satirical but also really kind of not, because shit, sometimes life tries to kill you. We’ve all felt sadness turn into rage, maybe while sitting on the curb outside the local liquor store. What do you do with a breaking point? I guess in our case, you write a song.”

The song also namedrops the (in)famous Kingsgate Mall in the lyrics, so how can you not love that?

• Kirk

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“Don’t Trip” by Aquakultre

A new single and an album announcement from East Coast artist, and former Polaris Prize nominee, Aquakultre.
Both the new single and the album are called “Don’t Trip” with the EP set to be released in July 2022 and will sport an impressive 20 guest artists on it!
The album was originally going to be a five-song EP based on the first three weeks of a budding relationship with his partner, but now we’ve got 13 tracks to look forward to. Check out “Don’t Trip” below!

• Christine

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“Reckless Reckless” by Anyway Gang

Anyway Gang is back with a brand new song, AND news of their next album!

The group is comprised of the familiar faces/voices of Dave Monks (Tokyo Police Club), Chris Murphy (Sloan), Menno Versteeg (Hollerado) and Sam Roberts (uh… Sam Roberts Band), and they’ve announced their sophomore album, Still Anyways, will be released on May 6th via Royal Mountain Records.

The latest release, “Reckless Reckless”, lives up to its name with the band saying: "This song is a collection of those small leftover memories that transport you back to another world where the grass is greener and the glasses are rose tinted. I think it was easy for the four of us to all relate too since so much of being in a band is an extension of your teenage dreams. There is a lot of common experience there and if was fun picking references and lyrics together that told a story we all loved. Our respective audiences has been on a journey with us and we wanted to relive some of those sweet nostalgic moments with them. And rip a few guitar solos while we're at it!"

• Kirk

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“The Frequency” by Riches

International collaborators Catherine McCandless and Wynn Holmes — better knows as Riches — have released their latest single, “The Frequency”.

The duo has been releasing a slow drip of new singles since their debut album Fantasy Chapel came out in 2020, and this latest song features McCandless’ haunting voice over a dreamy pop beat, with the band describing the song as “being swept up, being in love, longing and belonging, soothing and alive. It is a calling on the ethereal to take on form, on music to bring touch and connection over the frontiers of physical walls and distances”.

No word yet on their next album, but hopefully we’ll know more soon!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: April 04 - 10, 2022

“Washed Away” by The Darcys

I was really excited this morning, knowing that I’d get to share the new single from The Darcys, and then I woke up to news that their van was broken into!
The culprit only stole an iPod Touch (lolz) but caused $1000 of damage to the van! BOO!

SO, here’s two things you can do - listen to the awesome new song, “Washed Away”, below (and stream it on your preferred playform) and buy some merch from the duo. I got two vinyl, a hat , (plus Kirk and I both got socks) at their Vancouver show last week. I recommend one of everything!

• Christine

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“Never Been” by Darkometro

What happens when you combine Maia Davies (of Ladies of the Canyon) and Patrick Krief (of The Dears and, uh, Patrick Krief)? Darkometro.

“Never Been” is the first single from the collaborating pair, who are long-time friends, and blends Davies’ gorgeous voice with Krief’s fuzzy guitar.

Maia Davies says the song “is a place created where wild love feels safe. This naively beautiful aspiration I carry around, that just a touch or a look to someone can electrically forge all the highs of love. It’s a moment I’ve lived but never maintained. So in this song my fantasy comes to life, somewhere to drink too much wine with someone, party and kiss and have it never end.” And Krief adds: “The sounds of ‘Never Been’ were created as if scoring a movie, one of a murky night, of low visibility, with high lush vocals calling through it. I wanted the bass to feel wooly and warm like a blanket over the whole thing. Summoning Bowie's cacophony on ‘Heroes’, I layered guitars and synths forever, til they grungily and joyfully become one thing.”

Here’s hoping that this is just the first tease of things to come, and we get more from the pair real soon.

• Kirk

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“Trash Bag” by Deanna Petcoff

I have a feeling that a lot of people who have simply existed for the last two years are going to relate to the latest from Deanna Petcoff, “Trash Bag”.

The incredibly charming and catchy song was written at the beginning of the pandemic, Deanna says “as a little tongue in cheek moment. I was starting to see someone new in the throes of the pandemic, and I had to cancel on them almost every time we had plans because I was having an anxiety attack or a depressive episode or a chronic pain flare and couldn’t get myself out of bed. I didn’t want them to view me as a sick person, and I wanted them to still want to see me when I got better. This song came out of nowhere one day while my roommate was doing laundry and moving around bags of garbage that we hadn’t been able to take out in a few days because neither of us had our shit together. In the end I hope this song resonates with anyone that has a mental illness, chronic illness, or anything that prevents them from feeling normal, healthy, and cute.”

“Trash Bag” is off Deanna Petcoff’s latest album To Hell With You, I Love You which came out this past Friday, and you can check out the very fitting video below!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: March 28 - April 03, 2022

“We're In It Together” by Rich Aucoin

If you follow Rich Aucoin on social media, you may have seen his call for guest vocals for a new song. Well, people certainly stepped up, because last week we heard the results with the aptly named single, “We’re In It Together”.

The song features a choir of 99(!) people including members of Planet Booty, TWRP, and Ninja Sex Party. And in true Rich Aucoin fashion, it’s a high energy, uplifting tune that I can’t wait to sing along to live (on May 1 at Fortune, here in Vancouver!)

• Kirk

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“Nervous Breakdown” by Pink Mountaintops

You know, I was JUST thinking about Pink Mountaintops the other day, during a particularly nice sunset in Vancouver when the sun hit, you guessed it, the mountaintops and turned them pink.

Well with this cover of “Nervous Breakdown” by Black Flag, it’s more like PUNK Mountaintops.
Sorry, I’ll stop.

In any case, the song will be on their next album Peacock Pools, which will be released on May 6th, while the band heads out on tour starting this month.

• Christine

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“I’m Sorry” by WiL

You may know WiL for his intense acoustic guitar skills — to the point where his moniker on most platforms is ibreakstrings — his brand new single “I’m Sorry” is a piano-driven tune, for a sweet, apologetic love song.

WiL says “I think in any relationship, being lovers, best friends or both, you say things you just don't mean. We all get complacent or cranky at times. It's human nature to have bad moments, or days… the important thing is to know how and when to say I'm Sorry."

“I’m Sorry” is off his sixth studio album The Gold Mine, which will be out on May 13th. And if you have a chance to see him live (like for instance at Guilt & Co. on April 25, among other dates on his website) I highly suggest you do it!

• Kirk

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“Pressure Mind” by Cancer Bats

“Pressure Mind” is the final track to be released by Cancer Bats ahead of the album dropping on April 15th!
And if you enjoy sipping coffee while you listen to some hardcore punk rock, then you’ll have to grab some of the band’s own roast!
Pressure Mind Coffee roasted by Anchored Coffee Roasters from Dartmouth, NS is available online!

Maybe the band will bring some to the merch booth while they’re on the road, including two shows in Vancouver at the Rickshaw Theatre on the 21st and 22nd of this month.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: March 21 - 27, 2022

“Viral” by Matthew Barber

I was super surprised to get this new song from Matthew Barber in my inbox, as we haven’t had anything from him since 2018!
”Viral” is exactly what you think it is about - “the accelerated world we live in. A world in which technology grapples with nature and ingenuity spawns unintended consequences” (says Barber).

No news in the press release about more music, as Barber has spent the last few years being on the producer side of music, but here’s hoping!

• Christine

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“Patterns” by Stars

We’ve still got a couple months before Stars release their latest album, From Capelton Hill, but the band has given us another pair of new songs to dig into before then!

“Build A Fire” is a thumping, dancey tune that was “written in a fever dream of Covid-19 paranoia and restlessness, somewhere in the middle of last year,” according to Torquill Campbell.

While “Patterns” is a little more atmospheric song about connections. Amy Milan explains “Friendship is the only boat that will float you across the storm. With your friends you create the ethos to shield all that tomorrow will throw at you. Some Patterns can be changed. Some Patterns are sacred geometry and will never change. Only what loves will remain.” And what better way to exemplify that than with an appearance from long-time friend-of-the-band, Murray Lightburn of The Dears!

Listen to “Build A Fire” right here, and check out the video for “Patterns” below!

• Kirk

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“Totally Fine” by Pup

So the new album from PUP (coming out on April 1st) is called THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND, and this video for their latest single “Totally Fine” definitely leans into that.

It features the band selling out and entering the corporate world with some evil plans up their sleeves.

And in the video description they say: “ARE YOU CONFUSED BY OUR NEW VIDEO? DO YOU NEED ANSWERS?? DOES YOUR LIFE LACK MEANING??? CALL US 323-570-0388. We have all new menu options.”
Admit it, you’re curious… definitely give it a call.

• Christine

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“Everything Is Fine” by Skye Wallace

Between the title of the new Pup song and the title of the new Skye Wallace song, is… is everyone alright?

For Skye’s answer, you’ll just have to have a peek at the video for “Everything is Fine” below, an oddly heartwarming tale of a swamp creature just trying to get through the day and do their best.

The video matches the song’s raw vulnerability, so have a watch below!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: March 14 - 20, 2022

“What In The World” by The Bros. Landreth

How about a pretty little love song to start your week off?
The latest single, “What In The World” from The Bros. Landreth’s upcoming album Come Morning, imagines a world without love. It’s super soft, flowing, and has really pretty guitar throughout.

The new album (due out May 13th) documents their journey and growth from ‘non-stop touring musicians to husbands and fathers’.

• Christine

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“The Way You Love” by TITUS BANK

Last week, TITUS BANK announced his debut EP, and gave us a little teaser, too. Produced by BIG KILL, the new single "The Way You Love" showcases Titus's captivating vocals and catchy hooks.

Bank says: "I wrote this song almost on a whim, just to ease the urge in me to write big, loud, overemphatic love ballads. I love “love”, so this song is simply me standing on a mountaintop screaming to my wife that I love her love. This was produced by BIG KILL and it really turned into something incredible since my original demo was just a simple beat, piano and vocals. The sound is floaty but also extremely groovy and just feels great. The bass done by Parker Bossley pretty much unlocked this song to be a duel of sorts between a beautiful ballad and an absolute bop."

The new EP doesn’t have a concrete date yet, but look for it in April out on Everything Forever!

• Kirk