Songs of the Week: September 05 - 11, 2022

“I Know What You're Thinking And It's Awful (Acoustic)” by The Dears

This week, The Dears Return to Lover’s Rock with a brand new acoustic album. To celebrate (finally) being able to play shows, the band is releasing an expanded version of their 2020 album Lover’s Rock, with five new acoustic versions of songs from the album.

Natalia Yanchak says “We originally released Lovers Rock in 2020. It was an album we were, and are still, very proud of. Murray and I recorded an acoustic session just before we released the album. Again, back in 2020 we spent the day at Hotel2Tango studio in Montreal -- we put out the videos of some of these sessions, but now can finally share the audio on this deluxe upgraded version of the album, Return to Lovers Rock. It's kind of like Return to the Planet of the Apes: we can't not go back there. There's unfinished business down on Lovers Rock, so it's time for a spin off!”

The full album is out now, and you can hear the gorgeous “I Know What You’re Thinking and it’s Awful” below.

And as a side note! Check out Riley & Rochelle — a detective game about two musicians in the 90s who fall in love — co-created by Natalia, alongside Tim Sheinman.

• Kirk

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“I’M GOOD” by Snotty Nose Rez Kids

I don’t know if I’ve ever heard Kenny vs Spenny referenced in a rap before but I absolutely love that Snotty Nose Rez Kids did it in their newest release “I’M GOOD”. (“This ain't David vs Goliath, it's Kenny versus Spenny".)

In their first new music since their Polaris Prize Short Listed album Life After, SNRK gave us a song that is “a call for anyone to focus on themselves rather than others”.

We’ll have to wait another week to find out if the duo claim this year’s Polaris Prize, but in the meantime, check out the new song below.

• Christine

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“Division 5” and “Leave Me As You Found Me” by Whitehorse

During their set at the Constellation Festival this summer, Whitehorse teased a couple new projects coming down the line, including a full-on country album. Now we’re getting our first look at I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying with not one, but TWO new songs.

“Division 5” features Luke Doucet singing a tale of a sad sack trying to enlist the help of Mounties to reclaim his lost love, and “Leave Me As You Found Me” features Melissa McClelland’s gorgeous voice joined by some pedal-steel.

I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying isn’t out until next year — January 13 — but you might just be able to catch some of the new songs live as the duo is on tour right now, including a show here in Vancouver at the Hollywood Theatre on October 8th.

• Kirk

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“It’s Not Up To Me” by Hyaenas

Vancouver’s Hyaenas released their latest single last week, the 80s-inspired, synth-rock infused “It’s Not Up To Me”.

Produced by Jesse Gander, the band says the song “alludes to the fight, flight, or freeze stress response and that serving up anger can be warranted (especially when it’s towards a toxic manipulator who is the subject of this track). The choruses support the cathartic healing that anger brings, and the bridge encourages the release of letting it go.”

Check it out below, and catch an acoustic duo set from the band at Westminster Pier Park this Friday as part of the TD Play the Parks Music Series.

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: August 29 - September 04, 2022

“Teenage Tears” by Arkells (feat. Tegan and Sara)

A few weeks ahead of their latest album, Blink Twice (yes, it’s a follow up to last year’s Blink Once), Arkells have unveiled their latest collaborators: Tegan and Sara.

“Teenage Tears” is melancholic song, and frontman Max Kerman says: “There’s a particular kind of intense emotional pain that reminds me of high school. It’s not worn down, chronic kind of pain. It’s a sharp and confusing sad. This song is about how occasionally you can still feel that kind of sadness as an adult. We were trying to do something that might feel somewhere between Olivia Rodrigo and The National or Bon Iver.”

The new song comes with a video shot in Vancouver’s (in)famous Kingsgate Mall, check it out below!

• Kirk

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“Faded Like A Feeling” by Tegan and Sara

Speaking of Tegan and Sara (and Vancouver landmarks)….

They too put out a new single, which will appear on their soon to be released 10th studio album, Crybaby, (due October 21). “Faded Like A Feeling”’s video was shot on the swing set at Hastings Mill Park near Jericho Beach (their last video for “Yellow” was at Locarno Beach!) - and happens to be directed by Mark Myers, who did the video with the Arkells as well!

The tune is about the “mysterious ebbs and flows of love and relationships” and the hazy vibe of the beach adds perfectly to the mood of the song.

• Christine

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“Matilda” & “Robot Writes A Love Song” by PUP

I love a good live album - when it’s done well and you get the energy of the crowd in there, it can be the next best thing to seeing a band live.

Well one of my FAVOURITE bands to see live is PUP and they’re giving us just that with an album recorded in Toronto at multiple venues and titled PUP Unravels Live In Front Of Everyone They Know.
Appropriate since it’s their hometown.

The first two songs released (the album drops on October 12th) are “Matilda” & “Robot Writes A Love Song” which you can hear below.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: August 22 - 28, 2022

“The People” by GLDMTH

You probably know Ryan Guldemond from Mother Mother, but the songwriter recently unveiled his brand new solo project, GLDMTH. Pronounced “Goldmouth”, the new project will be a blend of Guldemond’s music, photography, videography, & poetry. The first glimpse of that we’re getting is the new single, a dark, piano-driven tune called “The People”

Ryan says "This is my favourite song on the album. The chords and the mood opened up a space where I felt like I could be really honest about who I am, which like everybody, I imagine, is a lot of different and contrasting people. 'A drugger, a drinker, a monk up on a hill in Nirvana.' I’ve been through all of those phases, and though I may not be living some of them out any longer, the voices of those characters are still very much alive and vocal in the darker spaces of my mind."

Check it out below, and mark down September 23 for the release of the selt-titled debut.

• Kirk

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“Orpheus” by The Beaches

Following up on their tune “Grow Up Tomorrow” and all its summer vibes, Toronto band The Beaches have released “Orpheus”.
In an ode to the Greek mythological figure, The Beaches reimagine their lover as the ill-fated musician of the same name.

The tale goes that Orpheus was so in love with his wife that he tries to bring her back to life - only to lose her again. The Beaches on the other hand, learn from his mistake of turning back and instead, they choose to push forward.

• Christine

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“Sweet Oblivion” by KINLEY

Coming up on the release of her new album, KINLEY released the second single from Daylight last week, “Sweet Oblivion”.

The new song is an indie-pop jam, and KINLEY says it’s “all about summer vibes and feeling free in nature. It’s about self-acceptance and being happy where you are and having no worries in the world when you’re in paradise (aka Prince Edward Island beaches).”

Along with the new album, KINLEY has recently released a music instruction book, ‘Violin with KINLEY’. Available on Amazon, the book is designed to support her website Violin With KINLEY where you can learn to play from the comfort of your own home!

Check out the book & website now, and the new album when it’s out on November 4th!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: August 15 - 21, 2022

“Dark Times” by Jason Collett

Not counting last year’s Best Of collection, it’s been six long years since we last got an album from Jason Collett, but that’s about to change.

“Dark Times” — the first single off his upcoming album Head Full Of Wonder — is Collett at his best; jangly, folky guitars punctuated by his thought provoking lyrics, inspired by a famed Bertolt Brecht epigram:
”In the dark times
will there also be singing?
Yes, there will be singing
about the dark times.”

The new album is out November 4, on Arts & Crafts, and you can check out the first single below!

• Kirk

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“Haystack Rock” by Limblifter

Limblifter is back! This is not a drill!
I was incredibly excited when I saw this land in my inbox the other day.

They’ve announced their fifth studio recording, Little Payne, will be released on October 31st and the first single is titled “Haystack Rock”.
In reading a little bit about the album, there was the promise of “mind-bending sax solos” - which if you know me, you know I’m stoked on this. Little Payne was built on a base of five years of jams made by songwriter, singer, guitarist Ryan Dahle, that he recorded while working on other artist’s albums.

Can’t wait to hear more!

• Christine

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“We Just Wanna Dance” by Blonde Diamond

We’ve already heard a couple previews off the upcoming debut full length album from Vancouver’s Blonde Diamond. Now we get yet another with a sultry, sweaty anthem, appropriately titled “We Just Wanna Dance”.

Magnetic Strangers is due out September 23, and the band promises a “menagerie of operatic, late-night indie rock, dive-bar R&B, charred disco, and wide-eyed electro-pop and plays host to a warring between choice, agency, reason, and compulsion.”

Have a listen for yourself below!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: August 08 - 14, 2022

“Retriever” by Braids

Clear your next ten minutes, because you are going to want to just sit back and let the luscious new song from Braids wash over you.

“Retriever” is the group’s first new music since their 2020 album Shadow Offering, which the band describes as “a 9-minute journey track, simple in its sentiment of love and friendship, yet complex in its lush arrangement and textural experimentation. We returned to our roots with this one, exploring new corners of sound, collaboration and a ‘DGAF’ attitude with where we ended up. This song is a trip back to euphoric freedom and lightness during a time of intense isolation. We were happy to travel there, and for you to now dive into it.”

No word yet on a new album from the Montreal trio, but here’s hoping we find out something soon!

• Kirk

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“The TFD” by TOTAL FUCKING DARKNESS

Torquil Campbell has been busy as of late. Even with a new Stars album (and tour) and working on his personalized song commissions, he still had time to team with longtime friend and collaborator Stephen Ramsay (of Young Galaxy) for a brand new band.

Going under the name TOTAL FUCKING DARKNESS (or just TFD), the duo released their debut single “The TFD” last week. The synth-pop jam was written & recorded “in 20 minutes on the verandah of a rich woman's house.”

And how can you not love a song with the stark opening lines: “death to fascism, death to men, death to the politicians and the women who live with them”

• Kirk

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“Scattered Ashes” by UWUW

Speaking of new supergroups…
Vocals from Chris A. Cummings aka Marker Starling, and Drew Smith (Bunny, The Bicycles), and a band consisting of Jason Haberman of Dan Mangan and Yeahsun, Jay Anderson of Badge Epoque Ensemble, Biblical and Lammping, and Ian Blurton of Ian Blurton’s Future Now, Change of Heart, and C’mon have joined forces to form UWUW.

UWUW (which is pronounced “you-you”), will have a self-titled debut album out in October of this year, and the first single “Scattered Ashes” is out now. It’s got a jazzy, yet 70s fuzzy rock vibe to it and I’m always in for a good horn section! Check it out below.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: August 01 - 07, 2022

“Sweet Relief” by Colyn Cameron

Start your Monday off with this soft and sweet new song by JUNO Award nominated songwriter Colyn Cameron.
Cameron released his new album Freehand last week, almost four years after his last (Sad & Easy), and says that the “materials for Freehand emerged within the paradoxical spaces of experimenting with dispersed and concentrated rhythms”.

The single off of the new album that was released this week, “Sweet Relief” was written smack in the middle of the pandemic and is about trying to find love and relief in that kind of world.

• Christine

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“I’m Spent” by Housewife

Toronto duo Housewife released yet another new songs this week, a slightly melancholic yet incredibly catchy song “I’m Spent”.

The band explains that the new tune “deals with fading friendships. You have this group of people you're really close with for years, but as you both grow and change, you start disagreeing more often and eventually drift apart. Growing up and moving on can feel sad, but mostly necessary so you can continue to evolve as a person."

No word yet on a new album, but with three new songs out in as many months, fingers crossed for something soon!

• Kirk

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“Party4One” by dwi

How can you not love a song with a lyrical reference to the classic ‘97 N64 game GoldenEye 007?

That’s exactly what we hear from the opening lines of “Party4One” by dwi, the solo project from Dwight Abell (The Zolas). As you may guess from the title, the song is a “celebration of being a loner” and captures dwi’s “experience of cabin fever and losing touch with reality, all the while falling in love with himself.”

Check out the song below, and check out dwi live at Light Organ’s 10th anniversary celebration, the Summerlight Festival on August 20!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: July 25 - 31, 2022

“Human Being” by Arkells feat. Lights

Arkells continue their string of collaborations with yet another team up with Lights!

“Human Being” is the latest from their upcoming album, Blink Twice, which features other collabs with the likes of Cold War Kids, Tegan and Sara, Cœur de pirate, Aly & AJ, and Joel Plaskett.

The new track is exactly as catchy as you’d expect from the pairing of Arkells and Lights, with a chaotic energy; and energy that singer Max Kerman says is “something like Talking Heads meets Billy Joel. We are learning a lot about ourselves on this record. This song is about finding a truer version of yourself - the one you’ve hid in the past. The song is searching for a kind of freedom that conventional life paths have to offer. Once we had it in good shape we sent it to our friend Lights who is the best at writing about this kind of discovery.”

The new album is out September 23, and you can also catch Arkells on tour later this year with K. Flay, including a stop right here in Vancouver at Rogers Arena!

• Kirk

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“Fear That Closes The Hear” by Partner

I ended up getting heat stroke this weekend (HYDRATE PEOPLE), so that blurb is going to be short and sweet.

Partner released another single, “Fear That Closes The Heart”, from their upcoming album Time Is A Car (out October 7th). The music video is a collaboration with Cartel Madras, whom they met during a trip up to Folk On The Rocks in Yellowknife, and it has yielded a wonderful result. Fear, passion, impulsiveness and nostalgia all on display. Give it a watch.

• Christine

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“Into the Woods” by PHILDEL

It’s been a hot minute since we heard anything from the English singer/songwriter PHILDEL, but last week she released the first track from her upcoming album, “Into the Woods”

The new song is a dark fairy tale, with PHILDEL’s breathy & haunting vocals on full display. Hit play, close your eyes, and prepare to just drift off.

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: July 18 - 24, 2022

“Grow Up Tomorrow” by The Beaches

Reading the words “the song was co-written with LOWELL”, I already knew this was going to be a great new song by The Beaches, and I wasn’t disappointed.

”Grow Up Tomorrow” is super fun, incredibly catchy, and has one hell of a house party music video to go along with it.
I expect to hear this on the radio for the rest of the summer.

• Christine

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“Fire Escape” by Dan Mangan

I can’t imaging anyone wanting to hurt Dan Mangan, but that’s exactly what Steven Ogg is set out to do in the brand new video for “Fire Escape”.

Dan shares that the song “is about our unshakable longing to be seen, heard, and understood. When everyone was isolated at home I became enamored with the idea of fire escapes becoming a gathering place, a way to connect with your neighbors. I love the idea that even in the very worst of circumstances or with limited resources, humans will find a way to feel unity.”

The video, directed by Lester Lyons-Hookham, features Ogg following Dan around to attack, abuse, assault, and generally make his life a bad time… though it might not quite be what it seems at first.

• Kirk

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“Causeway Road” by Adam Baldwin

East Coast artist Adam Baldwin has released a new live video for his song “Causeway Road” off his upcoming album Concertos & Serenades (due out September 23rd).

I love both Adam’s voice and storytelling ability in his music, and this new tune is no different.
So in that vein, I’ll let HIM tell you what the song is about: “"Neil Young sang, 'The devil fools with the best-laid plans,' and in this case, a fellow's well-meaning ambition costs him a brother, a boat, and ultimately his livelihood. From betrayal to revenge, this story affirms another adage, 'An eye for an eye makes the world go blind.’"“
More please!

• Christine

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“Survivor’s Guilt” by Haley Blais

After headlining Khatsahlano and playing the Squamish Constellation festival this month, Vancouver’s Haley Blais isn’t slowing down, having just released another new song, “Survivor’s Guilt”

Haley says, ““Survivor’s Guilt” puts us at the scene of the crime where everything fell apart: the death of the family dog. I originally wrote it as this sad piano ballad, but David Vertesi (Producer) shifted the song towards something more summery and upbeat, contrasting the song’s stark lyrics and showcasing a sweltering slide guitar a la the style of Sheryl Crow’s “All I Wanna Do”. As we get older, inevitably we’ll lose things that are important to us. And when those losses come out of decisions, sometimes you can’t help but blame yourself. Sometimes the death of a childhood dog bursts up out of you, representing so much more than a dog, representing nothing more than a dog.”

The song is out now on Tiny Kingdom, and you can check out the video below!

• Kirk

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“Year of the Dog” by Tim Baker

At last, we have a release date for the new Tim Baker album! The Festival will be out on October 7th via End Times Music, and the announcement comes with yet another tease of the album.

“Year of the Dog” starts with a soft piano, the song builds to an emotional release, possibly emblematic of the album as a whole; Tim says the album is “about living through, and actually being thankful for, difficulty and pain, for how they make you grow and appreciate beauty you couldn’t otherwise.”

• Kirk