Songs of the Week: January 09 - 15, 2023

“Really Really Light” by The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers are back! Last week the group released their brand new single, “Really Really Light”, the first taste of their upcoming album Continue as a Guest.

As catchy as you would expect from the Vancouver power-pop legends, the new song was co-written by Dan Bejar — who has been conspicuously absent from recent New Pornos albums — and adapted from a tune that didn’t make a previous album, 2014’s Brill Brusers.

A.C. Newman says “Part of my process throughout the years has been messing with things I never finished. I really liked Dan’s chorus, and for a while I was just trying to write something that I felt like belonged with it. I was thinking of the Aloe Blacc song ‘The Man’ which interpolated the chorus from Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ and thought it would be fun to interpolate a song that no one knows. Not trying to sound like Aloe Blacc, just doing some interpolating of my own. It became a game of writing a verse that felt like a part of the same song. In my mind, I was striving for a little Jeff Lynne–era Tom Petty, a classic go-to.”

Check out the video below, and keep an ear out for the new album out March 31 from Merge Records.

• Kirk

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“In Stride” by Brandon Wolfe Scott

Brandon Wolfe Scott is taking it all “In Stride” with his latest single. The Yukon Blonde frontman announced his upcoming solo release last week, Slow Transmission, with a new tune about anxiety and insomnia.

Scott explains: "When I hit my mid 30’s there were a few aspects of my life that were causing me a great deal of anxiety and as a result, I started to struggle with sleep. I am regularly up at 3 am on the dot, wide awake with my mind spinning for hours on end. I wanted this song to encompass that feeling of being stuck in your own thoughts with a fear of what tomorrow might bring, trying to navigate a life that is fast paced with inadequate energy."

The new album is due out March 23rd on Dine Alone Records/

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: January 02 - 08, 2023

“SO HARD TO TELL” by DEBBY FRIDAY

Last week, DEBBY FRIDAY announced her debut album, GOOD LUCK, with a brand new single, “SO HARD TO TELL”.

With a beat that will be suck in your head all day, the song — and rest of the album — was co-produced & mixed by Friday and Graham Walsh (METZ, Holy Fuck). On the single, Friday says “I have a lower register and speak with vocal fry so I don’t know what came over me when I made this track. I have never in my life sung like this before and I had no idea I could even make these kinds of sounds with my voice. There’s no pitch effects on ‘SO HARD TO TELL’, it’s all me."

You can catch DEBBY FRIDAY on tour this year, with a stop in Vancouver at the newly-reopened Cobalt on April 15, and pick up the new album GOOD LUCK on March 24.

• Kirk

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“Days Of High Adventure” by SHAMUS

If I see the words “Rock Opera” in a press release, I’m already hooked.
This one is going to be coming to us from The Sheepdogs, and BROS member Shamus Currie, and not only are we getting an album, but an adventure card game as well.

”Days Of High Adventure” is the opening track off the album The Shepherd and The Wolf by SHAMUS, and is the intro into the world he’s creating and the vibe of the project.
I cannot wait to hear more!

• Christine

Songs of the Week: December 26, 2022 - January 01, 2023

“Repeat” by July Talk

Last month, on the winter solstice, July Talk released the latest song from their upcoming album, Remember Never Before.

“Repeat” is a slow burn of a song, with gorgeous interplay between the voiced of Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis. According to the band, the song is “a meditation on the decisions we make and the reasons we make them.”

The new album is out in a few short weeks, on January 20, and you can check out the karaoke styled lyrics video for “Repeat” below!

• Kirk

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“Catch Your Eye” by Andy Shauf

It was hard to keep on top of new music over the holiday but this email…caught my eye.
Sorry.
”Catch Your Eye” is the new offering from Andy Shauf, and if from his upcoming EP Norm, out in February.
About a missed connection at a grocery store, (that could be ripped from the Georgia Straight “I Saw You” posts), it’s a sweet little song, with an equally sweet animated video.

• Christine

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“You’d Like To Believe” by Ten Kills The Pack

A poignant and timely song by Ten Kills The Pack, “You’d Like To Believe” is a new single off his upcoming album Thank You For Trying: ACT II.
The track “addresses the daily struggles with depression and how those suffering often rationalize their state with excuses”.
Thank You For Trying: ACT II will be released on March 10th.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: Holiday Edition 2022

“Christmas Anyway” by Stars

Stars are always an excellent way to celebrate the holidays. Whether it’s with a holiday tour, a cover of an old favourite, or a brand new song.

“Christmas Anyway” is their newly released song, and in the spirit of the season, the song's proceeds will be split with the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal who provide Indigenous women and their children a safe and supportive environment.

Have a listen below, and add it to your holiday playlists!

• Kirk

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“Cry Christmas” & “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
by Mother Mother

In anti-Christmas tunes…
Vancouver’s Mother Mother offer up “Cry Christmas” - a vivid detailing of “the often conflicting and complicated feelings that can come with the holiday season”.

They also throw in a cover of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” with their own Mother Mother-y unique sound.

• Christine

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“Xmas (Merry Christmas)” by The Trews

The Trews also have an original Xmas tune out this year, which was requested by the big man himself…
"‘Santa Claus commissioned us to write a new Christmas [song] for the 2022 holiday season. I guess he was getting a little tired of that Paul McCartney one and wanted something new that, in his words ‘slaps.’”
They have also been out in the world doing good deeds like fundraisers and toy drives leading up to December 25th. Check out “Xmas (Merry Christmas)” below.

• Christine

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“I’m Ready For Christmas” by The Sheepdogs

Our final original is “I’m Ready For Christmas” by The Sheepdogs, who were also trying to come up with a new tune to go along with the old classics, but with a rockin’ twist.
This one is definitely has the signature Sheepdogs sound - and is an "ode to the best time of the year”.

Happy Holidays! Stay safe and warm.

• Christine
  

Songs of the Week: December 05 - 11, 2022

“Cold Night” by Begonia

One of my most anticipated albums coming next year is the newest from Begonia, Powder Blue.

“Cold Night” is the second song we’ve heard from the album so far, a gorgeous song that Alexa Dirks describes as “the breakdown of a horrible life-changing relationship in three parts”, which builds to a hair-raising explosion of strings.

She elaborates: “Like...stages of grief I guess? Verse one is when you’re not ready to let go and just the thought of being ‘left behind’ makes you feel so desperate and detached, like you’re not even human anymore. Verse two is reflecting on the reality of the relationship itself and particular stories that come up only with time to reveal the truth. The last part of the song after the strings hit is all about accepting it for what it is and moving forward. Like sitting in your despair and sadness, but also knowing that it needed to be over and that you did the right thing by walking away. Deadmen [producers Matt Peters and Matt Shellenberg, of Royal Canoe fame] really knocked it out of the park with their string arrangements on my upcoming album, and this song in particular is one of my favourites so I'm so glad to be releasing it as a single.”

Check out the video below!

• Kirk

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“None of Us Are Free” by Kuba Oms

Vancouver’s Kuba Oms is back with a new cover of the Solomon Burke song “None Of Us Are Free”.
This release is a return to his R&B/Soul roots, and was recorded live off the floor, through vintage gear, and then straight to analog tape.
I hope this is a sign of more things to come from Oms, because I’m really feeling this vibe!

• Christine

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“All Comes Crashing” by Metric - CVCHE Remix

Gotta love a good remix, and this CVCHE version of “All Comes Crashing” by Metric nails it.
Of it and the decision to have it remixed, Emily Haines says:
“It was intensely gratifying to play 'All Comes Crashing' live on the Doomscroller tour and see how the audience responded. I know the lyrics are morbid on the surface, but when the band plays it, the energy in the room lifts and everyone who wasn't already dancing suddenly is, and it feels like we're all suspended there in the disappearing present moment. It's such a high and I wanted to try to capture it in a dance remix of the song. I did some digging and was lucky enough to get the famously reclusive CVCHE on board. They have this insane unreleased electronic album, I got a test pressing of it on vinyl and am now obsessed. I worked with Justin Broadbent on a visualizer 'remix' video too, and I'm just really happy we get to release this right now as a bouncy sendoff to 2022.”

• Christine

Songs of the Week: November 28 - December 04, 2022

“Headrush” and “Homes” by Georgia Harmer

Earlier this year, Georgia Harmer released the excellent debut album Stay In Touch, which she’s now revisiting, sharing alternate versions of a pair of songs.

“Headrush” and “Homes” are both turned into gorgeous, piano driven tunes, wth Harmer explaining, “It’s been just over a year since ‘Headrush’ came out and started slowly introducing the world to Stay In Touch. The songs on the album were written over the course of many years, through many periods of huge growth. These alternate versions take two of the foundational songs on Stay In Touch back to how they sounded when I first wrote them, just words and melodies of emotional processing. Singing them now in this way brings me back to their meaning, and the way it evolves and stays true over time.”

Check them out below!

• Kirk

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“Beautiful Life” by Jill Barber

We’ve already had a couple glimpses of Jill Barber’s upcoming album Homemaker, and the latest comes with “Beautiful Life”.

Barber says it’s a reminder “that social media doesn’t tell the whole story. That a pretty picture doesn’t always reflect the whole truth, and that living a rich and beautiful life is about embracing the messy chaos of it all- the raw, authentic, and real moments, rather than just the highlight reel.”

And the new tune comes with a charming lyrics video that (literally) illustrates that point, which you can watch below! Then, mark down February 10th for the release of Homemaker, on Outside Music.

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: November 21 - 26, 2022

“The Raven And The Red-Tailed Hawk” and “Is There Nowhere”
by Gord Downie & Bob Rock

Getting this new music from Gord Downie has been both amazing and saddening as I know I’ll never get to see it performed.
And not just because we lost Gord, but there are so many elements in the songs, like Ché Aimee Dorval’s vocals on “Is There Nowhere”, Bob Rock’s soaring guitar solos, and Pat Steward ripping up the drums on “The Raven And The Red-Tailed Hawk” that I’d have loved to see live.

Maybe when the album Lustre Parfait is released by Arts & Crafts in May of next year they’ll have come up with an awesome way to celebrate it.

• Christine

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“Loveless” by Ché Aimee Dorval

Speaking of Vancouver artist Ché Aimee Dorval (see above!), she released a new song this week as well.
”Loveless” is the 3rd single from her upcoming album The Crowned (out January 19, 2023) and is about “loving without the expectation of having it returned”.

Pre-pandemic she was working with Bob Rock, who produced half the album, while she self-produced the rest post-lockdown - and I’m excited to hear more.

• Christine

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“Catherine” by Kylie V

Last week, Kylie V released their latest single, “Catherine”, a dreamy pop tune that builds to an intense finish, driven by their vulnerable vocals.

The song is the first (non-holiday) single that Kylie V has released since last year’s album Big Blue, and hopefully it’s indicative of more to come!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: November 14 - 20, 2022

“Wasted On You” by Andy Shauf

It’s going to be a BIG 2023 for Andy Shauf - but he’s capping off 2022 with the release of his new single “Wasted On You”.

The song will be on his new LP Norm, will be released on February 10th, and there’s also been a HUGE tour announcement, including a show in Vancouver at The Orpheum on March 11th!

“Wasted On You”, the opening track on the new album, is a quiet little pop/love song, but I’m going to go ahead and insist you watch the video below, to get a full sense of just how good Andy is at storytelling and duality.

• Christine

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“Floating Like” by Arkells

One thing about albums going mainly digital, that I never really considered, is the artist’s ability to make changes at any time. Case in point, Arkells releasing a surprise new song, and adding it to their recently released album Blink Twice.

“Floating Like” is heavily influenced by the band’s love of Motown, and frontman Max Kerman says the song is about “trying to free yourself of the allure and pull of material things and finding happiness in the simple wonders of life. It was written around a sample we cut up from The Impressions and their song ‘Seven Years.’ We added as many Motown soul tricks to the production with the goal of finding the joy and lightness of those classic tunes. It’s a special song for us, so we wanted to give it its own release and runway. Blink Twice is now complete.”

The song tacks on to the end of Blink Twice, which is out now on your digital distribution platform of choice!

• Kirk

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“I Love You, Dwayne” by Miranda Joan

If you’re going to release a love song about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, filled with references to his entire career, I am going to listen.

If you are going to release a video for that song, filmed with a cardboard cutout of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, I am going to watch.

That’s exactly what Canadian-born, New York-based soul singer Miranda Joan did. So pour yourself a nice glass of either Teremana or ZOA, put on that Project Rock gear, cue up a Seven Bucks film to watch after, and check out the video below!

• Kirk