Songs of the Week: January 27 - February 02, 2025
“Desolation Boys” by Total Fucking Darkness
Total Fucking Darkness is the collaboration of long-time friends Torquil Campbell (of Stars & Memphis fame) and Stephen Ramsay (who you know from Young Galaxy), and now they’re joined by Tom McFall (whose engineering credits include REM, Bloc Party, Twin Shadow, Regina Spektor, among many others).
Last week they dropped their latest song, a twitchy, synth-pop dance number called “Desolation Boys”, and I don’t know if I can describe it any better than the press release:
Written in the final hours of a grueling [72-hour] session, new track, “Desolation Boys” showcases TFD’s menu to thrilling effect: Maximum Creative Violence Immediately. The song features a mix of savant-like lyrical spontaneity and a raw vocal take where Campbell can faintly be heard yelling, “go fuck yourself,” mid-chorus. Who is he instructing? Probably himself.
Check out the ‘Tom's Workout Video Remix’ of “Desolation Boys” below, and they’ve teased some live performances later this year!
Kirk
“When The Night Feels My Song” ft. Frank Turner by Bedouin Soundclash
Bedouin Soundclash recently announced a new headlining tour across Canada (with a stop here in Vancouver at the Commodore Ballroom on March 22) and with it released reimagining of their hit single “When The Night Feels My Song”.
They enlisted the help of Frank Turner (as well as another version done by The Interrupters, and Jesse Royal) to take the now 20-year-old tune. Of the original Frank says it:“is such a perfect song. It soundtracked many years of my youth, always the last song of the night in the indie clubs I used to haunt, a sweet and sad celebration of life’s journey. To be singing it 20 years later is a joy and an honour.”
Christine
“Undone” by Nick Faye
Okay, first of all, I love the artwork for Nick Faye’s new single, “Undone” (which is by Graeme Zirk)
Second of all, who can’t relate* to ills of online dating? Faye wrote the song after being canceled on or ghosted for six out of seven consecutive dates, and elaborates: “Dating can be really fun, and I made some really special memories while getting to know a lot of great people I met online or in person. But sometimes people can be really cruel on the internet or disrespectful towards others' time, attention, and energy. This song was written when I was feeling tired and worn out from a particularly brutal period of online dating.”
Have a listen below!
*if you can’t relate, I don’t want to hear it.
Kirk
“Golden Hour” by FEATURETTE
Last week Toronto’s FEATURETTE released their third full-length album PANIC PILLS and their first with their newest member Marc Koecher.
To mark this they released the video for the track “Golden Hour”, which was written about a near-death experience lead singer Lexie Jay had in a car accident.
Of the song the band says: “this song lives in those timeless pinnacle moments that flash before your eyes like when one has a near-death experience. Drawn from lived experience, the track starts slowly, luxuriating on the ‘golden hour’ moments you cling to before impact, slowly descending into a faster pace that rips you into reality, going a hundred miles per hour and flooded with adrenaline.”
The video for the track is also remarkable - with the band and DOP Lindsey Blane traveling to Iceland to film on black sand beaches, expansive fjords, and in the culmination of the video - a rave in an ice cave! Check it out.
Christine
“Danger Girl” by Shiv and the Carvers
I’m a sucker for a good Scott Pilgrim reference, so I immediately liked the new video from Shiv and the Carvers for their latest tune “Danger Girl”
The song is pop-punk banger, and singer Shiv Scott shares, “Danger Girl is a queer love song about falling in love with a woman that you know is going to break your heart. The “Danger” is the gamble of getting your heart broken, but knowing that it's worth every bit of pain. I was very inspired by Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag”, Blink-182’s “Josie”, and other 90s/2000s songs about women who are out of the singer’s league."
The video features a cameo from Bif Naked, as well as a load of references to (and locations from) both the Scott Pilgrim books and the adaptation film!
Spot them all for yourself, and mark down March 14 for the release of their next EP, Tell Me You Love Me Again.
Kirk
