“The Banks of the Lough Erne” feat. Erin Rae by The Deep Dark Woods

We have another new track from Broadside Ballads Vol. III, the upcoming album from The Deep Dark Woods.

The song “The Banks of the Lough Erne” is their take on an Irish emigration song - which goes by many names: “Rambling Irishman”, “Lough Erne”, “New York Bay”, and “An Irishman From Monaghan”, just to cite a few.

Of the song, frontman Ryan Boldt say he “first heard it by the beautiful Irish singer Dolores Keane and her group De Danann. I thought Erin Rae, one of my favourite current singers going, would do a wonderful job singing the song, making it sound less Irish and more American. Our voices work very well together and I hope we can make more music together in the future.”

Christine

“Exhale” by iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ

This past Friday, iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ released her much-anticipated album nīna, and with it dropped a new video for the breathtaking album-closer, “Exhale”.

The whole album is deeply personal & autobiographical, with iskwē sharing about "the song: “I needed to remind myself that I am vibrant, that I hold life in me. I am an artist, a creative, confident and soft. I needed to remind myself that I hold love in my being. It was time I remembered these pieces in me which had been dormant for some time. So now I start again, to rebloom. To be reborn. To look at myself in the mirror and exhale. It’s time for me to breathe out…”

You can check out the video for “Exhale” below — directed by iskwē herself — and pick up the new album nīna in all the usual places!

Kirk

“Pull Yourself Together” by Basement Revolver

Also released this past Friday (it was a busy day for albums!) was the new, deluxe version of Basement Revolver’s sophomore LP, Embody.

Embody (Expanded) features a pair of new songs to go with the original 2022 release, including “Pull Yourself Together”, a dreamy song about songwriter Chrisy Hurn’s experience with really bad panic attacks at parties.

They say, “It makes me sad for baby Chrisy who was afraid that everyone was judging them or thinking negative thoughts towards them or their body. It has taken a lot of work to get to a place where I don’t panic in party-like settings anymore.”

Kirk

“A Little Piece” by iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ

One of my most anticipated albums of the year so far is the fourth solo album from iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ, and last week we got the final single ahead of its release, “A Little Piece”.

The latest song from the album nīna is a a haunting song with twinkling piano and driving synth, with iskwē sharing:

“Feeling overwhelmed, I was faced with myself alone and the choices I had made over the past several years. With conflicted feelings of longing, remorse, and loneliness, I felt caged by a sentiment I could neither explain nor understand. I was alone. My mind had fooled me,” . “My tears felt endless and yet somehow this new solitude wrapped itself around my sadness like a giant cozy blanket I could not imagine emerging from ever again. A little piece of me had died, yet I found a little peace inside.”

The new album nīna is out on April 12, and is produced by 10x Grammy-nominated collaborator Damian Taylor.

Kirk

“Age Of Celebrity” by David Vertesi

Vancouver’s David Vertesi has released his new album, Fictionalized, this week, and it’s packed full of guest stars both in singing and producing roles.

Of the latest track (and video below), Vertesi says it’s “about returning to music post-pandemic and post Hey Ocean!”.
He continued: “Things have changed a lot since I was starting out in this industry, and I often feel like my experience doesn't do much other than make me jaded. The thing I really miss is the pure enjoyment and self-confidence I had when I was just setting out. I'm doing my best to find it again.”

We also got a Vancouver concert announcement, with David performing at the Wise Hall on April 12th!

“Red Light” by Basement Revolver

The latest single from Hamilton’s Basement Revolver is one part dream pop jam, one part PSA.

“Red Light” was written after guitarist/vocalist Chrisy Hurn shared their recent red light ticket, for a fee that was more than their recent paycheck.

The result is perhaps the catchiest song about traffic violations, with bassist/keyboardist Nim Agalawatte adding: “Hopefully we’ve all learned to be a little more careful while driving! Especially in cities like Hamilton where we live that have many red light cameras now.”

Kirk

“Tidal Wave” by Alana Yorke

Last week, Alana Yorke dropped a 'dance-tasy' video for her newest single “Tidal Wave”, and see if you can guess which four words (well, eights words and a colon) caught my attention when she was talking about the origins of the song.

Alana explained, “Something that may come as a surprise, is that Tidal Wave was written as a bit of a joke song after watching Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp which featured the Pat Benatar-style song, Heart - Attack Love by Craig Wedren. The energy of that music was so contagious, I tried writing something in that vein as a bit of an experiment for a laugh. There’s definitely a relationship story couched in this song which was inspired by a real-life feeling, but my songs often start as a kernel of real, intense emotion, then the stories take on their own lives. Tidal Wave is about unrequited love; a crush; attraction… something that you know will lead to heartbreak before it even starts, and a power struggle in that play.”

As someone that loves all things Wet Hot America Summer — especially the music — I think she nailed the vibe. But don’t take my word for it, have a listen below!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: April 08 - 14, 2024