Songs of the Week: March 27 - April 02, 2023

“This Too Shall Pass” by Hannah Georgas

After teasing it’s release last week, Hannah Georgas dropped her new song “This Too Shall Pass” on us!
This track comes with the promise of a new album, where Georgas takes the reins on production, and the recording process was done in Toronto on analog equipment.
Of the vibey little pop tune, she says:
“I think we have all experienced pain from things that have hurt us in our past and carried that weight on our shoulders long after the fact. Sometimes those feelings can resurface and affect us in our everyday lives. I know at least for me it has! This song was inspired by the idea of being able to recognize those feelings when they resurface and to try to move forward in a healthier way.”
Can’t wait for more music from Hannah!

• Christine

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“Visions” by FRANKIIE

FRANKIIE is having some "Visions". The hazy, psychedelic new single is the second look at their upcoming sophomore album, Between Dreams.

Vocalist/guitarist Francesca Carbonneau says: “When dreams and memories entangle with our present moment, we can begin to question our entire reality. Visions is about that feeling, about sensing something beyond what’s happening right in front of you...as if right below the surface, anything you’ve ever lost is there; waiting for you to reach out your hand and grab it back. Like déja vu, which is something I experience frequently, a single moment can feel surreal, strange and yet strikingly familiar all at once.”

Between Dreams will be out on June 2 via Paper Bag Records, and below is the video, directed by Brandon Fletcher.

• Kirk

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“Bloom” by Louise Burns

As we inch closer to the new album from Louise Burns, we get one last tease, with the release of the latest single "Bloom" last week.

The new song is an instant earworm, its bright and airy melodies perfect as the weather starts to turn. Of the inspiration for the new track, Burns explains:
“I got heavily into nostalgia as a coping mechanism during the pandemic which influenced some of the sonic palettes I was choosing. I suppose I tried to make a chill out downtempo love song inspired by mid-90’s video game music… I brought it to Jason (Corbett, co-producer) and he really made it come alive. I think it’s my first attempt at a proper love song, in my own faux-misanthropic way…”

The new album Element drops later this month, April 21st on Light Organ Records!

• Kirk

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“Reality Bites” by Mise en Scene

Manitoba’s Mise en Scene is back with a brand new EP out soon, with a look at the title track dropping last week.

"Reality Bites" was inspired by the '94 movie of the same name, and is a burst of raw emotion and catchy melodies.

The new EP, Reality Bites is out on June 23rd via Light Organ Records.

• Kirk

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“The Love Still Held Me Near” by City and Colour

If you were at BC Place last week for the RHCP show, you might have caught City and Colour opening it up.
I saw dozens and dozens of instagram stories of the set, and all of them in awe of the performance. Of particular note was Dallas’ band, made up of many familiar faces from our Vancouver music scene.

The new record came out this week, and the title track “The Love Still Held Me Near” was released as well.
It’s a phenomenal album, and I’m proud of the work my friends did to help create it.
Check out the latest song below.

• Christine

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“Head for the Hills” by Justin Rutledge

Prolific singer/songwriter Justin Rutledge is gearing up for the release of his tenth(!) studio album, Something Easy. Last week he released a video for the latest single, "Head for the Hills".

Rutledge says “I feel like I’ve spent the last 20 years of my life trying to escape the city. I made it out a couple of times—once almost for good—but I guess the skyline called me back. I wouldn’t mind a quieter place to stand one of these days. I’ve tasted that life, and it was good to me. I slept better and woke before the sun, worked with my hands, filled my body with books, and anticipated the solitude at the end of each day. I wrote this song for those who search for that kind of life.”

Check out the video, directed by Kyle Gatehouse, below. And keep an ear out for Something Easy, coming out on May 19 on Outside Music.

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: January 16 - 22. 2023

“Dumpster Gold” by Murray A. Lightburn

Followers of this here website will probably know that The Dears are one of my top favourite bands, so my ears perked up when I saw new music from singer Murray A. Lightburn.

“Dumpster Gold” is the lead single off his third solo album, and is a heartbreaking tale of reconnecting with the past. Murray explains: "About a year or so after my old man passed, my mom called and said, 'Murray, I’ve made a big decision: I’m selling the house'. She’d been there for 50 years. We were the only family that ever lived in it, one of many identical houses in a section of Brossard, Quebec. On our way out, we sifted through everything; most of it was going to the dump. There were many worthless treasures that were meaningful only to us. A couple of things now sit around my house. My father wasn’t an expressive man to me. I am left with these fragments to piece together a connection to him."

The new album, Once Upon A Time In Montreal, is out March 31, and as Lightburn jokes, is an audio version of a biopic, inspired by the passing of his father, a jazz musician from Belize who moved to Montreal via New York to reconnect with his teenage sweetheart.

• Kirk

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“I Don’t Feel It Like I Used To” by Louise Burns

Well, this song made my whole week, I love it that much.
“I Don't Feel it Like I Used To” is the latest track released by Louise Burns, off of her newly announced new album Element (set for release on April 21 via Light Organ Records).

Louise said she “felt torn between writing something more gothic country like my older catalogue, or trip hop and sample based like the music I was listening to. Naturally it turned into both…”
Between this release, the cover of “See You” she put out in the fall, and the list of contributors she has for the album, I cannot wait to hear more from Element!

• Christine

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“Evolution” by Braids

It’s been a minute since we’ve heard new music from Montreal’s Braids, so I was excited to hear the experimental pop band drop a new single “Evolution”, as well as announcing their next album.

The swirling song spotlights singer Raphaelle Standell-Preston’s vocals, with the singer explaining “Evolution in and of itself is a patient act. Our pursuit of the individual self, which comprises all realms of human emotion, is sweetened with the intention and act of patience from ourselves, from those that we love and those who love us.”

Euphoric Recall, set for release on April 28th through Secret City Records, and you can check out the trippy video for “Evolve” below!

• Kirk

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“Married By Elvis” by Begonia

Usually I want to write about the song itself, but for this new track from Begonia, “Married By Elvis” - from her upcoming album Powder Blue, I just HAD to talk about the video.

Of it she says: “I started becoming obsessed with picturing the music video I wanted to make for it. I’ve always been fascinated by tribute artists, and I wanted to just be in an Elvis Tribute Artist club for a day. I held on to the idea for two years and then finally decided to make it happen with beautiful freak director Ryan Steel. We hired some of the top tribute artists in Western Canada and Ryan totally captured the earnestly absurd joy I was after. I don’t really believe in marriage and I’m not even really an Elvis fan but I do believe love can make you do some strange things and that’s what this song is all about.”

It doesn’t disappoint, those Elvis’s are serving looks.
Can’t wait for the entire album to come out, and hopefully for a Vancouver show to be announced!

• Christine
  

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“Truths You Outrun” by Hillsburn

The Halifax indie-pop powerhouse Hillsburn is back with a brand new EP coming soon.

The latest tease is “Truths You Outrun”, a slow-burner with beep bass & shimmering sax, about “a lonely season spent ‘trying to mute my fear’ before realizing it wasn’t possible.”

Check out the song below and keep an ear out for Stories, the new EP out March 10.

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: October 31 - November 06, 202

“Road to Hell” by The Matinée

It’s my birthday today and I’d like to think that The Matinee released new music just for me, but either way, I’m excited!
The band has been working on a new record that’s set to be released in 2023, and they posted a behind-the-scenes from the studio (click here) - side note, that 1-800 number at the end didn’t work.

”Road To Hell” will be on their new album, and below is a live version that Steve Bays filmed at his studio with the boys.

• Christine

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“Right Here” by Begonia

I was very excited when a new track from Begonia hit my inbox last week. The Polaris Prize- and JUNO-nominated singer has announced a brand new album with her lead single, "Right Here", which highlights her catchy indie-pop and incredible voice.

Alexa Dirks describes new tune as “a love song for all my friends. The Matts (Schellenberg and Peters), Marcus Paquin, and I started writing it in December 2019 about how I was on tour all the time–always feeling like I was missing my friends’ milestones, parties, birthdays etc. I love what I do, but the sacrifice is that you're not really someone who can like...BE THERE physically for a lot of important (and unimportant) things back home. We never fully finished the song that December, but then we picked it up again during pandemic lockdowns and it started to take on a whole new meaning. At that time, it felt like everyone was missing everything / everyone because we had to stay apart. Another way this song could be interpreted (that I didn't originally intend) is that I’m haunting all my best friends when they go out without me. Maybe that's creepy but also...tender? It's meant to be tender, haha.”

The new album, entitled Powder Blue, is out February 24!

• Kirk

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“See You” by Louise Burns

It's been a minute since we've heard from Vancouver's Louise Burns, but last week she released her first new single in a while, a haunting cover of Depeche Mode's "See You"

Burns says “Depeche Mode are iconic and beloved, so it felt like I was entering blasphemy-territory by choosing to cover them. I chose See You because despite being one of their earliest hits, it’s not as well-known as some of their later catalogue. It’s a perfect pop song, and exemplifies what Depeche Mode do best – incredible production and instrumentation that only enhances what was already a great song. We went with a more slowed down, elegant Bryan Ferry-esque treatment. I was (and always am) feeling that energy, and knew the song would hold up no matter what we did with it”

Hopefully the new single means more on the way soon!

• Kirk

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“Disarm” by Shred Kelly

Speaking of fun cover songs... Shred Kelly just released a gorgeous cover of "Disarm", originally by The Smashing Pumpkins!

During the pandemic, singer/banjoist Tim Newton learned the song and recorded an acoustic version in his bedroom, which was shared by Billy Corgan himself. Since then, the alt-folk band has added the song to their live set, and now it’s out for everyone to hear.

The band is just about to launch a European tour, but fingers crossed they'll be playing "Disarm" live in Vancouver soon after that!

• Kirk

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“Girls Night Out” by Said the Whale

I’m just going to copy what Said the Whale’s Tyler Bancroft said on their instagram post about this song, because I don’t think there’s anything I can add:

Hey STW fam, Tyler here. I lost my mom yesterday so as you might imagine I’m having a hard time pivoting right back into “promote a song” mode (especially a song as silly as this one) but here’s something worth sharing: when I turned 30 I asked both of my parents to write a story for me about their lives. My mom delivered a succinct, 12-page summary of her entire life from the day she was born up until March 3, 1985 (the day I was born). If you’d known her you might find that amusing because she really was a master of concise and clear communication. Anyways, in that story was the following excerpt, which I think is somewhat relevant to the song we released today: “I preferred to hang out with gay guys, a safe bet and a new experience for me. At the time there was a social stigma attached to the term ‘divorcée’ - that was one of the seeds of the women's movement. In those days it was assumed that a divorcée was ‘easy pickins’ for guys on the prowl. I was very careful to never allow a guy to buy me a drink or accept any gifts from anyone in case the meaning of the gesture gave the wrong impression.”
So maybe this song is actually the perfect send-off for my mom, who is currently on her own celestial (and eternal) girls night out🍸.
I love you mom.

Song of the Day: June 28, 2019 - "Just Walk Away" by Louise Burns

Whatever you think your “summer jam” is, forget about it. Delete it, remove it from all playlists, and never listen to it again, because your NEW ‘song of the summer’ is the latest single from Vancouver’s Louise Burns.

“Just Walk Away” is the first single from her anticipated fourth full-length album Portraits, and is a deceptively upbeat & poppy song with a distinct tropical vibe, hiding what seem like lyrics with a darker edge.

Have a listen for yourself!

Song of the Day: November 28, 2016 - "Who's The Madman" by Louise Burns

Always excited when songs I've only heard live are finally released, and that's exactly the case here with Louise Burns' new single "Who's The Madman".

I recognized it immediately from her last few performances as she was able to capture the same magic that she produces on stage, making me sway (now in my seat).

Louise's new album Young Mopes will be out on February 3, 2017, and hopefully we'll get a few more teasers between now and then!

Song of the Day: October 18, 2016 - "Storms" by Louise Burns

Has it really been three years since the last full length album from smoky singer-songwriter Louise Burns??

That will change in a few months with the just-announced Young Mopes, following up '013's The Midnight Mass. The album was produced by Burns herself, and the first single is an upbeat song with darker undertones, "Storms".

Check it out below, and be sure to mark February 3 on your calendar, when the album comes out via Light Organ Records.