Songs of the Week: May 13 -19, 2024

May 20, 2024 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“After A While” by Michael Bernard Fitzgerald

Calgary musician Michael Bernard Fitzgerald has announced that his latest full-length album, Horizon Lines, will be released on September 27th.
With the announcement comes the first single “After A While”, and of it MBF says:

"I think ‘After a While’ does a good job of encapsulating what things feel like these days. The pressure seems to be up post-pandemic and I think we’re also all a little drained. Long stretches of time seem to race by, I’m sure that’s maybe just the way things are with a big family and packed schedules, but I think it’s also a shared experience as we’re all working at finding our way again. This track mixes a few musical elements that I love: direct, calm, focused, effect-sparse vocals, a droning acoustic that feels welcoming and sustained, big, moving drums, eventide synth sounds and very present (sometimes edgy) organ bass."

There are some tour dates set for August, but nothing in Vancouver as of yet, but hopefully we’ll hear soon!

Christine

“For The Long Run” by Major Love

To celebrate the release of their new album, Major Love has dropped their latest single, “For The Long Run”.

The song is a slow-burner that builds to a big finish, and Colleen Brown explains: “During lockdowns, I think we were all experiencing some form of longing. A lot of us felt really isolated - maybe we were single and hadn’t touched another human in a year. Some of us were in bubbles or family units, but felt totally alienated from them. It wasn’t just physical isolation - but also the sense that humanity was splintering, along with a shared sense of reality and belonging. Many of us were losing people to conspiracy theories, seeing people we love suddenly spouting hateful rhetoric. And then some of those people would try to turn it around on us, accusing us of the same thing… it can break your brain, if you don’t have deep moral conviction behind your beliefs.
To me this feels more relevant than ever, right now, at this moment. I truly believe we are at the flashpoint that will determine whether humanity survives in the long term. We have a couple of years to avoid irreversible ecological collapse, which we have been rushing headlong towards, and we also have students and protesters around the world being shut down, attacked, and arrested for protesting war crimes. These things are 100% related. Propping up a colonial empire is the same principle as spraying your garden with Roundup: as long as we insist on control and domination of ourselves and our environment, we are doomed as a species. This moment, right now, is our opportunity to change that, to change our trajectory. That’s what this song is really about, and that’s the feeling we are trying to capture in the music.”

Live, Laugh, Major Love is out now, and you can catch the band live in Vancouver at The Lido on May 23rd!

Kirk

“Famous” by The Royal Foundry

The Royal Foundry have been putting out some really catchy tunes in the last little while!

“Famous” is the first single that is following up their last album, I Give Up, and it’s got everything you’d want in a song: chant-a-long chorus, driving guitars and fun lyrics.
The band says the song is about “living in your dreams wishing they were your reality” and waking up and having it all without doing the work.

Can’t wait for more!

Christine

“All This Living” by The Secret Beach

The Secret Beach is described as “an ever-shifting group of musicians and co-conspirators orbiting around the songs and voice of Prairie-based songwriter Micah Erenberg”

Last week, Erenberg (& friends) released “All This Living”, their newest single which Micah says is about “not giving up on your dreams. Even if you wish you could have gotten certain things done earlier, it’s never too late to get them done now. That goes for anything, be it in your career, personal life, health, spirituality or otherwise. Don’t let yourself be defined by the person you were. Embrace the person you can be.”

The breezy, catchy tune is of the upcoming album, our August 23, called We Were Born Here, What's Your Excuse? (and you know I’ll always appreciate a Simpsons reference in music — even if it is from season 16)

Kirk

Songs of the Week: March 04 - 10, 2024

March 11, 2024 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Wild God” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

You better believe the minute I saw there was a brand new single from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, I dropped everything I was doing to listen.

“Wild God” is the first release from the band in five years, and is the title track for the upcoming 18th(!) studio album. In contrast with their last reelase, Ghosteen, the first single is bursting with uplifting energy, especially as it swells to a huge chorus of voices.

Cave himself said, “There’s no fucking around with this record. When it hits, it hits. It lifts you. It moves you. I love that about it. I hope the album has the effect on listeners that it’s had on me. It bursts out of the speaker, and I get swept up with it. It’s a complicated record, but it’s also deeply and joyously infectious. There is never a master plan when we make a record. The records rather reflect back the emotional state of the writers and musicians who played them. Listening to this, I don’t know, it seems we’re happy.”

Can’t wait to hear the whole thing when Wild God is out on August 30.

Kirk

“What is Real?” by Skye Wallace

Skye Wallace wants to know “What is Real?” on her new single. The bangin’ earworm is “about the death of reality, the feeling that your understanding of the world is being ripped out from underneath you.”

Skye goes on to explain: “The song is about a story of my mom's. When I was young, my mom had a recurring dream that felt incredibly real. She began to feel as though her waking life and dream life were separate existences and started having trouble deciphering which world was the real one. At a certain point, she felt as though something asked her to choose between the worlds - she chose ours, and from that point on she was never able to return to that dream existence again.”

“What is Real?” is the second song released of a batch Skye co-produced and co-wrote with Hawksley Workman, and I am quite excited to hear the rest of them.

Kirk

“New Nostalgia” by Rich Aucoin

All good things come to an end, and that is the case with Rich Aucoin’s legendary interactive live show experience. A little while ago, Rich announced he only had a few more years of his confetti-filled, sing-a-long, parachute dance parties, but luckily you still may have a couple more chances to see him, as he recently dropped a new single with a whole host of tour dates.

“New Nostalgia” is destined to get people moving at the upcoming shows, and the video celebrates those dance parties with a compilation of fan recordings from all across the country (I know I recognised a clip of mine in there from the last show at the Fox!)

You can catch Rich here in Vancouver when he returns to the Fox Cabaret on October 3, and check the video below for a full list of cities!

Kirk

“Danger to Dream” by Kandle

Just WOW!
Kandle’s latest release (from her upcoming album, out later this year), is a sultry, dark, and haunting one, and comes with a Tarantino-inspired video that is a must watch!

Of the “Danger to Dream” Kandle says it: “came to me one evening while gently strumming my nylon acoustic in my bedroom, playing with the idea of hope not always being a good thing. It instantly felt timeless. A Morricone meets trip hop inspired tale of trying to wake up from the trance of unworthiness. Of the voices in our heads telling us we should be more, have more.
In honour of women’s month/endometriosis awareness month I gotta say, Lauren and I shot this stunning video while she was breastfeeding and I was having an epic flare up getting violently ill between takes BUT we showed absolutely no signs of slowing down OR compromising our vision! I’d say that’s a pretty powerful, beautiful representation of women’s resilience and dedication to their art ; ) #girlpower ”

With Vancouver’s Debra-Jean Creelman killing it with the back-up vocals, this might be my favourite release of the new album yet!

Christine

“One Woman” by Major Love

In celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day, Major Love released their latest single, appropriately titled “One Woman”

The anthemic song is a celebration of women, with songwriter Colleen Brown saying “I wanted to highlight the way women are pitted against one another, and question the idea that there are only so many spots available for women to succeed. This felt especially true for me in my twenties, but as I get older it's more apparent that it's just bogus. We always lose when we fight with each other instead of banding together - when we spend time comparing ourselves and being in a state of jealousy instead of celebrating one another. It chips away at our self esteem when we don’t stand up for our own worth, personally, but also collectively, with and for one another.”

The collaboration between Brown and Scenic Route to Alaska are releasing their latest album, Live, Laugh, Major Love, on May 18th, and you can check out the video for “One Woman” below — which was filmed on a record-breaking -45.9 degree January day in Edmonton!

Kirk

“Danser tout le temps” by Combine the Victorious

Vancouver’s Combine the Victorious have released a new track that is guaranteed to make you want to dance.
Reminding me of disco, “Danser tout le temps” is fun, and funky.
Of it CtV says: “Reminiscent of Air the three of us have created a French-pop dance tune that expands your attention span with catchy synth and guitar hooks. The French lyrics just seemed to make sense at the time, an elegant way to convey a simple message.”

Check it out below!

Christine

“Goon” by Dear Rouge

We all know a Goon, or have encountered one out in the world, and Dear Rouge has immortalize these people that just seem to reappear.

“Goon” is the super energetic new single, released last week, and it’s a certified banger with driving drums, a very sing-a-long-able bridge, and I can already picture lead singer Danielle rocking out on stage.

More of this please!

Christine

Songs of the Week: November 13 - 19, 2023

November 20, 2023 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“St. Paul’s” by Kandle

With her new album coming out next spring, Kandle has released her second single, “St. Paul’s”.

The song is a dark and hynotic tune, with Kandle explaining: “I feel that the importance of making “dark” music lies in its relatability. Throughout my life I’ve connected with the words and melodies of artists like Nick Cave, Courtney Love, Nine Inch Nails, Leonard Cohen, Nirvana, PJ Harvey and Billie Holiday. These songs mirrored my own experiences of pain, misery and loneliness, and through that connection I was granted temporary comfort and self-acceptance, even if it only lasted the length of a song. I believe that much of the therapeutic and cathartic benefit of music is diminished when it’s over-explained. Rather it should be encouraged to project one’s own meaning onto a song and create one’s own connection. When lyrics resonate with you, it’s as if they can articulate every feeling you just can’t seem to find the words for. It is for that reason that I would rather say very little about this song.”

You can check out the equally haunting video below!

Kirk

“Running Out Of Time” by The Strumbellas

The Strumbellas recently shared “Running out of Time”, the latest track from their forthcoming album Part Time Believer, which is due February 9, 2024.

Of the song, Dave Ritter, who performs piano, organ, percussion, and vocals says: “Berry Gordy Jr. used to say, ‘Don’t bore us - get to the chorus.’ This song joins a long lineage of songs from She Loves You and Nowhere To Run to Bad Blood and Hotline Bling that start with the chorus. It’s not something we pre-determined. …But while we were making the song it felt right not to beat around the bush. I guess we didn’t want to waste any more time.

If you listen closely, maybe with headphones, you can hear one of our favourite parts of this song. Somehow producer Keith Varon and mixer Ben Allen were able to gather the background vocals together into a fuzzy choir of robot angels, especially in the final chorus. The harmonies dance and sparkle around the lead vocal in a way that makes us smile every time we hear it.”

The band has also announced a whole slew of tour dates, which happens to kick off here in Vancouver at the Commodore on February 9th (the release date!) with Michael Bernard Fitgerald!

Christine

“I Will Remember You” by Metric

Of all the things I was not expecting from Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, near the top of that list was Metric covering Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You”

Scott Pilgrim and Metric have a long history together; the character of Envy Adams is partially based on Emily Haines in the original graphic novels, and her fictional band The Clash at Demonhead uses their song “Black Sheep” in the film, Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Now that connection continues in the new Netflix anime, with the inclusion of this cover (no spoilers as to why, where, and when it happens, though).

And just an aside, as a long-time fan of Scott Pilgrim, I really enjoyed the show!

Kirk

“Making the Most of It” by Major Love

When Colleen Brown and Scenic Route To Alaska get together, they make Major Love.

The band is the collaboration of Brown with Trevor Mann, Shea Connor, and Murray Wood, and last week they shared their latest single, “Making the Most of It”.

The new song is a high energy earworm, that was written out of pandemic-times, reflecting on “the dissolution of a once vibrant existence, turned mundane; and the pressure to become a ‘productivity drone’ in place of a social life on the outside.”

Have a listen blow and good luck not getting the chorus stuck in your head!

Kirk