Songs of the Week: February 20 - 26, 2023
“Moonlight Stay Above” and “When The Storm Has Passed”
by Great Lake Swimmers
I know there was a global pandemic, but it still feels like FOREVER since we’ve heard from the Great Lake Swimmers, but that changes now!
Not one, but two songs, “Moonlight Stay Above” and “When The Storm Has Passed”, from the Ontario band.
The new album promises feelings of "doubt, followed by discovery. Demos that ended up as finished tracks. New beginnings, rear-view reflections, and ruminations on the fluidity of time.”
Uncertain Country will be released on April 23rd, but in the meantime enjoy to two releases below.
Christine
“How I Loved You” by Jenn Grant (feat. Amy Millan)
The upcoming Jenn Grant album is going to be a who’s who of some of the best musicians in Canada.
Aside from Grant herself (obviously) the album includes collaborations with Kim Harris, Aquakultre, Basia Bulat, Bahamas, Dan Mangan, Kevin Drew, Ria Mae, Josh Qaumariaq, Slow Leaves, Joel Plaskett, Tim Baker, and Hannah Georgas & Amy Millan, as heard in the new single, “How I Loved You”.
Grant says “I have been thinking a lot about the idea of heartbreak lately, and how we try to cover up the pain and the joy that led to it just to feel nothing at all. And that maybe it is better to feel everything rather than nothing. Maybe we do not need to forget, and we just need to feel. Because it is the reason humans are together on this earth. To fall in love, to break apart, to feel, cry, grieve, and grow stronger. This is what love is to me. This song is going to break your heart as it did mine.”
With Amy adding, “Prepare for listening to “How I Loved You” by being alone. This way you may cry like you have to, want to and need to for as long as you can remember. Then you can listen to it 17-1700 times consecutively and cry a little more. That’s what happened to me anyway.”
Check out the video (directed by Kevin Drew!) below and mark June 21st for the release of Champagne Problems.
Kirk
“Once Upon A Time In Montréal” by Murray A. Lightburn
As we inch closer to the release of Murray A. Lightburn’s newest solo album, we get another glimpse, this time with the title track, “Once Upon A Time In Montréal”. The new single features Murray’s voice soaring, while building to an incredible sax solo from Frank Lozano.
Lightburn has joked the album is an audio version of a biopic, heavily inspired by the passing of his father, and on the title track he notes “After getting an education in Jamaica and England, my mom got a job in Montreal as a nurse. My father was living in New York. They had dated back in Belize and reconnected years later in New York. My father didn’t really want to leave for Montreal, but he did. And it was hard for him: the harsh winters, the language barrier, the colour of his skin. He was a skilled musician but that was barely going to keep the lights on — never mind feed a growing family. His lack of formal education, and his lack of French, limited his opportunities. Nevertheless, he just wanted to be with her. So he figured out a way, and that’s what his life was mostly about, I think — what I’ve deduced. Maybe there’s way more to it and that’s the romantic version, but it’s a version at least I can understand. Nothing else computes. My parents stayed married for 56 years.”
Once Upon A Time In Montréal is out March 31 on Dangerbird Records, and if one of my most anticipated albums of the year so far!
Kirk
“Pure” by Rich Aucoin
Rich Aucoin continues his synthwave journey this week, with a new look at the second of his four part album series.
The first album, Synthetic: Season 1, was recently nominated for a JUNO award under Best Electronic Album. The follow up — appropriately titled Synthetic: Season 2 — has been teased with a few singles, including last week’s new release, “Pure”, a six minute masterclass in synth.
Rich also announced a run of North American dates, including here in Vancouver on June 1st at the Fox Cabaret!
Kirk
