Songs of the Week: August 05 - 11, 2024

“Just A Scratch” by Tokyo Police Club

The last single ever from Toronto’s Tokyo Police Club was released and the nostalgia (and sadness) I feel about it is palpable.

It’s not just the song itself (titled “Just A Scratch”) tug at my heartstrings, but the video is full of videos over the past two decades. It shows concerts of all sizes, the band recording, the band backstage and in the tour van - it really encapsulates the journey they went on.

(It inspired me to go find the footage of them at Sasquatch from 2011 - where a couple got engaged on stage!)

I’m eagerly awaiting crying in person at their final shows at the Commodore here in Vancouver on September 14 and 15th (with the first night being sold out already).

• Christine

---

“Lucky Streak” by Kylie V

Vancouver’s Kylie V has not only released a brand new single, but it’s their first signed to Royal Mountain Records!

“Lucky Streak” is as lush and gorgeous as you would expect from Kylie V, slowly simmering until it boils over at the end. Kylie explains, “I wrote 'Lucky Streak' during the excruciatingly complex process of getting over someone, while everything else in my life seemed to be speeding up and getting better at a surreal pace. When I started this song in my notes, I was on one hand feeling lost and empty, and on the other hand, it felt like all my dreams were beginning to come true — later in the month I wrote this song I played my biggest venue to date, and then flew across the country for another show.”

Check out the video below, directed by Luke Beach Bown.

• Kirk

---

“Glowing” by Matías Roden

This past weekend, Matías Roden released his debut EP, The Plea, and spotlights it with the opening track, “Glowing”

The track is a blend of his 80s and 90s influences, and of the album as a whole, Roden says,
“I think the classic ‘quarter life crisis’ for a lot of young people feels like you’re being put on trial by your own hopes and dreams and others’ expectations for your life. It can feel overwhelming to realize that maybe your life isn’t going in exactly the direction you wanted it to go. So The Plea is a play on words of a plea deal at a trial where you’re both at the mercy of forces beyond your control but also wanting to defiantly assert yourself. It’s like I’m saying ‘I will get my life back together, I will get over this heartbreak or over this failure to live out my hopes and dreams, I will make them happen.’”

The song was produced by Louise Burns, and you can have a listen below, and grab the EP now! Plus, keep an ear out for his debut full length, due early next year.

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: March 10 - 17, 2024

“Just A Scratch” and “Catch Me If You Can” by Tokyo Police Club

I’m not crying, you’re crying…
Okay, I was a little misty-eyed when I got the news that after over 20 years of making music, Newmarket’s own Tokyo Police Club will be hanging up their hats.

Thankfully they’re not just leaving us with nothing, they announced several finale shows in Toronto with a lot of familiar names, and now they’ve released tour dates, including two shows here in Vancouver (with Born Ruffians!), the first of which is already sold out.

To top all of this off, we’ve been presented with two new songs: “Just A Scratch” and “Catch Me If You Can”. Of the songs guitarist and keyboardist Graham Wright says:
"I hear bits that we might have come up with in the garage back then, and other bits we could never have dreamed up until right now. I hear all the music we ever loved and all the music we ever made - and most importantly, I hear US, the four of us, the hivemind that is TPC, with all its ideas and enthusiasm.”

Okay great, I’m crying again. I cannot wait until the shows in September!

• Christine

---

“Seeing Ghosts” by Nice Horse

Hot off their win for Horizon Group or Duo of the Year at this year’s CMAB Awards, Calgary country juggernaut Nice Horse has announced a new look for the band; going forward as a duo with Katie Rox and Brandi Sidoryk. And to cement that change, the pair released a surprise new single “Seeing Ghosts” last week, an upbeat country breakup song.

Brandi expands on the new direction: “There's no question that the past few years have been some of the hardest times of our lives, but the thing that got us through it all was writing and we did a lot of it. This song, and the rest of the album, is a result of that and we're so proud of the music we've created. We hope the fans, along with everyone who supported us and our former bandmates, are proud of the direction that we're heading.”

(As an aside, if I had a nickel for every time Brandi was in a band that changed into a duo… I’d have two nickels, but it’s weird that it happened twice?)

• Kirk

---

“Somebody’s Son” by Haley Blais

Ahead of her North American tour that starts this week, Haley Blais has dropped her new single, “Somebody’s Son”.

The haunting, acoustic song was written & recorded during the making of her last album Wisecrack, with Blais sharing, “This is me talking directly to my brother; one family ending, and another beginning. A conversation with him spanning years.”

You can check out the new song below, and see all the dates on her tour on her website!

• Kirk

---

“Gum” by Alex Badger

Alex Badger is hoping her new single sticks.

Last week, the Vancouver singer released her latest single “Gum”, a chill and catchy indie pop tune, that highlights her vocals.

Have a listen and check out the video below!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: October 18 - 24, 2021

“Top 5” by Tokyo Police Club

After lots of new solo music from both Graham and Dave of Tokyo Police Club, we get an unreleased track from the band ahead of their upcoming tour.
The tour is in celebration of the 10th anniversary of their album Champ, and “Top 5” was written from the very same era. The song was never properly recorded until now, and the band got to use all of the skills learned over the past decade to capture it.
As Graham Wright says: ”10 years of Tokyo Police Club in one bite sized, 3-minute package!”.

• Christine

---

“Except For U” by Big Kill

Big Kill continued their slow drip of new music last week, with “Except For U”

The destructive pop duo (Cayne and Andy, formerly of We Are The City) describe the sound as “rooted somewhere between experimental and hyperpop, synthesizing the unique sonics from a range of influences, moving from commercial pop to noise to drill to Eurodance.”

As with their last drop, the song wasn’t released alone, but alongside a slowed down version of the track, and another song called “standing in a crowded room”. Check out their website for a countdown to new music, or here for all the links you need.

• Kirk

---

“History” by Beatrice Deer

Montreal-based "Inuindie" artist Beatrice Deer teased her upcoming album Shifting this week, returning with a brand new single.

"History" is one of the few English-speaking tracks on the album (the rest in Inuktitut or French) and Deer says the song is about “changing our focus because we may not be aware that we’re too focused on our past rather than looking ahead into our future. And it distracts us from getting in the lane to our destiny. It’s about shifting into place, a metaphor is driving. It’s hard to drive forward when you keep looking out your rearview mirror to look back into your life. Get out of your history and into your destiny."

Have a listen below, and keey an ear out for the new album on December 10!

• Kirk

Song of the Day: September 23, 2019 - "Big Night" by Anyway Gang

I’ll tell you this right off the bat. When I saw the headline that Anyway Gang was a new group featuring members of Sloan, Hollerado, Tokyo Police Club, Sam Roberts Band, I was certainly not expecting the members in question to be the frontman of every single one!

Sam Roberts, Dave Monks, Menno Versteeg, and Chris Murphy have come together for what can only be described as a supergroup -- or as Roberts explains, a “Frankenstein’s monster of a band with stitched-on limbs provided by Chris, Menno, Sam and Dave. The beast is brainless of course, but it’s gonna be a wild ride!"

“Big Night” is the first single of the band, and sound exactly what you would expect from the sum of it’s parts, in all the best ways. Have a listen below, and mark down November 29th, for the release of their self-titled album out on Royal Mountain Records.

Song of the Day: September 06, 2019 - "Don't Go Falling To Pieces" by Dave Monks

I’m so far behind on SOTD’s because of summer and work, but I wanted to make sure this one got out there!

Dave Monks (of Tokyo Police Club) has a debut solo album coming out in October (on the 18th) called On A Wave, and is about to head out on tour with Said The Whale (though he won’t be there tonight at the Malkin Bowl!) this fall!

He released a single “Bluebird” before this, and the latest one “Don’t Go Falling To Pieces” is below - it’s about the almost disbanding of TPC, and fits right in with the personal themes on the record. Check it out!

(PS If you want to catch Dave outside of Vancouver with Said The Whale or any of his solo shows - here are the tour dates!)

Song of the Day: September 14, 2018 - "Simple Dude" by Tokyo Police Club

New song and video from Tokyo Police Club from their forthcoming album TPC (out Oct 5th!).

"Simple Dude"'s video was filmed by singer Dave Monks during the album's recording process and was animated by Anne Douris. As a photographer, scratching up negatives just hurts to see, but the animation is super fun, as is the song.

The band comes to Vancouver to play a two-night, sold-out stand at the Fox Cabaret on Oct 29 and 30th with Fleece.

Song of the Day: April 18, 2018 - "New Blue" by Tokyo Police Club

Ontario's Tokyo Police Club are heading out on a US tour with Matt + Kim, and have just released a new song, "New Blue".

The single is officially out on Friday via Dine Alone Records, but there hasn't been any details on the new record yet (which the band spent the winter working on and recording). We'll have to keep our ears to the ground for more news, and enjoy the new track:

Song of the Day: September 06, 2016 - "My House" by Tokyo Police Club

We're creeping closer to the release date of Tokyo Police Club's new album Melon Collie and The Infinite Radness Part 2 on September 23rd (Part 1 came out back in April).

The newest single (hear it below) is "My House" and was co-written with and produced by Rostam from Vampire Weekend and is definitely a jam.

You can catch the band on tour later this month, including a stop here in Vancouver at the Commodore Ballroom on October 5th with Born Ruffians.