Songs of the Week: March 18 - 24, 2024

“If Something Is Good” by Adaline

After releasing various singles over many months, Adaline’s new album Hymnal has finally been released into the world.

The latest track is called “If Something Is Good” and it premiered recently on CBC’s “Run The Burbs”.

The album is based around Adaline’s reconciling queerness and her religious upbringing, and the new track focuses on just that.

She says: “It encourages us to fight for our valued connections. That if a church, a God, a belief system is truly good, it won't cause you to lose the people you love. Love doesn't cause estrangement or force you to choose at the expense of another. Love doesn't cause pain, loss, and confusion.”

• Christine

---

“Lasts Forever” by Scenic Route to Alaska

Last week, Scenic Route To Alaska shared the title track from their upcoming album, Lasts Forever.

Packed with their usual infectious indie-pop, “Lasts Forever” is destined to be blasting on many road-trip summer-jam playlists this year.

Keep an ear out for the album when it drops on April 12 (and for their collaboration with Colleen Brown, Major Love, with their upcoming album too)!

---

“Hey Hey” by Sam Weber

I needed a sweet little folk song this morning, and Vancouver Island’s Sam Weber delivered.

Of the track, “Hey Hey”, Sam says it: “feels like an articulation and realization of the concept that the truth always rises to the surface. I feel like my understanding of it and how it reflects in my own life continues to change as time goes on. It's like it's still growing on its own, and I with it.”

It’s a beautiful little tune with Paul Simon vibes, perfect for a Monday.

• Christine

---

“Are You Receiving Me?” by Stephen Hamm: Theremin Man

Stephen Hamm has been a stalwart in the Vancouver music scene for over three decades — as a part of bands like Slow, Canned Hamm, and The Evaporators — and last week he released the second single from his upcoming album, Songs of the Future.

“Are You Receiving Me?” delves into themes of “losing connection, longing for reconnection, and the poignant pain of isolation”, and the video, directed by Ani Kyd-Wolf of Sugar Skull Films, mirrors those feelings with the vastness of space.

Have a watch below, and check out the new album Songs of the Future. when it’s out on May 6th.

• 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: March 04 - 10, 2024

“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: February 26 - March 03, 2024

“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: February 19 - 25, 2024

“No Safe + Sound” by July Talk

A year after the release of their album Remeber Never Before, July Talk are back with a deluxe edition! The new version of the album features two new songs, including “No Safe + Sound”, produced by Kevin Drew.

According to Leah Fay Goldstein, the new song is “a series of promises. It is about greeting uncertain and imperfect futures with a willingness to show up and keep trying. The nagging divine and communal pressure that urges us to never lose hope is as mundane and as vital as the blood in our veins. You don’t tell your heart to pump or your lungs to breathe, they just do it. Yes there will be suffering, yes there will be valid reasons for fear, but there will always also be love. Love is the cure, love is the greatest assurance of all. Love is how we got here. Love is why we stay.”

The Deluxe album also features three live recordings from their 2023 tour, “After This,” “Human Side,” and “I Am Water", as well as a ‘piano version’ of “When You Stop”. Keep an eye out for it on March 8th!

• Kirk

---

“Hello Everyone (Ceasefire Now)” by Jenn Grant

Last week Jenn Grant released “Hello everyone (Ceasefire Now)” alongside an incredible group of over 35 musicians from across Canada, Ireland and Australia.

The song was co-written with Daniel Ledwell, and features Aquakultre, Justin Rutledge, Mo Kenney, Sarah Slean, Terra Lightfoot, The Once, and Tim Chaisson, among many, many others.

You can pick up the song on Bandcamp, with 100% of proceeds going to Palestinian Red Crescent Society (as well as see a full list of everyone involved).

• Kirk

---

“Dancing For The Soldiers” by Adrian Glynn

Adrian Glynn (whose folk group The Fugitives was nominated for a JUNO in 2022) is about to release a new solo album (tomorrow!) titled You’re Just A Place That I Know.

The new work is based around his family heritage, and keeps his dark-folk sound, but uses the addition of traditional Ukrainian instruments and a Ukranian-Canadian Choir.

Glynn says:  “After speaking with my Aunt Genya,  the story-keeper of my Ukrainian side of the family, a couple years ago, I began composing a song-cycle that follows the details of my grandparents’ narrative, including: my Baba, at 16, being forced by Germans from her Carpathian village into forced labour a thousand kilometers away; my Dido folk-dancing to win cigarettes from impressed Allied soldiers in a refugee camp; my Baba invoking the words of poet Taras Shevchenko to lay her husband to rest after their long life together in Montreal; and lastly, to my own final visit with my Baba in her room at Royal Vic hospital, her memories now a mosaic of dementia as we flipped through an old photo album together”. 

“This album is not about modern Ukraine, but certainly the current and horrific existential threat to my ancestral homeland spurred me to to tell this story of my grandparents’ flight from war to settle somewhere unfamiliar. A story that is all too true for Ukrainians today, 80 years on”.

Take a listen to one of the new songs, “Dancing For The Soldiers”, below.

• Christine

---

“Bruised” by BOBBI

A few years ago, Vancouver musician Kaylee Johnston picked up, moved to London (England, not Ontario) and started making music under the name BOBBI.

New she’s back with a brand new song “Bruised”, which was mere weeks before her life -- and the entire world -- was upended in 2020. It’s a haunting electro-pop tune about ‘spiritual narcissism’, and is the first new single off her EP, coming out later this year.

The song was written with Model 86, and you can check out the video directed by Adem Boutlidja below!

• Kirk

---

“She Told Me Where To Go” by Old Man Luedecke

Last week Old Man Luedecke released the title track from his new album She Told Me Where To Go.

The album was produced by Afie Jurvanen (Bahamas) and sees OML putting down the signature banjo for it. Don’t be worried though, as you’ll hear in the track below, the new music is hella fun.

He’s heading out on the road for a string of dates with Matt Anderson, and his own tour, and while there’s no Vancouver date yet, you bet I’ll be keeping an eye out!

• Christine

Songs of the Week: February 12 - 18, 2024

“Lost And Found” by Chromeo

The iconic duo Chromeo have released their new record, Adult Contemporary, and it’s classically funky fun.
The album dropped almost 20 years to the day that their first album did, and it’s got a similar vibe to their early work.

The fun news on top of this is that they’re taking it on tour, including a show at the Malkin Bowl here in Vancouver on September 5th, and I cannot wait!

• Christine

---

“Wind and Snow” by Elliott BROOD

Last year, Elliott BROOD released the first of a 2-part album project called Town. Now, just a few short months later, we’re getting a date for the second half, Country.

The latest single for that album is “Wind and Snow”, a frantic song that is sure to be a roadtrip classic.

Casey Laforet from the band explains: "This is a driving love song. It's a song about the Midwest and the Mississippi River and the Great Plains, the desert and the gorgeous west coast of North America. To be honest, maybe the greatest part of touring for a living is getting to see all these places that only exist in film and television for most people. This song is a true story of my migration to the West Coast of the United States from the comforts of Canada. I did the trip in a beat up Subaru in 4 days and aged 20 years. It was incredible. Travelling through America is in my mind the only way to gain a true fair and rounded perspective of the diversity and beauty of the people of that great country."

Country is out April 12, but in the meantime, you can check out the lyric video for “Wind and Snow”!

• Kirk

---

“I Lied” by Housewife

Appropriately released on Valentine’s Day, Toronto’s Housewife dropped their latest single, “I Lied”.

The new tune is about a “messy ex-situationship”, and is incredibly catchy. Check out the video below, and good luck getting it out of your head for the rest of the day!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: February 05 - 11, 2024

“Sun Shadows” by Brandon Wolfe Scott

Hot off the heels of the latest Yukon Blonde album & tour, Brandon Wolfe Scott is back with another solo release, “Sun Shadow”

The new song has the chill, throwback vibes that Scott is known for, and he explains:“In this song, the lyric 'shadows from the sun...they follow me', is a metaphor referring to where there's light or hope, there is usually a darkness lingering. I see this as a generational issue, where we can see the light and the hope, but the shadows of the world's grief are often overpowering. I see people of my generation becoming consumed, burnt out, and hopeless. It feels like being in the shadow of the sun, and I wanted this song to stand out in this cynical world as a reminder to appreciate the small things in life that bring you joy. To take moments to breathe and find solace in everyday life as we must continue to bear witness to the evolving situations humanity is facing.”

Watch the video for “Sun Shadows” below, and catch Brandon opening for Sam Roberts Band in Vancouver on February 24th & 25th, and in Kelowna on the 27th!

• Kirk

---

“Sleep On The Floor” (Lumineers) by Dan Mangan

While Dan Mangan is prepping for his European tour dates to support his JUNO nominated and Polaris shortlisted album Being Somewhere, he gave us a recording of his Lumineers cover.

“When I got word I’d be touring Europe supporting The Lumineers last year in June, I knew I wanted to cover one of their songs,” says Mangan. “They have so many hits but ‘Sleep On The Floor’ was always the one I’d crank when it came on the radio. Wes has a distinctive and strong vocal approach, and I thought it would be interesting to attempt the song with a whisper. Rather than wide open chord changes, a simple piano plodding along keeping pace. The song is about escape, and as somebody who has literally spent a fair amount of time sleeping on floors and couches around the globe, I wanted to explore the sonically comforting elements of my own nostalgia from a life on the road.”

It’s very unique take on the song - check it out below!

• Christine

---

“Burial Ground” by The Decemberists

It’s been six years(!!) since we heard new music from The Decemberists, but last week they dropped “Burial Ground”, along with a string of North American tour dates.

The new song features The Shins’ James Mercer on vocals (what a pairing!) and Colin Meloy says "'Burial Ground' is in that time-honored popsong tradition, a paean to hanging out in graveyards. The melody hook came to me in a dream and I hummed it into my phone on waking. Most dream-songs are bad; this was the exception.”

Have a listen for yourself below, and be sure to check them out in Vancouver at the Queen E on July 29th!

• Kirk

---

Songs of the Week: January 29 - February 04, 2024

“The endLing” by Talia Schlanger

Huge congratulations are in order for Talia Schlanger on the release of her record Grace For The Going this past week!
It’s a gorgeous collection of songs and stories that make it hard to believe that is is her debut album.

The single “The endLing” was written about the extinction of a species of frog (specifically this guy named Toughie), with an “endling” being the last known living creature of a species before extinction.
Of the “Rabbs fringe-limbed treefrog”, Talia says it “had a very distinct call, and when I read the article all I could think about was how after Toughie died, nobody would ever hear that call again. What does it mean to lose a sound forever?”

Talia has a few shows on the East Coast, and an album release show in Toronto - and hopefully this means she’ll be bringing it to the West Coast soon enough!

• Christine

---

“Maybe Borealis” by Nathan Shubert

If you’ve seen a Vancouver band play live, there’s a strong chance you’ve seen Nathan Shubert play piano or keys. They’ve played with the likes of Jasper Sloan Yip, Jody Glenham, No Sinner, and loads more, but for the last few years, Nathan has been focusing on their own solo piano compositions.

Last week, they released their latest, with “Maybe Borealis”, a gorgeous blend of piano and synth that feels just like the song’s namesake.

It’s their first single since last year’s album, The Moon From Here, and you can have a listen for yourself below!

• Kirk

---

“Tree of Woe” ft. Damian Abraham by The Halluci Nation

Super fun new video for the song “Tree of Woe” that is part of The Halluci Nation’s project The Road To Halluci Mania with their EP Path Of The Heel.

The album is based around the wrestling character archetype (The Heel) and in this particular video Damian Abraham of the band Fucked Up, who lends his vocals to the EP, has kinda, sorta, definitely gone off the deep end. He literally has a tin foil hat on at one point.
Check it out below.

• Christine

---

“a little life” by la lune

Last week, Vancouver’s la lune released their latest single, “a little life”.

The shoegaze-y song starts with a haze of guitars and vocals, slowly building to a dense wall of sound.

Check it out below, and if you want to hear it live, you can catch them at Green Auto on Feb 11th with Autonomous Apes and Floating Faces, or opening for Art d'Ecco at the Cobalt on Feb 23!

• Kirk