Songs of the Week: June 03 - 09, 2024

“Big Feelings” by Arkells

Arkells just don’t have an ‘off’ mode. They just released their album of covers, Disco Loadout: Volume 1, and now ahead of their Big Feelings Tour later this year, they’ve dropped the eponymous song.

“Big Feelings” is a perfect title for the new tune, full of the band’s usual infectious energy, and singer Max Kerman explaining “In the studio, this track was a burst of energy and felt like it came together quickly. When you have something with propulsion, you just hang on and try to steer it the right way. Immediately, we understood it would be unruly, and that the spirit of the song was more about the collective unvarnished expression than any conventional ‘songwriting rules.’ The most satisfying songs are often the ones where we surprise ourselves.”

You can catch Arkells here in Vancouver on November 15 when they play Rogers Arena(!!) with K.Flay!

• Kirk

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“Stay Forever” by Begonia

After announcing her new album (Open Swim) and releasing the first single (“Get To You”) in April, Begonia has dropped a second single for us!

“Stay Forever” is a slow, melancholic song with Begonia’s beautiful vocals over a delicate piano, and is about being “free of self judgment and open to love”.

It’s a simple, yet gorgeous piece of work.

• Christine

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“Magic Wand” by Energy Slime

Energy Slime is back with a not only a brand new song, but a new album coming soon!

The duo of Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle announced their new LP Planet Perfect and gave us a hint of what’s to come with “Magic Wand”. The lead single may hit a little close to home for people — especially artistic types — in Vancouver, as it’s an upbeat, bouncy track about being priced out the city you live in.

Arner elaborates, “Specifically this is about trying to have fun in a place that is destined to become condos. In general it's about living in a city that is hostile to me and my friends. I've lived here my whole life but I feel like I'm being squeezed out.”

Check out the video below, directed and edited by Delisle, and mark August 9th on your calendars for the release of Planet Perfect, on We Are Time Records.

• Kirk

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“Ooh La La” by ADNAMA

It’s been a few months since we’ve heard from Vancouver’s Adnama, but last week she dropped her latest single, “Ooh La La”.

The simmering synth tune is “an 80's throwback to when soundtracks were great.”

Have a listen below!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: April 29 - May 05, 2024

“Get To You” by Begonia

Begonia has to be one of the hardest working people in Canadian music right now. It’s been a little over a year since her Polaris short-listed album Powder Blue, and she’s already set for her next release, The Open Swim EP.

The first single off the EP is “Get To You”, featuring Alexa Dirks’ powerful voice over a groovy R&B beat. Alexa says “this song is about trying to get through to someone you can't seem to get through to. When you feel like you're constantly showing someone who you are and they can't or don't want to see it.”

The Open Swim EP is out July 17 on Birthday Cake Records, and was co-written & produced by Begonia & Marcus Paquin, with contributions from her frequent collaborators and producer duo, deadmen!

• Kirk

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“Talking” by The Darcys

The Darcys just feel like summer to me, and I’m extremely excited that they’ve announced their next album! No official date yet, but if the new single “Talking” is any indicator, I know I’m going to enjoy Rendered Feelings.

The track was on a recent episode of Grey’s Anatomy (may this show never go away so more indie bands can get their music on it!), and the band joked that “watching the episode taught us how to remove a fence pole from another human’s body without using anesthetic.”

Listen to the sweet track that feels like a hazy summer afternoon below, and then go stream it a few hundred times for them!

• Christine

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“Harsh” by BOBBI

As we creep closer to the release of her EP, BOBBI has released the title track, “Harsh”

The new single is a haunting song, and BOBBI says “This is the first song I ever produced by myself. It’s the sum of all the lessons I learned while creating this body of work. I went through a lot personally while this project came together, and this song kind of felt like the punctuation to a very tumultuous time.”

Harsh is out May 24th, and you can stream the title track HERE, or check out a gorgeous live version below!

• Kirk

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“Nothing To Report” by Fold Paper

You’re going to want to crank it for the brand new song from Fold Paper.

“Nothing To Report” features ripping guitars and pounding drums, with raw vocals from singer Chell Osuntade, for an energetic post-punk tune that immediately hooked me.

“Nothing to Report” is the first single from the band after signing to Royal Mountain Records, and you can check out the video below!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: September 11 - 17, 2023

“Tough Kid” by Skye Wallace

Skye Wallace wants to know if you are a “Tough Kid”.

The new single is their first collaboration with the legendary Hawksley Workman co-producer, and the result is a gritty, slow-burn of a tune.

Skye says “Before this song came to its full fruition and was still a pile of words and ideas, I had an image of this kid in my head that I was pumping up. That kid represented anyone who needed to hear it, any kid who has been told they aren't allowed to be who they truly are, that they aren't good enough – I wanted this song to be a reminder to them that they've got a power in them that they might not believe in yet. It was only when we were designing the single artwork, which involved using an old photo of me at 10 years old, that I realized I had also been talking to my weird kid self. There's a power in looking back with pride and care for the kid you were.”

So if your inner child needs pumping up, check out the video below!

• Kirk

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“Marigold” by Begonia

Tomorrow the Polaris Prize will be handed out for 2023, and Begonia’s album Powder Blue is one of the 10 nominees!

Last week she released her Marigold EP, which features the song from Powder Blue, an extended cut and three remixes. (It’s one of my favourites from the album, so I was VERY excited for this.)
Of the track she says: "Marigold is basically a short story about my teenage life. A passing reflection that has confirmed for me that all the questions and uncertainties I had as a kid, have value.”
All the best of luck to her tomorrow!

• Christine

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“End Of It All” by iskwē

“End of It All” is a breakup song, but maybe not in the way you’re thinking. The latest single from iskwē is about the end of her relationship with her ex-wife, but the evolution of that relationship into best friends.

iskwē explains, “I met my love, my future wife, on a fall afternoon in front of a park halfway between our two homes. I was late. I am always late. She is never late. As I walked towards her, I started to skip like I was five years old with the biggest smile on my face. My stomach knew I would love her like nobody before and now, in hindsight, like nobody after. For me, marriage is a commitment to try harder than you would with anyone else because that person is so special. And that’s what we did! ‘We tried, and we tried, and we tried, but the end of it all came anyway.’”

“End of It All” is iskwē’s third new single since the spring, and fingers crossed for a new album announcement soon, but in the meantime you can see iskwē live this fall, including a show here in Vancouver at The Pearl on November 10th!

• Kirk

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“Promise Of Spring” by Great Lake Swimmers

I’m going to be listening to this one all winter - I’m still in denial that it’s getting cold again.

Great Lake Swimmers have just started out on their four-month-long tour, which will stop in Vancouver on October 19th, and have announced a deluxe version of their latest album Uncertain Country.

With it came another single from the album “Promise Of Spring”, which was recorded live off the floor back in December 2020!

• Christine

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: December 05 - 11, 2022

“Cold Night” by Begonia

One of my most anticipated albums coming next year is the newest from Begonia, Powder Blue.

“Cold Night” is the second song we’ve heard from the album so far, a gorgeous song that Alexa Dirks describes as “the breakdown of a horrible life-changing relationship in three parts”, which builds to a hair-raising explosion of strings.

She elaborates: “Like...stages of grief I guess? Verse one is when you’re not ready to let go and just the thought of being ‘left behind’ makes you feel so desperate and detached, like you’re not even human anymore. Verse two is reflecting on the reality of the relationship itself and particular stories that come up only with time to reveal the truth. The last part of the song after the strings hit is all about accepting it for what it is and moving forward. Like sitting in your despair and sadness, but also knowing that it needed to be over and that you did the right thing by walking away. Deadmen [producers Matt Peters and Matt Shellenberg, of Royal Canoe fame] really knocked it out of the park with their string arrangements on my upcoming album, and this song in particular is one of my favourites so I'm so glad to be releasing it as a single.”

Check out the video below!

• Kirk

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“None of Us Are Free” by Kuba Oms

Vancouver’s Kuba Oms is back with a new cover of the Solomon Burke song “None Of Us Are Free”.
This release is a return to his R&B/Soul roots, and was recorded live off the floor, through vintage gear, and then straight to analog tape.
I hope this is a sign of more things to come from Oms, because I’m really feeling this vibe!

• Christine

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“All Comes Crashing” by Metric - CVCHE Remix

Gotta love a good remix, and this CVCHE version of “All Comes Crashing” by Metric nails it.
Of it and the decision to have it remixed, Emily Haines says:
“It was intensely gratifying to play 'All Comes Crashing' live on the Doomscroller tour and see how the audience responded. I know the lyrics are morbid on the surface, but when the band plays it, the energy in the room lifts and everyone who wasn't already dancing suddenly is, and it feels like we're all suspended there in the disappearing present moment. It's such a high and I wanted to try to capture it in a dance remix of the song. I did some digging and was lucky enough to get the famously reclusive CVCHE on board. They have this insane unreleased electronic album, I got a test pressing of it on vinyl and am now obsessed. I worked with Justin Broadbent on a visualizer 'remix' video too, and I'm just really happy we get to release this right now as a bouncy sendoff to 2022.”

• Christine

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.

Songs of the Week: January 24 - 30, 2022

“Endless Time” by The Weather Station

Remember that brief window of time when everything seemed to be starting to settle down and we could do things again? In that window I was lucky to catch The Weather Station perform a live show, where she teased some brand new songs.

Now we have news of an upcoming album, How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars, which is a companion piece to last year’s Ignorance. Tamara Lindeman says “When I wrote Ignorance, it was a time of intense creativity, and I wrote more songs than I ever had in my life. The songs destined to be on the album were clear from the beginning, but as I continued down my writing path, songs kept appearing that had no place on the album I envisioned. Songs that were simple, pure; almost naive. Songs that spoke to many of the same questions and realities as Ignorance, but in a more internal, thoughtful way. So I began to envision How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars, a quiet, strange album of ballads. I imagined it not as a followup to Ignorance, but rather as a companion piece; the moon to its sun.”

The album is out March 4, and you can check out the first single “Endless Time” below!

• Kirk

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“Hayloft II” by Mother Mother

Why aren’t there more song sequels?

After the surprise recent breakout of their song “Hayloft”, Mother Mother first released a brand new video for the song, and then decided it was time to revisit the characters of the narrative. Singer Ryan Guldemond says, “We have learned more about the story of ‘Hayloft’ through our fans that we ever could have unearthed ourselves. We began to ask, is there more to this story? And the resounding answer seemed to be ‘yes!’ It was an ambitious task to try to do justice to a story, and to characters, that have grown far beyond the initial intention of the song. We hope that the sequel in both song and video form honor and live up to what our incredible fans have helped ‘Hayloft’ to become.”

The first “Hayloft” remains one of my favourite Mother Mother songs, and the sequel definitely does it justice. Check it out below!

• Kirk

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“Small Talk” by Dear Rouge

After a few single releases, Dear Rouge finally has a release date for their new album!

Spirit will be coming out on April 8th, and of it the band says it is: “the most vulnerable and raw side of Danielle’s inner thoughts, and the line being thrown from these questions and deep reckonings within oneself, urging you to grab hold and hang on for dear life.”

“Small Talk”, the latest single released last week, is about looking for authentic connections in today’s world. I can get behind that!

• Christine

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“It’s Too Quiet” by Begonia

Another single from Winnipeg’s Begonia was released this week - which hopefully means she’s building up to a new album!

“It’s Too Quiet” is about the beginning of relationships when lots is still uncertain - it’s about when “you just want to be around someone all the time but aren't sure how they feel about you, so you second guess every text and every phone call before finally just being vulnerable (AH!) and letting the other person know how you feel.”

In March, Begonia is heading out on tour in the States, with a stop at SXSW - and let’s hope things get better here so we can see her in Vancouver once again.

• Christine

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“What’s Wrong With Changing?” by Wallis Bird

One of my favourite things about the Vancouver Folk Music Festival is the workshops, especially going to a workshop where I know one of the acts and then immediately being enamoured by one I hadn’t heard of.

That’s exactly what happened a couple years ago when I went to see Skye Wallace, and came out a new fan of Ireland’s Wallis Bird. So I was happy to see she had a new album on its way, Hands (Nine and a Half Songs for Nine and a Half Fingers).

Out on May 27th, the title references Wallis’ own hand, and was announced with a pair of songs, “What’s Wrong With Changing” and “Pretty Lies”.

The first (which you can check out below) is a raucous track about the inevitability of change, and the need to adapt.

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: November 29 - December 05, 2021

“Heaven” by Begonia

It’s been a minute since we’ve heard new music from Begonia, but last week she released a brand new single, “Heaven”. The gorgeous song features Alexa Dirks’ powerful voice driving the track that “finds beauty in the unknown.”

Dirks says: “When I was a kid I thought I knew a lot about everything. I was taught to believe that there was always a right or wrong and beyond that, that there was a heaven and hell waiting for us after we die and we just had to live our lives accordingly to end up in either place. I had a lot of fear of screwing up and a lot of fear of the unknown. As I've grown, all of those binary ways of thinking have more or less been shattered. I've come to understand that I'll always be searching and that there's a lot of beauty to that. I still think about what happens after we die but I feel more curious about it than I feel afraid or certain of it. I think this song speaks to that doubt and curiosity: thoughts I used to struggle with but now fully embrace”

Check out the video below, and keep an ear out for more new music next year!

• Kirk

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“FAT LIP” by BIG KILL (feat. Debby Friday)

The “destructive pop” duo BIG KILL promised a steady stream of new songs, and that’s exactly what they’ve been giving us.

“FAT LIP” is their latest, and while it’s not a cover of the Sum 41 classic, it does feature Vancouver’s Debby Friday on vocals for a frenetic and explosive tune.

They’ve already released a half dozen songs since their debut in September, and there’s no indication of them slowing down, so have a listen below and hang on tight.

• Kirk

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“Thunder” by Combine the Victorious

“Thunder” is the first song from Vancouver’s by Combine the Victorious, from their upcoming collection.
The track is an homage to nature and was filmed in Pacific Spirit Region Park in Vancouver, BC and Southern Quebec.
It also features Johanna Sö on violin! Give it a listen.

• Christine

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“Bubble” by D.W. Waterson ft Sydanie

This one got lost in our inbox for a bit, but it’s too fun not to include now that I’ve heard it. D.W. Waterson is the “non-binary/queer artist that melds punk rock drums with their signature pop electronic remixes and deep house anthems.”
And this track, “Bubble” from their new album Home Brew Vol 1, features Toronto hip-hop artist Sydanie.
Get your groove on below!

• Christine

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“Already Know” by Sam Weber

And to end on a mellow one, check out Sam Weber’s latest single “Already Know” from his upcoming album Get Free (due out Feb 4th).

Apparently the track started out as a waltz-style song, but Weber reworked it with co-producer Mallory Hauser and this is the result!
Also fun fact the last verse discuss the rumour that Paul Simon stole the idea for 'The Myth of Fingerprints' from Los Lobos.

• Christine