“Washed Away” by The Darcys

I was really excited this morning, knowing that I’d get to share the new single from The Darcys, and then I woke up to news that their van was broken into!
The culprit only stole an iPod Touch (lolz) but caused $1000 of damage to the van! BOO!

SO, here’s two things you can do - listen to the awesome new song, “Washed Away”, below (and stream it on your preferred playform) and buy some merch from the duo. I got two vinyl, a hat , (plus Kirk and I both got socks) at their Vancouver show last week. I recommend one of everything!

Christine

“Never Been” by Darkometro

What happens when you combine Maia Davies (of Ladies of the Canyon) and Patrick Krief (of The Dears and, uh, Patrick Krief)? Darkometro.

“Never Been” is the first single from the collaborating pair, who are long-time friends, and blends Davies’ gorgeous voice with Krief’s fuzzy guitar.

Maia Davies says the song “is a place created where wild love feels safe. This naively beautiful aspiration I carry around, that just a touch or a look to someone can electrically forge all the highs of love. It’s a moment I’ve lived but never maintained. So in this song my fantasy comes to life, somewhere to drink too much wine with someone, party and kiss and have it never end.” And Krief adds: “The sounds of ‘Never Been’ were created as if scoring a movie, one of a murky night, of low visibility, with high lush vocals calling through it. I wanted the bass to feel wooly and warm like a blanket over the whole thing. Summoning Bowie's cacophony on ‘Heroes’, I layered guitars and synths forever, til they grungily and joyfully become one thing.”

Here’s hoping that this is just the first tease of things to come, and we get more from the pair real soon.

Kirk

“Trash Bag” by Deanna Petcoff

I have a feeling that a lot of people who have simply existed for the last two years are going to relate to the latest from Deanna Petcoff, “Trash Bag”.

The incredibly charming and catchy song was written at the beginning of the pandemic, Deanna says “as a little tongue in cheek moment. I was starting to see someone new in the throes of the pandemic, and I had to cancel on them almost every time we had plans because I was having an anxiety attack or a depressive episode or a chronic pain flare and couldn’t get myself out of bed. I didn’t want them to view me as a sick person, and I wanted them to still want to see me when I got better. This song came out of nowhere one day while my roommate was doing laundry and moving around bags of garbage that we hadn’t been able to take out in a few days because neither of us had our shit together. In the end I hope this song resonates with anyone that has a mental illness, chronic illness, or anything that prevents them from feeling normal, healthy, and cute.”

“Trash Bag” is off Deanna Petcoff’s latest album To Hell With You, I Love You which came out this past Friday, and you can check out the very fitting video below!

Kirk

“Worm ft. Dill The Giant” by Royal Canoe

Surprise! Out of nowhere, Royal Canoe dropped a brand new album this past Friday.

Vault (2011-2021) is exactly what you may expect from the title; as the band puts it, it is a “collection of 10 songs that were pulled from a long list of unreleased demos, b-sides and oddities that have been accumulating on our various hard-drives over the past decade. These songs are the underdogs, the overachievers and the almost-fits that we just couldn’t quit. During this past winter we dusted off old backups, scoured mp3-vaults and even went back to the studio to finish up a few tracks that were uncompleted but long-time favourites of the band. For us, each song on Vault feels like a brief journal entry that captures a simple, but meaningful moment from the past decade of us making sounds together.”

Along with the new album, the band dropped a video for “Worm ft. Dill The Giant” with trippy stop motion animation courtesy of MIMI and lyric animation from the band's own, Matt Schellenberg.

Take a peek below!

Kirk

“Palm Slave” by Art d‘Ecco

Piano AND Saxophone?! You sold me right there Art d’Ecco!

“Palm Slave” give me major 80’s-vibes, but with a mix of experimental and chaos. Of the song itself Art says it’s "a cautionary tale about obsession, and how a misguided search for meaning and purpose, may lead some to very dark places”.

The full album will be coming out later this year, and the band are making their way down to SXSW, as well as a few other winter festivals. Last time I saw them live was at the Constellation Festival in 2019!, so hopefully there is a Vancouver date soon too.

Christine

“Devastatingly Mediocre” by Deanna Petcoff

Okay, this one came out last month, but the first time the latest single from Deanna Petcoff hit my ears was the other day. And from the raw catchiness to the biting lyrics and even the hilarious title, “Devastatingly Mediocre” hooked me immediately.

Not only that, but the backstory is equally great. Petcoff says she “wrote this song when my friend was dating the most boring guy alive. He really was so normal, met the bare minimum of being a decent person, and yet she was so infatuated with him. At first I wrote this as a joke because I always called him devastatingly mediocre just to tease her, but when I showed it to my band they loved it and we decided to make it something real. I think it actually holds a lot of meaning for a lot of people– it’s so easy to fall in love with someone just because you want to be in love, regardless of whether or not it really works.”

The single is off her debut album To Hell With You, I Love You, which is out April 8th on Royal Mountain Records.

Kirk

“Fuckboi” by Common Deer

Speaking of catchy songs with biting lyrics and titles that tickly my fancy… Common Deer just released their latest single “Fuckboi”.

The band’s latest single is a blast of synth energy, and singer Sheila Hart says: “I was going through another near-relationship falling apart, and feeling justified in my anger and resentment. After reconsidering the situation, I reluctantly realized that I may have been the problem after all.”

“Fuckboi” is off the album MAXIMALIST, which comes out April 1st, and also features songs with names like “Negative Thot” and “LonelyFans”, so it should be one to watch out for!

Kirk

“Sweet Dreams of Otherness” by Alexisonfire

Oh, I’m INTO THIS!

I was super excited to hear that Alexisonfire was putting out new music and hitting the road, and even more excited to find out that Matt Kelly (who has been playing with City and Colour as of late) performed on the record as well. Petal Steel on an AOF album?! I need to hear this.

“Sweet Dreams of Otherness” (which will be on the full album titled Otherness) is a BANGER, and I can 100% see the band starting their sets with this song.
Oh, and I almost forgot that Jay Baruchel directed the video for the track. Check it out below.

Christine

“Lonely Bong” by Cancer Bats

Okay, we might as well stay on the loud-band-from-the-Niagara-Region (my home turf) train.
Especially since the video for “Lonely Bong” by Cancer Bats includes a cameo from Alexisonfire’s Wade MacNeil!

In the video the Bats are trying to find new ways to connect with the kids (guys, if you’re old, I’m old), and fill in the lead guitar space left by founding member Scott Middleton (spoiler alert, it’s Stevis Harrison of Fever 333).

Cinnamon Challenge anyone?

Christine

Songs of the Week: April 04 - 10, 2022