Songs of the Week: June 05 - 11, 2023

“How To Live With Yourself” and “Smoke Screen” by PUP

It’s a double shot of PUP this morning!
The two songs are (previously unreleased) b-sides from the band’s last album, THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND, and were put out into the world to celebrate their large summer tour kicking off.
Lead singer Stefan Babcock calls the track “How To Live With Yourself” a “catchy, miserable ripper”, which I love, and that “Smoke Screen” is a ““sludgy” version of PUP”.

The band is in Europe and North America this summer, with a big show in Toronto next week. No word on a Vancouver show, but I’ve got my fingers crossed.

• Christine

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“Overrated” by dwi

The new song from dwi is “Overrated” now.

The incredibly catchy fifth single from dwi’s upcoming album Zoo Life has a surprisingly clear message, with dwi explaining: “When everything in life feels meaningless just watch 'Everything, Everywhere All At Once’. That’s basically what this ADHD riddled song is about.”

Zoo Life comes out July 7th, and you can catch the album release show on July 8th at the Fox Cabaret, supported by Noble Son and Zach Gray (dwi’s bandmate in The Zolas).

• Kirk

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“I Do” by Colleen Rennison

There are many different types of “summer jams”. The big, loud, party ones; the chill campfire on the beach; and then the summer love songs. The newest single from Vancouver’s Colleen Rennison is that last one.

“I Do” is an R&B-tinged love song, with Colleen saying she "wanted to capture the excitement and delicious agony of being enamoured with someone and daydreaming about them to the point of almost insanity. I woke up in the middle of the night and wrote the chorus. I'd been listening to a lot of The Temptations and The Supremes and had been crushing on a graffiti writer who's name I kept seeing everywhere, hence the line: 'every time I see your name/ I seem to hear sweet refrains.'"

The new track is off her upcoming album Persephone, which will be out later this year!

• Kirk

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“Claws” by Ellevator

Well this snuck up on me! Not only did Ellevator release a new song last week, but they dropped a brand new EP as well! Do The Words I Spoke Still Move You? features live off-the-floor versions of four songs from their full-length album The Words you Spoke Still Move Me.

You can check out the video for the new version of “Claws” below, and the EP is out now on Arts & Crafts!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: February 27 - March 05, 2023

“Bad Addiction” and “Stay Gold” by The Matinée

After teasing with some acoustic, live-off-the-floor tracks, The Matinée has finally dropped the first new single(s) from their brand new album, due out later this year.

The new songs are classic roots-rock tunes from the Vancouver group; “Bad Addiction” featuring soulful backup vocals from The McCrary Sisters, and “Stay Gold” inspired by a compliment singer Matt Layzell gave to fellow Vancouver musicians John Sponarski and Brandon Wolfe Scott.

On “Stay Gold” Matt says “Our pal Brandon Wolfe Scott made the video, and both the song and video were smoking hot. I commented on Johnny's social post that I wanted to “roll this up and smoke it. It was that good. And then I realized that was a lyric in itself and I should find a way to write it into a song. I think I even commented something to the effect of “and don’t use that... it’s a lyric I am working on!” That was the spark for "Stay Gold". Thanks Johnny!”

It’s been a minute since The Matinée’s last album, so hopefully we hear it sooner rather than later!

• Kirk

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“Apple” by Braids

The release date for the new Braids album is fast approaching, and we’re getting another look at the album, with the latest single “Apple”.

The bubbly, upbeat track is punctuated by a swell of orchestral strings, as singer Raphaelle Standell-Preston conveys “a celebration of seeing new possibilities in the eyes of a lover, acknowledging past loss with a new state of heart that’s been opened and filled.”

Check out the trippy video below, while you wait for the new album, Euphoric Recall, out April 28

• Kirk

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“Trouble Found Me” by The Darcys

Another banger of a song from The Darcys came out this week and it’s been stuck in my head the whole time.
“Trouble Found Me” centres around trying to outrun yourself, and the trouble you “guess you were looking for” finding you anyways.
It is the latest release from what is an expect fall album from the duo and I can’t wait for more

• Christine

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“Marker” ft. The Zolas by dwi

On the latest track from dwi, he’s joined by some familiar faces.

“Marker” features his bandmates from The Zolas, on a punchy tune that features what dwi calls a “kiss track” from The Zolas’ Zach Gray.

dwi explains, “I’ve always wanted to write a song where I could experiment with rapping. It’s the first time I’ve ever done it. ‘Marker’ is a song about people who use power to take from others but eventually will get caught. Zach’s (The Zolas) verse is a kiss track, which we coined to be the opposite of a diss track.”

The new track is off dwi’s upcoming project “Zoo Life”, which will be out later this year, in July.

• Kirk

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“On A Beach” ft. Feist by Hayden

A new track from Hayden that features Feist?! I’m in.

But wait… the video for “On A Beach” also stars Matt Berninger from The National, and Steve freakin’ Buscemi!? I don’t think I need to sell you on this one.

Are We Good is set to release on April 5th, and I’ve loved everything from it so far, and can’t wait for the rest.

• Christine

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“You Can Let Go” by Half Moon Run

Half Moon Run is back with new music, and a massive fall tour announcement that will see them perform two nights at the Commodore Ballroom on November 2nd and 3rd.

“You Can Let Go” is accompanied by a lyric video that sees Eli Tomlinson starring as “disgruntled office drone”, with the seamless camera shot, swinging around an office watching the man and his increasing boredom.

The style of the song harkens back to OG Half Moon Run sound, with the ever-present harmonies the band is known for. Stay tuned as I am sure there is more music (and an album announcement) to follow.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: October 24 - 30, 2022

“Shadow of You” by Riches

This feels like a fitting song to starts today’s selection of songs, as Riches describes themselves as “the soundtrack to an imaginary folk horror film about the cult of the Creative Entity. Each song is a scene detailing one aspect of its devotional life.”

“Shadow of You” is the latest “scene” from the duo of Catherine McCandless (ex-Young Galaxy) and choreographer Wynn Holmes, a haunting song that comes from “a particularly fragile part of Catherine's vocal range”, and “represents the scene of a slow motion, psychedelic maypole ritual celebrating the entity/demon Creation.”

Have a listen below!

• Kirk

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“Meet Me At The Rio” by Dear Rouge

One of my favourite tracks off of Dear Rouge’s latest album, Spirit, was the ode to Vancouver movie theatre The Rio.
”Meet Me At The Rio” now has a music video, appropriately filmed at the theatre (with some other concert footage snuck in there).
The track is catchy, and fun, with a great sing-a-long during the chorus. A great pick-me-up for your Monday morning.

PS They’re performing at the Vogue Theatre on December 10th with Hotel Mira!

• Christine

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“Right On Woman” by Jason Collett

The new album from Jason Collett is out at the end of the week, and we got out last preview of it, in “Right On Woman”

The upbeat and breezy tune features what Collett calls “an injection of Montreal energy”, with guests like Marcus Paquin, Joe Grass, Liam O'Neil, and backing vocals by Neil Quin, Carleigh Aikins, and Meg Contini.

The album is called Head Full Of Wonder, and is out November 4th on Arts & Crafts

• Kirk

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“Scars” by dwi

We got a new single from The Zola’s Dwight Abell’s solo project dwi!
Of the song he says it is about “being brave enough to share your scars with people. It’s hard, and can get ugly… but it might save ya or somebody you love. Although lyrically this song is on the darker side of things, I wanted to make it something you could scream out loud at a party. An anthem of hope.”

There’s also an acoustic version up that I included so you could hear both!

• Christine

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“Shivers” by Self-Cut Bangs

Self-Cut Bangs started as a home recording project during the pandemic, by partners Cayley O'Neill (Dark Time) and Shawn Petsche (Napalmpom), but now they’re ready to beat the slump and release their sophomore album, Circle Around The Free

The first single off the album was “Shivers”, and aside from being a power-pop banger, it has a great JRPG inspired video, with Cayley and Shawn scouring Calgary to look for new band members while avoiding police, protestors, and other evils of the music industry. And the in-game footage was taken from an actual working prototype made by the band! Will we see a full-on Self-Cut Bangs RPG in the future? Hopefully!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: August 01 - 07, 2022

“Sweet Relief” by Colyn Cameron

Start your Monday off with this soft and sweet new song by JUNO Award nominated songwriter Colyn Cameron.
Cameron released his new album Freehand last week, almost four years after his last (Sad & Easy), and says that the “materials for Freehand emerged within the paradoxical spaces of experimenting with dispersed and concentrated rhythms”.

The single off of the new album that was released this week, “Sweet Relief” was written smack in the middle of the pandemic and is about trying to find love and relief in that kind of world.

• Christine

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“I’m Spent” by Housewife

Toronto duo Housewife released yet another new songs this week, a slightly melancholic yet incredibly catchy song “I’m Spent”.

The band explains that the new tune “deals with fading friendships. You have this group of people you're really close with for years, but as you both grow and change, you start disagreeing more often and eventually drift apart. Growing up and moving on can feel sad, but mostly necessary so you can continue to evolve as a person."

No word yet on a new album, but with three new songs out in as many months, fingers crossed for something soon!

• Kirk

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“Party4One” by dwi

How can you not love a song with a lyrical reference to the classic ‘97 N64 game GoldenEye 007?

That’s exactly what we hear from the opening lines of “Party4One” by dwi, the solo project from Dwight Abell (The Zolas). As you may guess from the title, the song is a “celebration of being a loner” and captures dwi’s “experience of cabin fever and losing touch with reality, all the while falling in love with himself.”

Check out the song below, and check out dwi live at Light Organ’s 10th anniversary celebration, the Summerlight Festival on August 20!

• Kirk