Songs of the Week: October 28 - November 03, 2024

“The Act of Living” by Skye Wallace

Last Friday, Skye Wallace (finally!) released their latest album, The Act of Living, and celebrated with a horrific video for the title track.

Made in collaboration with Blind Luck Pictures, the video follows a blood-soaked Skye on a killing spree, surprising their bandmates while camping in the woods, perfectly fitting the manic energy of the song.

The murderous video also encapsulates the themes of life, death, and transformation on the new album, with Skye explaining, “I was always extremely afraid of death, couldn't look it in the eye. I’d be up at night when I was 5 or 6 years old worried sick that my mom and dad would die in a car accident, or that the return of the bubonic plague was more or less imminent. A few years ago, I was present for the death of my grandfather, with whom I was very close. But instead of the dreadful moment I was expecting, it was intimate, beautiful even.”

You can watch “The Act of Living” below, and should pick up the full album right now!

• Kirk

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“Awkward Connector” by Combine The Victorious

Fun new track from Vancouver’s Combine The Victorious (who just played a set at Red Gate in Vancouver this Saturday).

Of “Awkward Connector” they say:“Sometimes things don’t quite fit in life but we manage to find our way eventually .. it’s okay to be awkward and maybe we just need an adaptor.”

Really loving the harmonies on this one and hope to catch the band live again soon!

• Christine

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“Silver Bullet” by The Matinee

Speaking of new releases out this past Friday, Vancouver roots-rockers The Matinee dropped their latest EP, End of Scene, a collection of B-sides recorded with their previous album, Change of Scene.

The EP includes their latest single, “Silver Bullet”, a perfect song for cruising around, as singer Matt Layzell describes as an ode to that ol’ reliable car:“If you've owned a vehicle so long that the driver's seat is finely contoured to the curves of your body and warmly wraps around you like your grandparents' chesterfield, if you aren't bothered by that clunk you occasionally hear when the transmission shifts going uphill, and if you have your dad's Nitty Gritty Dirt Band cassette stuck in the tape player on the dash, you probably know the feeling of talking to your ride like it just needs a little encouragement to keep going that extra mile. And it always does, somehow. It might not be the prettiest one on the lot, but hot damn, does it get you where you're going in style.”

Find the EP out now, and have a listen to “Silver Bullet” below!

• Kirk

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“Don't Let It Bring You Down (Live from The Hangar)” by Talia Schlanger

I always love when an artist selects a cover and really (like, really) makes it their own, and Talia Schlanger did just that with this Neil Young cover.
The guitar, her unique vocals (not to mention the range) and the fact that it’s also live off the floor all give “Don’t Let It Bring You Down” a brand new flavour.

The track comes from a new EP release Latent Lounge live from The Hangar - and includes two songs from her release this year, Grace for the Going, as well as the and another cover - “Chelsea Hotel” by Leonard Cohen.

The whole EP release is worth a listen (click here to hear all four tracks) and makes me want to experience her music live even more.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: October 21 - 27, 2024

“The Local” by Jody Glenham

It’s always frustrating when an unreleased song gets stuck in your head, and that’s exactly what happened when I saw Jody Glenham tease an upcoming EP during her set for Car Free Day a few weeks back. But luckily, now I can spin “The Local” on repeat.

The new song is the first single off that EP, Still Here, and is a moody yet optimistic tune about strength and persistence. Have a listen, and keep an ear out for Rich Hope on backup vocals!

• Kirk

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“Serene Demon” by Art d’Ecco

Last week, Art d’Ecco not only released a sprawling epic, but also announced his upcoming album!

Clocking in at over seven minutes, “Serene Demon” is a four-part song with twists and turns, and while Art jokes the premise is straightforward (saying “it’s literally an existentialist and a true believer walk into a bar and debate”) it is musically anything but simple, as he admits “That song is the most challenging thing I’ve ever written.”

You can watch the equally intense video below, and mark February 14 of next year for the release of Serene Demon.

• Kirk

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“Ghostbusters” by Elliott BROOD

It’s only a few more days until Halloween, and I knew it was finally time to share this super fun cover of “Ghostbusters” by Ontario’s Elliott BROOD!

The band just did a string of shows promoting the release of their two latest albums Town, and Country - which hopefully means we’ll see them out west again soon!

• Christine

Songs of the Week: October 14 - 20, 2024

“The Ballad of You and Me” by Tariq

Tariq is back!

The Vancouver musician makes his return with a new style - departing from the folky sound he’s known for best. Of it Tariq says: “this project is a way to experiment with collaboration and also a heavier sound. I want to create something that resonates in its live form, in front of a big crowd at a festival, something that will be entertaining to watch and sound big and bold.” 

His new band is full of familiar faces from the Vancouver music scene, including Robert Chursinoff on drums, Peter Carruthers on Bass/Keys, and Adam Nanji on Guitar. 

The first single “The Ballad of You and Me” will be on a three song EP, which is slated for release mid-January 2025.

• Christine

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“Do Like I Do” by Peter Dreams

As a July Talk fan, I’ve been eagerly following the slow drip of songs from Peter Dreimanis’ new solo project, Peter Dreams. And I’m happy to see there’s finally an album announcement, along with the latest single!

For his solo debut, Peter is joining forces with Toronto’s MOONRIIVR, and next year will be releasing the aptly titled Peter Dreams and MOONRIIVR. The latest song off the album is “Do Like I Do”, a slow burn that builds to a chaotic wail of synth and saxophone.

Peter Dreams and MOONRIIVR is out on February 14 next year, and a month later you can catch Peter on the big screen in Ryan Coogler’s upcoming film SINNERS!

• Kirk

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“Silencio” by Patrick Watson

We’ve got new music from Patrick Watson this week (and I’m hoping everyone reading this knows him for more than his song “Je te laisserai des mots” that went extremely viral on TikTok)!

“Silencio” is about the almost three month period of time where he couldn’t speak or sing, and the thoughts that arose during that time - “Does he talk too much?,the anxiety that comes with reliving a conversation, learning to be a better listener and the power of silence.”

The track sees him partnering up with French singer-songwriter November Ultra, who also experienced the trauma of losing her voice after her body shut down after her first tour - “I could hardly breathe and had to relearn”.

Hopefully this single being released means even more new music is on the horizon.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: October 7 - 13, 2024

“Year Of The Rabbit” by Kylie V

It’s officially the “Year of the Rabbit”. At least according to the latest single from Kylie V.

The new song is off their upcoming album, Crash Test Plane, and spotlights their soft, heartfelt vocals. Kylie says the new track is “a song I wrote while healing from a breakup and reflecting on my (incredible) friends/support system and my feelings after the fact. I was inspired a lot by Andy Shauf and Sufjan Stevens in the writing and production of this one and it means a lot to me. The track is produced by my great friend Josh Eastman and features us two on most of the instruments, with Jess Jones on drums, Gregory Dent on trumpet, and a handful of friends singing on the outro.”

You can grab Crash Test Plane on November 15th, the same day you can see Kylie V’s album release show here in Vancouver at the Hollywood Theatre, alongside David Vertesi and Club Sofa!

• Kirk

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“girl of my dreams” by Ten Kills The Pack

What a sweet little love song for a chilly October morning!

The new track “girl of my dreams” by Ten Kills The Pack (aka Sean Sroka) is his first new independent song since parting ways in early 2024 with his record label.

Of how it came to be Sroka says: “I sent what is now the chorus of this song as a little self deleting voice message jingle to my partner who was touring overseas at the time; trying to help count down the days we had away. From there it just kept turning in my head, so I turned off the tv and wrote it that night".

I literally said “aww” out loud when reading that. Hopefully we get more from him soon!

• Christine

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“Next Life” by FEATURETTE

Toronto trio FEATURETTE released their newest single last week, along with news of a brand new album.

“Next Life” (co-written with Mother Mother’s Ryan Guldemond) is a catchy, synth-driven electro-pop tune, that comes with a fun video that blends live action and animation. Singer Lexie Jay explains, “One of our greatest undertakings yet as FEATURETTE, we’re leaning into our namesake by crafting ‘featurettes’ as a regular part of our single releases. For this particular short, I was really inspired by an episode of Animaniacs I saw as a kid. It was about a beautiful piece of gold wrapping paper and its journey to becoming trash after being discarded once the gift it was meant to wrap had been opened. I wanted to take the same concept and apply it to a coffee cup (enter: Regular Joe), and see what that character might do with their life given a second chance—a Next Life. What adventures they might go on, and who might affect their story along the way.”

The new album is called Panic Pills, and you can grab it early next year, on January 31st. Until then, check out the video below!

• Kirk

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“Synthacon” by Rich Aucoin

I’m still riding high from the show Rich Aucoin put on the other week, and was very stoked on the synth set he held that opened the night off.

We are inching closer to the release of his Synthetic: Season 3 on October 30th, and we got another new single from it titled “Synthacon”.
He recorded it at the Vintage Synthesizer Museum on a synth called, you guessed it, a Synthacon.

Listen below and have yourself a Monday dance party!

• Christine

Songs of the Week: September 30 - October 06, 2023

“A Day In The Life” by Shad

Holy crap we have a whole new EP from Shad!

Four brand new songs from the EP Reel Speakers were released last week. Of how it came to be, Shad says:
“Last summer, I decided to write, record, and release a two (or three) verse freestyle every week for 10 weeks on Instagram. I did it as a creative exercise, a fun way to connect with community, and also a tribute to some of my favourite beats for Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary. Those freestyles sparked a collaboration with the super dope producer and artist 14KT, a longtime favourite that I connected with in-person in 2019 at the DJ Jazzy Jeff’s incredible Playlist Retreat. What began with KT crafting a beat for one of those freestyles spiraled up into this project.”

You can listen and download to the whole EP on Bandcamp by clicking here, and I chose “A Day In The Life” for this week’s song based on the line about taking naps (which made me laugh). Give them all a listen!

• Chrsitine

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“Baby” by Basia Bulat

Oh boy, this just jumped to the top of my most anticipated albums for next year so far. Last week, Basia Bulat announced her newest album, Basia’s Palace, as well as the first single, “Baby”.

The new song is a fun, upbeat tune that spotlights the Montreal singer’s amazing voice, with Basia explaining,
“I wrote this song many years ago but never could get the lyrics and performance quite right. I wanted to try it again after becoming a parent–it’s about how we can’t control how or when we’re going to evolve even when we desperately want to. We keep making the same mistakes until we notice a pattern repeating, and even then, change is hard when we have to fully surrender to it. Could I make that predicament something I wanted to dance to? Could I sing the lyrics with joy instead of the sorrow I was channeling in the past? Nothing in my life has made me want to evolve faster, better, stronger than parenthood and the universe keeps throwing that desire back at me with a laugh and a wink, reminding me that things take time and to just love myself for being human. So this song from my past I couldn’t let go of finally made it onto a record–after all the times I tried to get it right I knew I finally had ‘the take’ when my daughter kept asking to hear it again.”

Basia’s Palace is out on February 21 of next year, via Secret City Records, and you can check out the amazing one-take video below (someone remind me of this when the next Prism Prize for music videos rolls around!)

• Kirk

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“Neon Signs” by The Weather Station

And another addition to my most anticipated for 2025 is the upcoming Humanhood from The Weather Station!

Toronto’s Tamara Lindeman announced the new album for The Weather Station with the instantly-captivating lead single “Neon Lights”, of which she says,
“I wrote ‘Neon Signs’ at a moment of feeling confused, upside down, at that moment when even desire falls away, and dissociation cuts you loose from a story that while wrong, still held things together. The song came with multiple strands entwined; the way that something that is not true seems to have more energetic intensity than something that is, the confusion of being bombarded with advertising at a moment of climate emergency, the confusion of relationships where coercion is wrapped in the language of love. Ultimately though, isn’t it all the same feeling?”

Humanhood drops January 17 on Next Door Records, and you can watch the video, directed by Lindeman, below!

• Kirk

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“Jocelyn” by The Beaches

Totally forgot to post this one last week!

The Beaches released a new track titled “Jocelyn” dedicated to their fans, and revolving around their new-found audience.

“We wanted to write about the experience of feeling undeserving of all the reverence that was being thrown away after 'Blame My Ex' did so well. All of us in the band are just a bunch of messy girls, and we felt strange about the way that some people were putting us on pedestals,” says singer Jordan Miller.

“Blame My Ex” co-writter Lowell kept singing the name “Jocelyn” and the band decided to seek out a fan with the same name. “We kind of wrote it about this brilliant young woman, and about the experience we were going through, feeling uncomfortable and undeserving of Jocelyn's adulation.”

• Christine

Songs of the Week: September 23 - 29, 2024

“Bad Dog” by Menno Versteeg

Another new song from Menno Versteeg this week that you should watch below for the video alone. Starring alongside him are comedian Chris Locke and actor Mary Hollis Inboden (Kevin Can F**k Himself, The Righteous Gemstones)…and a whole bunch of dogs, including his own (named Roger).

The track is about “loving someone or something through their worst moment”, and will be on his debut solo album, Why We Run, out December 13th!

Menno is in town this Thursday (October 3rd), performing at The Heatley with a few other pals.

• Christine

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“Great Minds” by TAURO

TAURO is the new collaboration between jazz pianist & singer-songwriter Cynthia Tauro and Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning, and last week they shared their debut single, “Great Minds”

With a groovy R&B beat, and Cynthia’s voice intertwining with Canning, the new tune is about a long lasting love between two people, with the band elaborating: “They know they shouldn’t be together, but somehow the feeling of them still lingers”

“Great Minds” also comes with a cool video, from animator Jared Sales, which you can watch below!

• Kirk

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“Earthsong” by Jennifer Castle

As we creep closer to the release of Camelot, the upcoming album from acclaimed songwriter Jennifer Castle, we’re getting another tease with the latest single, “Earthsong”

The gorgeous & sparse new single is driven by her incredible vocals, with Castle saying “‘Earthsong’ was one of the last songs I wrote for what would become Camelot. Seeded from hope, imagination, destiny and resistance, the line that works on me like medicine is ‘I belong to the world.’ Feels good to say and mean that.”

You can pick up Camelot when it drops on November 1st, and check out the video below, which Jennifer made with her sister Sarah!

• Kirk

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“1986” by The Darcys

The Darcys first album in four years, Rendered Feelings, came out this week and it’s another great one from the duo.

Drummer Wes Marskell has this to say about the record:

“Rendering Feelings took a really long time to… render. As it does, life got in the way. Jason and I were both going through massive changes, and at different times confronting past traumas, breaking up, making up, and relapsing to old behaviors and flawed patterns. At one point, we both found ourselves in long-distance relationships which, in turn, made the two of us in a long distance relationship. Spoiler: LDRs are bad for productivity.
In part, that’s why the record is so conversational, we wrote it as if every lyric could be pulled from a phone conversation (or text) one of us had over the past four years. Technology became a theme, as did UFO’s for some weird reason.”

I did wonder about the UFO themed merch they had going on. Listen to the track “1986” below and the rest of the album full of bangers (that I can’t wait to hear live) by clicking here.

• Christine

Songs of the Week: September 16 - 22, 2024

“Eddie Vedder” by The Matinee

The Matinee just wants to be friends with “Eddie Vedder”.

On their new tune, named for the grunge icon, singer Matt Layzell shares: “We grew up listening to Pearl Jam. Their album TEN came out at a formative time in our lives, and watching the band continue to evolve and stick it out together has always been something to aspire to. I was in a bit of a rut, feeling like I was attracting nothing but bad luck. The kicker was my car breaking down after a road trip and having to fork out my whole tax return. I took a walk with my dog to the dog beach here in Vancouver and remembered the moment the trouble light came on, which was around the Vedder River. Vedder. Eddie Vedder. I don’t know why, but I just said it out loud, “I wish Eddie Vedder was a friend of mine”. I perked up quite a bit as I realized my day wasn’t so bad sitting on a log, watching the waves. I started thinking about the things I’d ask Eddie if he was there, just chewing the fat with me. Eddie, if you hear this song, let’s grab a coffee sometime—it’s on me.”

The new song is the kind of catchy, roots-rock jam you would expect from the band (and I’ll bet they’re currently pretty happy they didn’t pick the frontman to another ground-breaking 90s Seattle grunge band to sing about).

You can check out the lyric video below, and find the song on their upcoming End of Scene EP — featuring B-Sides to their latest album Change of Scene — which is out November 1st.

• Kirk

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“If God Is A Woman” by Larkin Poe

I first heard of Georgia-bred, Nashville-based Larkin Poe at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival in 2019 and was instantly hooked.
This week they put out a new single titled “If God Is A Woman” and announced a new album Bloom, to be released in January.

Of the bluesy new track, Rebecca Lovell says “If God Is A Woman’ was written as a reminder to resist the typecasting of women, both conscious and unconscious. There are many shades of existence, and we had fun painting abstract with this sardonic blues.”

I hope we get more soon from these Grammy winners!

• Christine

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“Life of the Party” by Housewife

With their third release of the year, Toronto’s Housewife is looking to be the “Life of the Party”.

Though despite the name, the haunting ear-worm is a little on the darker side compared to their latest songs, with Brighid Fry explaining, “’Life of the Party’ is the closest I’ll ever get to making the music 13 year old emo me wanted to make. It’s a totally self pity fest, which is sometimes exactly what you need! I made this song with Mikky Ekko and Aaron C Harmon, and we wrote it about the cognitive dissonance you get between people’s perception of how your life is going versus how you actually feel it's going. I totally love my job, but I think sometimes people make a lot of assumptions about me based on the fact that I’m a musician. People see me on stage and assume that I’m this super confident person living a super glamorous life, and that is just not the case. Once I get off stage, I am a very anxious person who doesn’t like being the center of attention - so I wanted to write a song about balancing people’s opinions of me with how I actually feel about myself.”

No word on a full album from Housewife, but you can watch the lyric video below.

• Kirk

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“Candles” by Sunset Rubdown

I still sorta can’t believe that we have new music from Sunset Rubdown, but this past Friday, the Vancouver band released their first album in 15(!) years, Always Happy To Explode.

And to celebrate, they dropped their latest single, “Candles”, an upbeat song that started as one of Spencer Krug’s song-a-month project on Patreon in 2020, it was rediscovered and reworked by the band for the new album.

Always Happy To Explode is available now, and you can see Sunset Rubdown as they strike out on tour, starting October 10 here in Vancouver at the Rickshaw Theatre

• Kirk

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“All Bets Are Off” by Japandroids

It’s less than a month until the final album from Japandroids - with Fate & Alcohol being released on October 18th.

It is bittersweet getting new music from the band but knowing that it’s the end and we won’t be getting a tour for it, but I will take whatever they give me!

The latest track release is titled “All Bets Are Off” and singer/guitarist Brian King shared his journaling/thoughts on the night that inspired the closing track of the album:

“Night off. I could have rested though (of course) I didn't. The crew were on one and the party was well underway when I arrived. The other patrons didn't seem to appreciate our noisy and colourful presence (squares), but the boys were blissfully unaware, hurling hot words at one another and making absurd bets with their per diems, like whether it was possible to light a cigarette with a pistol shot. I knew where this was going and wanted no part of it. 

I slunk to a shadowy corner and ordered a cocktail, spur to my jaded spirits. I was gathering material for a book on bar life and it was the perfect place to watch the hungry hearts of Saturday twist towards the blue emptiness of Sunday morning. Poolroom tigers and nightclub kittens, on the prowl for a piece of anything. Cups and lips, quips and quirks, I frantically jotted it all down sparing no detail. Another cocktail? Don't mind if I do! The night was primed and I felt punk. 

Seeing her immediately stripped me of my powers. A thousand thoughts, frozen and kept in cold storage, thawed all at once. She was not the same woman I had known, exuding a subtle elegance and sensuality I had never seen before; she looked breathtaking. Every exquisite nuance like salt on old love-cuts. Chicly dressed too, which added to my agony. The imbalance between us was obvious, making me self-conscious. Still, I decided to let it play out. Cue the music.”

• Christine

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“Fear it comes in waves” by Sunnsetter

Sunnsetter is the latest music project from multi-instrumentalist, composer, and mixing engineer Andrew McLeod, and last week they released their latest single, “Fear it comes in waves”.

The new tune is a raucous song that Andrew says is an examination of “the daily dread or anxiety that just finds its way into your everyday life, in waves, even when you find ways to cope with it.”

Along with the new single, the band announced their upcoming album, Heaven Hang Over Me, which is out November 15!

• Kirk

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“Armour” by bloom effect

bloom effect is a Vancouver trio made up of members from Argentina and UK, and last week they released the first taste of their upcoming EP Portents,

“Armour” is a shoegaze- y dream-pop vibe, with ethereal vocals from singer Jula Lafit, and you can have a listen below!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: September 09 - 15, 2024

“Dead End” by Skye Wallace

Rat Summer might be coming to an end soon, but that just means we’re getting closer to a brand new album from Skye Wallace!

Skye has been releasing singles over the past few months, but just finally announced the release of The Act of Living. Along with the news, she’s dropped her latest single, “Dead End”. Much like those recent songs, “Dead End” was written alongside Hawksley Workman — also featuring his Mounties-bandmate Ryan Dahle on guitar — and hits just as hard.

No stranger to dark themes, Wallace explains, “This was my take on a work of fiction dictating the story of the Reaper falling in love and being very upset about it. I wanted to capture the eternal exhaustion of the infernal job title, and the wild panic that love instills in the heart of the Great Reckoner. I based the concept initially on City of Angels, where Nicholas Cage’s character is an angel who falls in love with a human and is given the choice to give up immortality and eternity in order to spend it with her. ‘Dead End’ is about a similar offer given to Death. The single is paired with an audio drama by the same name, featuring sound design by award-winning podcast editor J Strautman.”

Have a listen below and make sure to mark down November 1st for the release of The Act of Living!

• Kirk

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“Let The World Turn” by MOONRIIVR

This is just such a happy little track!
Super group MOONRIIVR have announced two live, off-the-floor collections called The Tascam Series EPs.

The Dorval Sessions and Live At Jenny’s Bar see the band in and around Toronto performing on front stoops, and at local businesses, and of course at Jenny’s Bar.

The first release is the track “Let The World Turn” - which was originally on the band’s debut release Vol 1.

• Christine

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“The Trickster” by Francis Baptiste

Francis Baptiste a songwriter from the Osoyoos Indian Band (Syilx) released a new album this summer titled Sənk̓lip, the Trickster. The album is infused with his native language, Nsyilxcən, that fewer than 100 people can speak fluently.

The title references Sənk̓lip (which means coyote), “a mischievous, flawed figure. He’s selfish and boastful. His desires get him into troubles that are often comedic.” Syilx parents use stories of the coyote to teach their children how to learn through failure, and Baptiste says the album '“chronicles his struggles with fatherhood, addiction, and depression, through the lens of the urbanized Indigenous experience”.

In “The Trickster” he focuses on the humour used to cope with dark situations or tragedy, like the humorous coyote Sənk̓lip. Check it out below, and give the rest of the album a spin (and read the stories behind each song) by clicking here.

• Christine

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“Quviasukkuvit (If It Makes You Happy)” by Elisapie

A year after her acclaim album Inuktitut, Elisapie has released a new cover, this time of the Sheryl Crow hit, “If It Makes You Happy”.

Like the other covers on Inuktitut, the song was translated into her mother tongue, and reimagined, this time as a dark and haunting tune. And Sheryl Crow was similarly chosen by her childhood memories, with Elisapie saying,

“An image that always comes to mind, no matter where I travel or live, is of the people dancing at the magical and dramatic Ikkarivvik Bar in Kuujjuaq. In my mind's eye, it is always Friday night, and the moon is full. Most people are either a little drunk or very drunk. The bar and the dancefloor are an escape, and people dance to forget and escape. I recognize so many faces and I can see their smiles and closed eyes as they dance.

 If It Makes You Happy was so popular in the North, and it reminds me so much of when I was teenager. It played on TV and radio, and we listened to it at home. Those lines made us want to scream along with Sheryl. Her song liberates my people in the North, giving them the words to shout about being sad without feeling ashamed.

 When I perform this song, it has Sheryl Crow's enthusiasm, but my Inuit sensibility slows it down, echoing the rhythm of the land.”

You can listen to the cover below, and check out the Polaris Gala tomorrow (Tuesday) night to see if Inuktitut takes home the prize!

• Kirk

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“Cannonball” (The Breeders cover) by Thunder Queens

Want more cover songs for your week? How about a fun cover of Cannonball, originally from The Breeders, by Thunder Queens?

Their version stays true to the original, while adding Thunder Queen’s usual bright harmonies and youthful energy.

And in more Polaris news, another reason to tune in to the Gala is to see the trio backing Jordan Miller from The Beaches, for their Polaris Gala showcase!

• Kirk