“Just A Scratch” by Tokyo Police Club

The last single ever from Toronto’s Tokyo Police Club was released and the nostalgia (and sadness) I feel about it is palpable.

It’s not just the song itself (titled “Just A Scratch”) tug at my heartstrings, but the video is full of videos over the past two decades. It shows concerts of all sizes, the band recording, the band backstage and in the tour van - it really encapsulates the journey they went on.

(It inspired me to go find the footage of them at Sasquatch from 2011 - where a couple got engaged on stage!)

I’m eagerly awaiting crying in person at their final shows at the Commodore here in Vancouver on September 14 and 15th (with the first night being sold out already).

Christine

“Lucky Streak” by Kylie V

Vancouver’s Kylie V has not only released a brand new single, but it’s their first signed to Royal Mountain Records!

“Lucky Streak” is as lush and gorgeous as you would expect from Kylie V, slowly simmering until it boils over at the end. Kylie explains, “I wrote 'Lucky Streak' during the excruciatingly complex process of getting over someone, while everything else in my life seemed to be speeding up and getting better at a surreal pace. When I started this song in my notes, I was on one hand feeling lost and empty, and on the other hand, it felt like all my dreams were beginning to come true — later in the month I wrote this song I played my biggest venue to date, and then flew across the country for another show.”

Check out the video below, directed by Luke Beach Bown.

Kirk

“Glowing” by Matías Roden

This past weekend, Matías Roden released his debut EP, The Plea, and spotlights it with the opening track, “Glowing”

The track is a blend of his 80s and 90s influences, and of the album as a whole, Roden says,
“I think the classic ‘quarter life crisis’ for a lot of young people feels like you’re being put on trial by your own hopes and dreams and others’ expectations for your life. It can feel overwhelming to realize that maybe your life isn’t going in exactly the direction you wanted it to go. So The Plea is a play on words of a plea deal at a trial where you’re both at the mercy of forces beyond your control but also wanting to defiantly assert yourself. It’s like I’m saying ‘I will get my life back together, I will get over this heartbreak or over this failure to live out my hopes and dreams, I will make them happen.’”

The song was produced by Louise Burns, and you can have a listen below, and grab the EP now! Plus, keep an ear out for his debut full length, due early next year.

Kirk