“Paranoid” by PUP

It’s hard to believe that PUP hasn’t released a new single in two years!

The band recently began their tour with Sum 41 (and had a show in Vancouver on Saturday) and to celebrate put the new track “Paranoid” out into the world.

Lead singer Stefan Babcock says of the new single: “My favourite part of this song is the breakdown 1:45 in. It's the heaviest moment in the song, Zack and Steve are going so hard, I'm yelling about all this sad stuff that's going on with me, and Nestor is just playing the melody from ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ on the bass. It cracks me up every time I hear it. So fucking funny. It's a very PUP moment."

Hopefully this is a sign of more music to come from the boys!

Christine

“Bologna” by Destroyer (feat. Fiver)

Destroyer is back with a brand new single, “Bologna”!

The new song is a first for the band, with frontman Dan Bejar deciding to take a backseat for the song’s narrative, supporting Fiver’s Simone Schmidt and her expressive vocals.

Dan explains, “I haven’t written many songs like “Bologna.” I struggled singing the first and third verses, the most important parts of the song. They needed gravity and grit. The threat of disappearing needed to be real. So I called Simone.”

You can watch the video — directed by David Galloway — below, and pick up the new album Dan’s Boogie when it’s out on March 28!

Kirk

“Babylon” by The Halluci Nation ft Northern Cree

The Halluci Nation are back with a new track and are once again teaming up with frequent collaborators Northern Cree. This track is heavy and dark and seeing as it’s a tribute to a night club, it fits perfectly.

Here’s the story behind the music:
“The new track is nothing short of powerful in its message and serves as a tribute to Babylon Nightclub in Ottawa, which helped in creating safe spaces for Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people and was the basis of the The Halluci Nation’s Electric Pow Wow parties, which aimed at providing a space for young people to gather. It was also at one of these first events that traditional pow wow music was mixed with modern dance music live for a crowd for the very first time.”

"Babylon was the name of the club that was home to most of our Electric Pow Wow parties in Ottawa. In 2021 the venue closed and was replaced by a dollar store. The same year we dropped our album One More Saturday Night as a tribute to those club nights,” shares the group’s, Bear Witness. “This latest single Babylon is a tribute to the venue itself and all of the people who worked to make Babylon a safe space for young people to gather, and played such a huge part of the Ottawa music scene for over 20 years.”

Christine

“Forget Yer Name” by Peter Dreams

With just over a month until his new album is out, Peter Dreams shares his latest single, “Forget Yer Name”.

The song is melancholic and heartwrenching, with Peter’s gruff voice pouring out his regrets, building toward a cathartic release.

As with the rest of the album, the July Talk singer is collaborating with his pals in MOONRIIVR, and you can pick up the appropriately titled album Peter Dreams and MOONRIIVR on February 14th!

Kirk

“True Believer” by Art d'Ecco

As we inch closer to the release of his new album, Art d’Ecco is teasing again with the latest single, “True Believer”

The Vancouver glam rocker “explores the seduction of evil from within” on the new track, which comes with a video directed by Brendan Fletcher, as he elaborates: “Inspired by 1930’s horror films like ‘Frankenstein’, ‘The Invisible Man’, ‘Dracula’ and ‘Nosferatu’ (1922), the idea for the ‘True Believer’ video evolved from giving Art d’Ecco’s alter ego ‘The Serene Demon’ a back story. Exploring the creative demon within us all, that pushes us forward or holds us back. The idea of culminating the masks we wear, the personas in which our creativity manifests, into a singular character that could drive the next evolution… the Serene Demon”

You can hear more from the Serene Demon when the album is out February 14 on Paper Bag Records, but if you’re in Vancouver you can catch him at The Pearl on Jan 30th for a special ‘Road to the JUNOS’ show, where he’ll be backed by a nine-piece band!

Kirk