Songs of the Week: April 13 - 19, 2026

April 20, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Fight My Body” by Miesha and The Spanks

Last week the Calgary duo Miesha and The Spanks not only announced a brand new EP, but also dropped a brand new single, “Fight My Body”.

The rocking new track is about how we view & treat our bodies, with Miesha Louie elaborating: “When I wrote Fight My Body I was thinking about how I’ve never really looked the way I feel that I should, and no matter what I did I couldn’t really get there. I thought about how angry I’ve been with my body for not doing what I wanted, and then that made me wonder - well, what have I ever done for her? How much trouble did I get her into, and how many times did I put her at risk? This is the oldest and longest relationship I’ll ever have, and I wish I’d been more kind. I wrote this song more about the feeling than the story because I know there’s so many ways to hate the skin you're in, and so many reasons for your body not to reflect who you know you are inside. We don’t have to have had the exact same experience to connect on that.”

The new EP is called Visions, and will be out on September 18th, but while you wait check out the video for “Fight My Body” below, which was filmed, directed, and Edited by Miesha in the first three weeks of her maternity leave!

Kirk

“The Call” by Broken Social Scene

We’re creeping ever closer to the release of the new Broken Social Scene album, Remember The Humans, on May 8th and that means a new single.

“The Call” features a “sprawling collective of voices and instrumentation. The lyrics come in fragments – overlapping lines, shared refrains – converging into one urgent imperative: ‘let me hear the call/'we’re going'/either restless or reborn, we’re going.’”.

The song starts out with almost a minute of building instrumental music, and I thought we were going to get another “Meet Me In The Basement” which I love, but then the layered, very BSS, locals come into play (as well as horns!).

I can’t wait to see what this album sounds like as a whole in two weeks!

Christine

“Bullet in the Chamber” by Whitehorse

Another album out May 8th is the brand new Whitehorse, All I Want Is All of It, and we have our second peek with the latest single, “Bullet in the Chamber”

Recorded live off the floor, the track exemplifies the classic Whitehorse combination of Melissa McClelland’s gorgeous voice and Luke Doucet’s immaculate guitar, on a song about “the lengths we’ll go to hold on”.

Watch the video below, featuring the couple frolicking on a farm with some cute animals!

Kirk

“dumbest girl in the world” by LØLØ

Last week LØLØ’s new album, god forbid a girl spits out her feelings!, was released and I cannot wait take a deep dive into it.

With the release comes the video for the track “dumbest girl in the world” - which features one of my favourite lines in a while: “He tells her he’s bad and she hears “I can fix him!””.
The song is about ignoring red flags and better judgement, and going back to someone you shouldn’t - “he tells her she’s pretty and now she’s back in his sweater”.

LØLØ is heading out on a UK tour starting this week, and then has some summer dates with Warped Tour, as well as stops in Winnipeg and Saskatoon, but we’ll have to wait to see if she makes a stop out here on the west coast.

Christine

“Closer” by ARK IDENTITY

Toronto’s ARK IDENTITY (aka Noah Mroueh) is chasing their dreams on their latest single.

The new tune “Closer” is ARK IDENTITY’s first fully self produced song, with Mroueh playing each instrument. According to the press release, “During production, he was experimenting with vocal ideas when his girlfriend walked into his DIY studio and started adding melodies. That spontaneous moment helped shape the song and they finished writing it together.”

Noah also adds, “One of my favourite lines is ‘Coming home from Hollywood leaves me wanting more.’ That lyric captures the song’s essence, the feeling of chasing something bigger and realizing no matter how close you get, there’s always another level you want to reach, I hope listeners connect to the message and are inspired to pursue their own dreams and passions.”

Have a listen to the incredibly catchy dream-pop jam below!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: April 06 - 12, 2026

April 14, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“aster” by cherry pick

Last week, cherry pick signed with Light Organ Records and celebrated by releasing the brand new single “aster”!

The new song is full of shoegaze-y, grungy vibes, with cherry pick sharing the song “captures the quiet unraveling of someone drifting away from who they once said they’d become. It’s rooted in that specific kind of grief—watching potential slowly fade, and not knowing how to reach them anymore.”

Check out the vibrant video — directed by Yang — below!

kirk

“What’s On Your Mind” (feat. Poolside) by Arkells

The new album from Arkells, Between Us, comes out at the end of this week and the Hamilton band is giving us one last preview while teaming up with Poolside.

“What’s On Your Mind” is a disco-infused earworm, as frontman Max Kerman notes: “We wanted a song that felt hypnotic—where the chords don’t move much, and the rhythm and melody do all the heavy lifting. It’s my favourite thing about seeing dance music live: how it can loop and loop and loop, and the longer it goes, the better it feels. We went deep into synth-world on this one.” He continues, “we toured with Poolside and saw the power of repetition. What restraint can offer to the crowd. The patience of building a song with the groove dictating everything. The song was just about finished when we asked Poolside to add some shine to it all. Our music has ended up in all kinds of places, and we hope this ends up on some dance floors.”

Between Us is out April 17th, and I hope you were lucky enough to snag tickets to their special run of intimate shows in Vancouver next month, May 7 - 9 at the Penthouse, Hollywood Theatre, and Commodore Ballroom (respectively)

Kirk

“Dopamine” by Pastel Blank

Every new song I hear from Pastel Blank makes me more and more excited for the new album.

“Dopamine” is the latest track from the musical project of Angus Watt (joined by ‘an ever-shifting cast of musicians and collaborators from Montréal, Vancouver, and Victoria’) and fair warning: it will instantly be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

The first three singles off the album — this, “ Sweet Nic” and “Shareholder” — are the first three tracks on the album, and Watt explains they “act as siblings to each other. They’re all kind of circling around the same themes of addiction and control (or lack there of). A friend pointed out a guitar riff towards the end of 'Dopamine' is reminiscent of the 'Magic School Bus' theme song. If you find the riff, learn to play it, and send a video, I’ll give you a guest list to a show.”

Listen for yourself below, and keep an ear out for the album Unmade In Minutes when it’s out on April 24!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: March 20 - April 05, 2026

April 07, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“One Too Many Nights” (ft. Sam Jr.) by ZOON

ZOON (Zoongide’ewin) is back to announce a brand new album, and drop the first single!

Featuring Broken Social Scene’s Sam Jr. “One Too Many Nights” is an ethereal tune about finding yourself after the end of a relationship, as Daniel Monkman explains,
“When a relationship ends, it’s not just the person you lose it’s the version of yourself that existed beside them. “One Too Many Nights’ is about that recalibration. I don’t date often, so when something shifts, it shifts my whole orbit. In that moment, being alone felt like the honest path forward.”

Check out the trippy video below, and mark June 19th on your calendar for the release of the new album, HAPPY THOUGHT SCHOOL.

Kirk

“Moral Panic” ft. Jeremy Dutcher by Vivek Shraya

Last week Vivek Shraya celebrated Transgender Day of Visibility by releasing the deluxe version of her latest album New Models, which included two reimagined tracks featuring Jeremy Dutcher, and Tanya Tagaq.

Of the release Shraya says: “I offer this deluxe version of New Models, recharged by two artists I admire very much, Tanya Tagaq and Jeremy Dutcher, on this day, with the hopes that it acts as a reminder of the importance of collaboration and community during this time. I don’t believe visibility is the end goal, but I do think many of us are searching for the light and clarity right now and this can only come from working together, across our differences.”

“Moral Panic” is a cinematic and sweeping track that Dutcher says this about: “The message in these lyrics are, for me, speaking of the hope and resilience of all the rainbow children in this world. It is an anthem to our strength; In the face of fear & hatred, our joy, love and kinship networks persist. This message is both timely and timeless when considering queer, embodied experiences.
My approach to this song was to create an army of voices (a chorus) to be a bed on which Vivek can lay and share her truth.”

A beautiful song for a beautiful day.

Christine

Songs of the Week: March 23 - 29, 2026

March 30, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Push It” by MIINA

I’ve always been a fan of the vocals of Laura Mina Mitic when I saw her perform with her band Carmanah and now Laura has branch out into her own project MIINA.

Her first EP Where The Light Goes was released this past week and she’s about to embark on a huge Canadian tour, including a stop here in Vancouver on the 25th of April at the Biltmore Cabaret.

For the new album she worked with Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, Mother Mother), Erik P.H. Nielsen (City and Colour) and Gus Van Go (The Beaches, Metric) and I’ve loved all the singles before this, so I can’t wait to hear it live!

Christine

“What You Want” by Door d’Or

Victoria’s Door d’Or have released the second single off their debut album with “What You Want”

The high energy song is a reflection of the world around us, with vocalist & guitarist Mat Geddes elaborating, “This song invites us to question what kind of world we want in the future. What kind of human do we want to be? What would you want if you could get what you want? We adamantly oppose violence in all its forms, and this song asks humanity to break the cycles of brutality somehow. By beginning with ourselves, we can overcome the lower emotions of revenge, anger, and hatred. We advocate for evolution, not revolution, to realize a future with no violence.”

Check out the lyric video below, and be sure to grab the new album The Exquisite Dream, when it’s out on May 1st.

Kirk

“Maybe Probably Never” by Em Armstrong

A few years ago, Em Armstrong released “Maybe Probably Never”, a breakup song which Armstrong says “sparked the realization that the wrong people can’t keep coming back into my life whenever it’s convenient for them. It’s a reminder that if someone truly cares, they show up the first time.”

The title comes from the uncertainty about the relationship and going back, but not only did she stay away, she’s now re-released the song with a new meaning: resilience.

She explains, “It’s no longer about him. It’s about being wronged by someone and finding the ability to get back up and know better next time. When they think they can take you down, you dust yourself off and prove to them you know who you are.”

Have a listen below!

Kirk

“Rocker” (Live at the Cameron House) by bancalledmax

Okay, as a former resident of Toronto, it’s kinda funny to me that this song that mentions a venue called Sneaky Dee’s was recorded at the Cameron House, but that’s just niche me.

YAY! Music from bandcalledmax (and not just pictures of things that say “MAX” on their instagram!) and I’m always happy when I get to hear David Monks vocals again since the disbanding of Tokyo Police Club. For the unawares, the rest of the band includes Mike Small (Meligrove Band), and Nick McKinlay (Fast Romantics) and I’m still so upset I haven’t seen them live.
This is especially punctuated after Monks says in their press release for the EP: “Here at bandcalledmax we make a simple promise at our live show: we rock and you get to dance.”

Cross your fingers now that they’re releasing their album that they’ll bring said dance party to Vancouver!

Christine

Songs of the Week: March 16 - 22, 2026

March 23, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Love Deficiency Syndrome” by Jody Glenham

Between shows Kirk and I have seen Jody perform at over the two years, we’ve slowly heard the song from her upcoming EP Still Here be released.

“Love Deficiency Syndrome” is the latest to come out ahead of the album release (April 24th), and I’ll let Jody describe where the track came from:

“I wrote [it] with a friend, the artist Georgette, inspired by an article Lena Dunham wrote about a breakup after a long-term relationship. We were drawn to the idea of how, when you're with someone, you take for granted the small things, like always having someone to eat dinner with. The song is full of subtle nods: the opening synth/guitar hook is meant to sound like one of those old, drawn-out doorbells, like you were waiting for your Uber eats to arrive, and the bridge has computer shut down references, mimicking both the autopilot of being in a relationship and the process of making yourself whole again as an individual.
We also leaned into really melodramatic imagery in the verses as a nod to how a breakup can make you feel like “my life is ending,” when really… you’re going to be just fine.”

I’m looking forward to hearing the whole album recorded after hearing the tracks live during so many performances - come on April 24th!

Christine

“Sweet Nic” by Pastel Blank

Pastel Blank is the solo project of Angus Watt, supported by an ‘ever-shifting cast of musicians and collaborators from Montréal, Vancouver, and Victoria’, and last week they released their latest single with “Sweet Nic”.

The track is the second single off the upcoming album Unmade In Minutes and is a quirky & catchy song about the dangers of nicotine, with Watt explaining:
“I wrote Sweet Nic after being left unattended with Connor Head’s accursed Juul (while Juul’s were still legal in Canada) when he and I lived together in an apartment in Victoria’s Chinatown. The idea was to write a song about (or around) nicotine without using any words that were too obvious, such as 'cigarette' or 'smoking'. What started as a writing exercise has resulted mostly in confused reactions, or people asking who Nic is? Hopefully the music video with the bruiser cigarette thugs clears things up. It's very freeing, being dressed as a human-sized cigarette.”

Unmade In Minutes comes out on April 24th, and be sure to check out the absolutely unhinged (complimentary) music video below!

Kirk

“Last Life” by Thea May

I’m not gonna lie, it was the first line in the press release for “Last Life” by Thea May that caught my attention:

Don’t bother with anything but honesty with Thea May. An emo kid at heart, the Anishinaabe artist from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, ON, makes music because she has to.

And I’m glad it did, because as soon as I started the song, I had to crank it. “Last Life” is raw and energetic, with a dark humour as May shares, “It's how I cope. It’s not a cry for help, it’s a side-eye at the clichés you lean on when you’re emotionally and spiritually overloaded and still expected to function.”

There’s a video out later this month, but you can have a listen now, and keep an ear out for more from Thea May later this year!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: March 09 - 15, 2026

March 17, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“See the Light” by Whitehorse

Not only did we get a new single from Whitehorse last week, but a new album has been announced as well!

The folk rock couple of Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet released their latest single “See the Light” a gorgeous song which harkens back to the early days of the band’s romanticism, ‘with a perspective only afforded by over two decades of musical and matrimonial partnership.’

The album was inspired by Melissa holding a photo of a 19th century farmhouse and saying “Let’s make a record that sounds like this place” and will be a family affair, with their son Little Jimi playing Wurlitzer and Hammond organ on the album, and daughter Chloë Doucet opening for them on tour!

The new album All I Want Is All of It is out May 8th, and they’ll be on tour this spring (no Vancouver date yet, but crossing my fingers for one soon!)

Kirk

“Hey Amanda” by Broken Social Scene

Broken Social Scene recently announced their first new album in over 10 years was set to be released on May 8th.
Remember The Humans will see the regular players as well as additions throughout Hannah Georgas, Lisa Lobsinger, and Feist and more.

The second single “Hey Amanda” is a groovy track (I’m partial to the horns!) that they describe as an “anthemic expression of youthful rebellion through melodic refrains, memorable lyricism, and the brash, beautiful punctuation of the sprawling group's many voices” and that “this is a song about being yourself, and how people will always question that.”

The massive tour they announced with Stars and Metric still only has one Canadian date in Toronto, but crossing our fingers we’ll be added on soon!

Christine

“Ride” (feat. GROUPLOVE) by Arkells

This past week Arkells released their fourth track from their upcoming album Between Us and this one comes with a collaboration with GROUPLOVE!

Of the song “Ride” lead singer Max Kerman says: “On its face, the song is about riding a bike in the city. That unbridled feeling of pedalling along to the song in your head. But beneath the surface, the bike's a metaphor. When life tries to bribe you with a litany of material things, can a simple, utilitarian object like a bicycle be all you need?”

It certainly makes me dream of summer bike weather, which should be here by the time the band is in town to play their three sold out shows at the Penthouse, Hollywood Theatre, and Commodore Ballroom in May!

Christine

“Beaten To Write” by Total Fucking Darkness

Every time Total Fucking Darkness releases a new song, I just want to copy the press release verbatim, because nothing I can say will match their energy.

The trio of Torquil Campbell, Stephen Ramsay, and Tom McFall have promised to usher us back into the Void with the pulsing bass and earworm chorus of their new single, stating “Oh! You didn't think you were leaving, were you? Whether you thought you wanted it or not, you're getting, ‘Beaten To Write’.”

It’s a beautiful day out for once. You decide to treat yourself to ice cream even though you never allow yourself the indulgence because, after all, at this stage of your life it’s “a moment on the lips, and a lifetime on the hips,” but you decide to do it anyway because you went to the fucking gym this morning, after all. So there you are, feet hurting, you left the gym two hours ago and you’re still sweating and you’re asking for two scoops of pralines and cream, and you pay fucking ELEVEN dollars for it but you think “I don’t care today, it’s beautiful out and something’s got to change eventually, this bad luck can’t go on forever” and then suddenly SPLAT… the sound of your ice cream hitting the ground because you just got a low balance notification from your bank and your phone got caught in your jacket pocket as you were taking it out to check it, and it knocked the fucking ice cream out of its cone.

Fuck yeah. Beaten to write.

What surrounds the stars in the sky? Total fucking darkness.
Where can you have the most fun? In Total fucking darkness.
Who’s yer new favourite dance act? Total fucking darkness.

You may now pass.

Kirk TFD

“The Otherside” by Rise Carmine

Rise Carmine is the moniker of Toronto based, multi-instrumentalist Liam Colbert, and last week he released his latest single, “The Otherside”

The song is a trippy psyche-rock jam, with Liam explaining, “We understand and experience the world in moments, beats on a grid. All we can ever experience is right now. Even past memories or future plans are fabrications that we rehash or conjure up in the very immediate ‘now’. I can’t help but see my life in terms of periods of time (years, months, minutes, seconds) that are slowly (or quickly) ticking by. This song is about yearning to see, feel and hear what exists in the in-between, and in turn, hopefully escape the the cage of time and the very human experience of watching life tick by.”

The release comes with an incredible, seven minute one-take video, that combines “The Otherside” with another new track “Second Love”, and features a dance choreographed by Tavia Christina, danced by her and Christian Lavigne.

Have a watch below!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: March 02 - 08, 2026

March 09, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Time Is A Bomb” by Metric

With a brand new album on the way, Metric is giving us another tease with the latest single, “Time is a Bomb”

The hard driving song feels like peak Metric, with an explosive chorus where Emily Haines proclaims how much she loves to flirt with disaster, as she explains: “Say what you want about the wellness boom, I think it’s a natural response to the unrelenting awareness we have of our mortality. The feeling of wanting to hold on and make time stop while simultaneously doing everything you can to max out your fleeting vitality - this song expresses that inner tension. I love my life and I’m truly amazed that I made it to my happily ever after, but I don't want to spend the time I have left being boring, obsessing over consequences and hiding from fun. I don’t expect to be jumping off speaker stacks or crowd surfing like I used to, but it’s still too soon to say never.”

Combined with the first single, I am incredibly excited to hear the rest of the album! Romanticize The Dive is out on April 24, and in June they kick off the dream tour with Broken Social Scene and Stars!

Kirk

“This Old House” by The Washboard Union

BC’s The Washboard Union are back with a new single and new plans for more touring in the UK.

“This Old House” muses about the memories that come with homes - be it childhood, or your first as an adult or with a new family.
“Thinking of the old house I grew up in brings memories rushing back in,” said David Roberts. “Empty rooms and bare walls come alive with laughter, struggles, secrets, and dreams. My childhood held safe under one roof — the old house I used to live in — now it lives within me.”

The band heads back to Europe in May and are also set to perform in Spain and Germany in late fall - but hopefully there will be some local shows we can catch as well!

Christine

“Gonna Be Free” by Jenn Grant

On Friday, Jenn Grant released her latest album Queen of the Strait and celebrated with a brand new video for “Gonna Be Free”.

Co-starring her adorable dog Bird, the video was filmed on a frozen lake near her home in Lake Echo, NS, and “captures the stillness and quiet resilience that shape the song’s spirit”

Jenn shares, “Shapes and symbols have always held important significance to me. I use them in my art when I'm painting, as well as in my daily life, to actively cultivate hope, magic and strength. My first postpartum story was all about me finding my feet again. It was a great challenge, but it also brought me growth and a new perspective on what really matters to me. This pattern of symbols revealed in the snow represents the values I hold dear. Deep thanks to tattoo artist Jason Francis at Super Rad Not Bad Tattoos in Bedford, NS, for gifting me this piece. Shout-out to Bird, my beautiful co-star and forever sweet baby girl. You are the queen of my life.”

You can pick up the album now (but only on bandcamp!) and I would highly recommend checking out her current tour, which is a multimedia experience called Cradled by the Waves (or read about it here, if you missed the Vancouver show).

Kirk

“Time’s Easy To Blame” ft. Kim Churchill by Mia Kelly

Fittingly on her first Australian tour, Quebec’s Mia Kelly has just released a song that features Australian musician Kim Churchill.

“Time’s Easy To Blame” was released last week just as the duo are set to head out on a Canadian tour together starting from Quebec and ending in BC.

The sweet song is a reflection on “growing up, falling in love, and navigating the inevitable mistakes that come with figuring life out. [It] captures the push and pull between youth and responsibility.”
Mia says about this track: "I was quite young when I wrote this song and was learning to find the balance between travel and home, between friends and lovers, all the learning, all at once."

Her new album, Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling (love that name!) is to be released on May 22nd, so I expect more new music will be shared throughout their time on tour.

Christine

“Bones” by Status/Non-Status

Seems I’m picking all the sweet and reflective songs for this week!

Status/Non-Status released their new album Big Changes on March 6th and with it dropped their latest single “Bones”.

Lead singer Adam Sturgeon says this of the track: “Post-colonial psychology and psychosis is a large frame of reference for me and my writings. Bones is another dive into and through the past to see where we have come and what is still very much out of our control. It’s an isolating feeling to feel the effects and how little our accomplishments have seemed to change things. Same old story, just a different day. From the fur trade to a doom scroll, what can I do to redirect my path, forge my own trail and exist in a way that connects me to a meaningful existence?”

I’ve really enjoyed all of the singles so far and am excited to take a bigger deep dive into Big Changes now that it’s out in the world.

Christine

Songs of the Week: February 23 - March 01, 2026

March 02, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“the punisher” by LØLØ

I’ve been humming this earworm since it appeared in my inbox this week! “the punisher,” is the latest single from Toronto artist LØLØ’s upcoming sophomore album, god forbid a girl spits out her feelings! and it’s go me in my feelings.

LØLØ says of the song: “‘the punisher’ is about that sick twisted ritual we all do after a breakup: stalking your ex on the internet (and their new girlfriend…and her sister…and her sister’s boyfriend…and yes, even the new girlfriend’s sister’s dog) even though you KNOW it’s going to ruin your entire day. I wrote it during a moment where I caught myself doing exactly that. As I continued to piece together my ex’s new life through photos on the internet, I couldn’t understand why I felt addicted to punishing myself. It was almost like some part of me weirdly enjoyed it, as I found myself looking forward to checking in almost every day, playing his new life out in my head.”

Another reason to get off your phone and go out and enjoy the world.

Christine

“They will draw halos around our heads” by Common Holly

Last week, Common Holly not only released her latest EP, They will draw halos around our heads, but also a video for the title track.

Featuring the adorable cat Juniper, the video matches the mood of the haunting song, as Brigitte Naggar states, “I think it’s an exploration of the projections that get cast onto girls and women to embody the highest moral standard, the picture of perfect angels. And it’s about the receptive position of the impressionable child, the way messaging leaves deep imprints on how they experience the world. Maybe it’s also a kind of call to reclaim, for them to take their brains and bodies back and determine for themselves what they believe in.”

Have a watch for yourself below, and check out the EP now!

Kirk

“Bad For Your Health” by The Sheepdogs

Super convenient that The Sheepdogs new album Keep Out Of The Storm came out just as the Olympics were finishing - the Canadian men’s hockey team used their track “Feeling Good” as their goal song throughout their games.

The band is now gearing up for a year of touring, with the Canadian leg starting this month and then the UK & EU in early winter. Hopefully we’ll be squeezed in there somewhere, as there is no Vancouver date yet.

Along with the album release, the band put out the single and video for “Bad For Your Heath” which touches on digital addiction, so when you’re finished listening to all this music, turn that screen off!

Christine

“Get It Right” by Fleur Electra

Also releasing a new EP this week was the Toronto’s Fleur Electra, who celebrated with a video for the new single “Get It Right”

The dreamy new song marks the start of Anna Klein’s “colourful, girl-pop era in the depths of 2020 chaos,” as she goes on to elaborate that it’s “a sweet nostalgic love song about leaning into possibility, even when you know better. I initially started writing it without a specific person in mind, however at the time, I was seeing someone. The relationship was going surprisingly well, but I was proceeding with caution. I allowed myself a moment to deeply romanticize the connection, knowing it would translate well given the song’s sonic sincerity. It feels like floating through a cloud of optimism, still with the underlying noise of reality. Musically, this track is inspired by electroclash, early 2000s synth pop, and my daydreams. He didn’t end up getting it right in the end, which I think was the icing on the cake for the overall tongue-in-cheek nature of the song.”

Check out the video below (unless you have coulrophobia ) and the new EP, Strike The Match, is available now!

“Kyle Hangs Ten” by Motherhood

I’m not gonna lie, it was the description of Motherhood as “Canada’s Evil Beach Boys” in the press release that got me to listen to this song, and I’m glad I did!

“Kyle Hangs Ten” is the new single from the New Brunswick trio, an unabashed surf rock jam, with the band explaining “Usually by the time we release a song, the original influences have been hidden under layers of subterfuge, with our attraction to play far outweighing our ability to stay put. With 'Kyle Hangs Ten,' we were trying to write the most surfy song we could without over-complicating a genre that, at it’s core, is just swaggy country music. Adam had a drum beat that we jammed over, eventually falling into a Miserlou-adjacent guitar melody and filling the rest with pastiches.”

The track is actually a new version of “Kyle Hangs at Noon” off their last album Thunder Perfect Mind; the band couldn’t decide on the tempo for the song, so they made them both!
“In the end, the slow version (the spaghetti western “Kyle Hangs at Noon”) made the record and the fast version ("Kyle Hangs Ten") didn’t,” explains the band, “but we still love the song. Kyle promised us he’d be able to hang 10 by the time this song comes out. If not, he hangs at noon.”

Kirk

“phantom disasters” by Eva Pekárová

Vancouver’s Eva Pekárová released her debut solo album last week, KAIROS, centering on the ancient Slovak shepherding flute, the fujara. She says she’s taking the unique instrument “into innovative genres (like dark jazz, electronic, and atmospheric) –exploring shifting time, memory, and the immigrant experience.”

The album is sweeping and atmospheric, which you can hear in the haunting song “phantom disasters” below!

Kirk