“Total Eclipse of the Heart” by The Dirty Nil

When a cover of Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” lands in your inbox and there’s a full solar eclipse happening today, you GOTTA put it in the Songs Of The Week!

The Dirty Nil’s frontman Luke Bentham says “We were asked to play (drummer) Kyle’s brother’s wedding as the house band and readily agreed. There was a list of dream covers and this one we laughed at but then learned. From the first time we did it in the jam space, I knew we had a good one. It was probably the highlight of our wedding set and we decided to record it for posterity. Special shoutout to (bassist) Sam’s amazingly high singing on this one. I find it very difficult to not sing the expletives present in the ‘Old School’ version of the song.”

I 100% get it, the version from Old School is probably my favourite cover of it, and they really could have easily thrown in the cursing on this one.

Christine

“Big Star” by Bend Sinister

Just ahead of their new album, Bend Sinister is giving us one last tease — or make that, two last teases.

Over the last few months, the Vancouver rockers have been releasing singles by the pair, and last week they dropped the latest: “Big Star”, along with “Gotta Get Ready”.

The video for “Big Star” was recorded live at Tyrant Studios, where they had an intimate show last year (and I definitely tried to spot myself in the quick flashes of the audience).

Mostly Great Things is out at the end of this week, April 12!

Kirk

“The New Joys” by Joel Plaskett

This may be a first for 3AM…spoken word poetry!

Joel Plaskett released his first spoken word poem "The New Joys" to coincide with National Poetry Month.
On how it came about, Joel says: “The New Joys is a poem I wrote a while back that we recorded in 2023 at the Carleton in Halifax with Bill Stevenson improvising gracefully on the Wurlitzer keyboard. Trying to pin down what it is about is a bit like trying to tell a teenager what to wear, but as a visual, imagine a seesaw with ‘the past’ sitting on one side and ‘the future’ on the other. In the middle is someone trying to get the attention of their better half without completely losing their balance."

Here are the words written out, so you can follow along:

Words upon words, hooks into hooks
Can’t undo, can’t run through, can’t uncook the books
What’s old where nothing’s new?
So we hold our breath
Hit the wall
Half the time we fall
Other times we hang our heads
Blame it on our parents, their parents
This country, these threads
Or the first two words, after the title of course
Lay nothing on The New Joys

Christine

“Devil Talking” by David Myles

David Myles wants you to ignore the angel on your shoulder in his latest single, “Devil Talking”.

The title track to his upcoming album is a fantastically catchy ‘rock 'n' soul’ tune, that’s sure to get you moving, especially on the weekends. Myles explains, “Being too tight doesn’t work for me. I love letting off a little steam and having a good time on the weekends; it's often when I feel the most alive. But I'm also well aware of the shortcomings of doing that too much. Why are the things that can ultimately harm me so irresistible? Is this the Devil talking? 'Cause it sure feels good.”

Check out the groovin’ video below, and you can hear the whole album, Devil Talking, when it’s out on May 24.

Kirk

“Love changes everything I” by Dirty Three

I don’t think I can say anything better than the first chunk of the press release for the new song from Dirty Three, so I’m just gonna copy that verbatim:

Emerging once again from the unending waves crashing upon our fragile time-craft (adrift on the eternal ocean, and taking on water), Dirty Three are a) back, b) tangled in seaweed, rank with saltwater and possessed of three rather ominous thousand-mile stares (at least!), and c) not wasting another minute — as nothing is guaranteed.

The trio of Warren Ellis, Mick Turner, and Jim White have been long-time collaborators with people like Nick Cave, Cat Power, and, PJ Harvey, but now they’re back for the first Dirty Three album in over a decade!

Full of their familiar chaotic energy, “Love changes everything I” is the first single, and opening track, on the upcoming album, Love Changes Everything. Check it out below, and make sure to mark June 28 for the album’s release!

Kirk