Songs of the Week: January 20 - 26, 2025
“Good Dream” and “Stowaway” by Mae Martin
You might know Mae Martin from their standup; their podcast Handsome with Tig Notaro and Fortune Feimster; their show Feel Good; or drawing pineapples, throwing balls, and just generally crushing it on series 15 of Taskmaster. But last week they announced their debut album I’m A TV.
The album announcement came with a pair of chill, hazy singles “Good Dream” and “Stowaway” which, along with the rest of the album, were produced by Jason Couse and Wes Marskell (of The Darcys)!
Mae shares, “I've been writing songs since I was a teenager, with no intention of ever sharing them. But it took moving to LA a couple of years ago and really having some time to sit alone in a rented apartment to reconnect with that Toronto teen. I didn't realize how badly I wanted to sit with an acoustic guitar by myself and get to say what I wanted to say without the pressure to find a punchline. Then, filling out the sounds with a band, collaborating with friends, I just leaned into warmth and simplicity and tried to learn this new medium as best I could and trust my gut. All that matters to me is that the album feels like an authentic extension of everything I write and do. No matter the medium I've been trying to say the same thing my whole life, and I kind of hope I never figure out how to say it perfectly because the joy is in trying to express it.”
You can check out the lyrics videos for both songs below, and pick up I’m A TV when it’s out February 27!
Kirk
“Migration Song” by Tariq
The highly anticipated (especially by me) new EP, Scroll Before You Sleep, from Tariq is finally out!
Of the release Tariq says: “It’s less of a command or a suggestion, more of a warning. Keep scrolling, see what happens. Our phone addiction keeps us up at night. It’s impossible to relinquish our devices and when we finally do, they sit beside us on the nightstand, buzzing, alerting, demanding to be looked at and engaged with. When they finally shut up, they start doing their most unsettling activity of all, listening. They eavesdrop on our desires, hunger, fears, our tastes in music, fashion, and lovers. They make decisions about our lives and then at night, they sell it all back to us in ads and subscriptions and as we scroll, we pay. We pay and we rarely sleep.”
After the first two of the three tracks on Scroll Before You Sleep, the final song “Migration Song” has been released as well. On what the track focuses on Tariq says “Lately we hear a lot of news reports about people—call them migrants, refugees, immigrants, etc.—putting themselves in great danger in order to flee injustice, persecution, war. And as they do, there is pushback from others who want to keep the outsiders out. Move on, they sing to the outsiders, move on.”
Christine
“Work Song” by Housewife
Over the last year or so, we’ve had a steady stream of singles from Toronto’s Housewife, and now we’re finally getting news of a new EP!
Girl Of The Hour drops March 7th and the news comes with yet another new track, the high energy, anthemic “Work Song”.
Brighid Fry describes the new single as “about feeling unsatisfied with yourself and where you’re going. I have really high expectations of myself but also have really unhealthy habits and so oscillate between being a workaholic and being burnt out. I wanted to poke fun at myself, while still processing it as a valid issue in my life. This song is for anyone else out there with executive functioning issues who sometimes feel like a hot mess.”
Check out the video below!
Kirk
“Eddie Vedder” (Steve Bays Remix) by The Matinee
And finally, here’s a remix of the latest release from The Matinee “Eddie Vedder” by the one and only Steve Bays.
Christine