“Wild God” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

You better believe the minute I saw there was a brand new single from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, I dropped everything I was doing to listen.

“Wild God” is the first release from the band in five years, and is the title track for the upcoming 18th(!) studio album. In contrast with their last reelase, Ghosteen, the first single is bursting with uplifting energy, especially as it swells to a huge chorus of voices.

Cave himself said, “There’s no fucking around with this record. When it hits, it hits. It lifts you. It moves you. I love that about it. I hope the album has the effect on listeners that it’s had on me. It bursts out of the speaker, and I get swept up with it. It’s a complicated record, but it’s also deeply and joyously infectious. There is never a master plan when we make a record. The records rather reflect back the emotional state of the writers and musicians who played them. Listening to this, I don’t know, it seems we’re happy.”

Can’t wait to hear the whole thing when Wild God is out on August 30.

Kirk

“What is Real?” by Skye Wallace

Skye Wallace wants to know “What is Real?” on her new single. The bangin’ earworm is “about the death of reality, the feeling that your understanding of the world is being ripped out from underneath you.”

Skye goes on to explain: “The song is about a story of my mom's. When I was young, my mom had a recurring dream that felt incredibly real. She began to feel as though her waking life and dream life were separate existences and started having trouble deciphering which world was the real one. At a certain point, she felt as though something asked her to choose between the worlds - she chose ours, and from that point on she was never able to return to that dream existence again.”

“What is Real?” is the second song released of a batch Skye co-produced and co-wrote with Hawksley Workman, and I am quite excited to hear the rest of them.

Kirk

“New Nostalgia” by Rich Aucoin

All good things come to an end, and that is the case with Rich Aucoin’s legendary interactive live show experience. A little while ago, Rich announced he only had a few more years of his confetti-filled, sing-a-long, parachute dance parties, but luckily you still may have a couple more chances to see him, as he recently dropped a new single with a whole host of tour dates.

“New Nostalgia” is destined to get people moving at the upcoming shows, and the video celebrates those dance parties with a compilation of fan recordings from all across the country (I know I recognised a clip of mine in there from the last show at the Fox!)

You can catch Rich here in Vancouver when he returns to the Fox Cabaret on October 3, and check the video below for a full list of cities!

Kirk

“Danger to Dream” by Kandle

Just WOW!
Kandle’s latest release (from her upcoming album, out later this year), is a sultry, dark, and haunting one, and comes with a Tarantino-inspired video that is a must watch!

Of the “Danger to Dream” Kandle says it: “came to me one evening while gently strumming my nylon acoustic in my bedroom, playing with the idea of hope not always being a good thing. It instantly felt timeless. A Morricone meets trip hop inspired tale of trying to wake up from the trance of unworthiness. Of the voices in our heads telling us we should be more, have more.
In honour of women’s month/endometriosis awareness month I gotta say, Lauren and I shot this stunning video while she was breastfeeding and I was having an epic flare up getting violently ill between takes BUT we showed absolutely no signs of slowing down OR compromising our vision! I’d say that’s a pretty powerful, beautiful representation of women’s resilience and dedication to their art ; ) #girlpower ”

With Vancouver’s Debra-Jean Creelman killing it with the back-up vocals, this might be my favourite release of the new album yet!

Christine

“One Woman” by Major Love

In celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day, Major Love released their latest single, appropriately titled “One Woman”

The anthemic song is a celebration of women, with songwriter Colleen Brown saying “I wanted to highlight the way women are pitted against one another, and question the idea that there are only so many spots available for women to succeed. This felt especially true for me in my twenties, but as I get older it's more apparent that it's just bogus. We always lose when we fight with each other instead of banding together - when we spend time comparing ourselves and being in a state of jealousy instead of celebrating one another. It chips away at our self esteem when we don’t stand up for our own worth, personally, but also collectively, with and for one another.”

The collaboration between Brown and Scenic Route to Alaska are releasing their latest album, Live, Laugh, Major Love, on May 18th, and you can check out the video for “One Woman” below — which was filmed on a record-breaking -45.9 degree January day in Edmonton!

Kirk

“Danser tout le temps” by Combine the Victorious

Vancouver’s Combine the Victorious have released a new track that is guaranteed to make you want to dance.
Reminding me of disco, “Danser tout le temps” is fun, and funky.
Of it CtV says: “Reminiscent of Air the three of us have created a French-pop dance tune that expands your attention span with catchy synth and guitar hooks. The French lyrics just seemed to make sense at the time, an elegant way to convey a simple message.”

Check it out below!

Christine

“Goon” by Dear Rouge

We all know a Goon, or have encountered one out in the world, and Dear Rouge has immortalize these people that just seem to reappear.

“Goon” is the super energetic new single, released last week, and it’s a certified banger with driving drums, a very sing-a-long-able bridge, and I can already picture lead singer Danielle rocking out on stage.

More of this please!

Christine