“Blame Brett” by The Beaches

My first thought before even listening to the brand new song from The Beaches was, “jeez, I’d hate to be Brett”.

That’s because “Blame Brett” is the lead single for their upcoming album Blame My Ex, though Jordan Miller clarifies: “Blame Brett is a song with a little bit of a misleading title. It’s not really about my relationship. It’s about feeling vulnerable and afraid to open your heart to someone new. I'm basically talking to my future partners, explaining that I can only offer something casual while my heart heals—a song for all the hot messes out there.”

The new song is incredibly infectious and chaotic, as you would expect from the group, and you can grab the album when it comes out September 15. You can also catch The Beaches in a city near you when they hit the road this fall, including a show here in Vancouver at the Orpheum(!) on November 12.

Kirk

“Expensive” by Chin Injeti ft. Jarrel The Young

An 80’s inspired tune for a Monday morning? Yes please!

Chin Injeti teased in January that he would be releasing new music this year, and after “All For Nothing” a few months ago, we have another one.

“Expensive”, which features producer and songwriter Jarrel The Young, takes inspiration from Grace Jones’ hit “Crush” and is about “celebrating the decadence of love and all it comes with”.
It’s an infectious tune that has me excited to hear more soon!

Christine

“Cruel” by FRANKIIE

As we creep closer to the release of FRANKIIE’s new album Between Dreams, the Vancouver group is giving us another taste with the latest song, “Cruel”.

The third single off the upcoming album, “Cruel” is a dream-pop vibe that showcases the group’s ethereal vocals. About the song, the band saying “In an age of celebrated self-absorption, we were inspired to write this song about a fictitious character that we sing back and forth with. It is essentially an amalgamation of all the narcissists we’ve ever met and in turn we want nothing to do with.”

Check out the live performance video below, mark June 2nd for the release of Between Dreams. And if you’re here in Vancouver, check out their double album release party alongside Winona Forever at Green Auto on June 9th (please go in my place, as I’m out of town that weekend!)

Kirk

“The North Shore” by Gord Downie & Bob Rock

The long awaited album between the late, great Gord Downie, and Bob Rock, Lustre Parfait, is finally out, and with it’s release, another single titled “The North Shore”.

It’s a gorgeous ballad, and does a great job balancing the rest of the album, and while I immediately thought it was about the North Shore of Vancouver, Bob explains more throughly:
"I had the music to 'The North Shore' around for a very long time. I think when Gord came to Maui when we did The Tragically Hip records, he stayed on the north shore of Maui, so we were joking that there was a north shore of Vancouver, it seemed there was a north shore of every culture and every country. But in the end what Gord wrote, it's not about any north shore at all, but just this beautiful story of a couple with his incredible imagery as the backdrop.”

Definitely one of my favourite records this year so far - it’s always nice to hear new music from an artist that’s left us. Amazing work Gord.

Christine