Songs of the Week: March 03 - 09, 2025

“Melody” by Dan Mangan

If you’re a fellow Comedy Bang! Bang! fan, you may recognise the new Dan Mangan song from one of his (hilarious) appearances on the show. Now the song is not only out in the world, but comes with an album announcement!

“Melody” sees Mangan embracing his ‘singer/songwriter’ roots for a gentle tune, as Dan explains: “Contentment is a slippery fish, and the harder we squeeze it, the quicker it’s gone. ‘Melody’ is about needing affirmation from something over which you have no control. It’s about the grief of having something special and then losing it – about getting the benefit of the doubt, and then no longer getting the benefit of the doubt. It’s about love, or society, or the music industry, or a brief moment above par on the existential rollercoaster.”

The tune is the first single off Dan’s upcoming album Natural Light, which will be out May 16 on Arts & Crafts!

• Kirk

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“Pursuit Remix (ft. Poiison)” by Haviah Mighty

Haviah Mighty has dropped her first single of the year “Pursuit Remix” and it’s a callback to the original “Pursuit Freestyle” from last November!

The new track features Queens, NY artist and songwriter, Poiison - and of the collab, she says “The song was already perfect, so when I listened, my goal was to figure out how I could bring myself into an already perfectly created song.”

Check it out below, and I’m sure we’ll hear more from Haviah soon!

• Christine

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“Put a Little Light on the Wretch That Is Me” by Frog Eyes

Last Friday, Frog Eyes released their latest album The Open Up, and celebrated with a new single, “Put a Little Light on the Wretch That Is Me”.

Featuring Carey Mercer’s signature distinct vocals, the singer said of the song: “This is some kind of generalized love song. I've long wanted to write a song that reminded me in anyway of a Before Hollywood era Go-Betweens composition. When this one popped out, I thought, 'Yes, there you are!' I saluted that taut, tight structure that ascends so cleanly and compellingly, and takes you to so many places in such a short amount of time. And in my mind’s eye I saw someone gentle and beloved tugging at my sleeve.”

The album is out now everywhere you get music, and you can catch them on their spring tour, which includes a show here in Vancouver at Green Auto on April 19!

• Kirk

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“Matilda” by Housewife

Speaking of new releases, the latest EP from Housewife also came out on Friday! Girl Of The Hour is a collection of all the songs the Toronto singer has released over the last couple years, including the latest track, “Matilda”.

Singer Brighid Fry explains that the (unsurprisingly) incredibly catchy song was “inspired by my bike getting stolen a couple years ago. I was an avid cyclist for years and really loved that bike (and had nicknamed it Matilda). I remember a while after it got stolen, I was out on a day that was perfect biking weather and just getting hit with how much I miss cycling. Obviously, the song isn’t just about a bike, but also an allegory for grief and loss, and missing something or someone you can’t have anymore. I think everyone, cyclists or not, can relate to that grief, and the struggle of moving on from things in their past, as I still haven’t replaced the bike to this day.”

The song comes with a video that features singer Fry as a hard boiled investigator, and you can catch Housewife here in Vancouver during JUNOfest, with a show at The Red Gate on March 28!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: February 24 - March 02, 2025

“Gordon In The Willows” by Patrick Watson ft Charlotte Cardin

The piano on this track alone is amazing, but with the addition of Charlotte’s vocals - I got goosebumps!

Patrick Watson returns with another collaboration, this time with Charlotte Cardin, with whom he previously co-wrote a song with for her 2023 album.

His new album will be composed of song with different artists and I’m eagerly awaiting the news of it’s release date and who else will appear on it.

“Gordon In The Willows” is hauntingly beautiful with both the vocals and piano gradually building and it feels like it was written for a movie. Speaking of, the pair did a rendition of it on top of snowy Mont-Royal - which you can see a clip of by clicking here.

• Christine

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“On The Spot” by Two Hours Traffic

Earlier this year, Two Hours Traffic surprised everyone with a brand new song, and this week they’ve announced a new EP!

I Never See You Anymore comes over a decade after the Charlottetown group’s last album, Foolish Blood, and the announcement comes with another new single, “On The Spot”

The song is a slow burn, that singer Liam Corcoran says “was one of the first songs we started to work on once we decided that we'd write some new material. I wanted to go back to basics and write a high-energy song that would have fit into our sets back in the early 2000s. The acoustic guitar off the top, the driving rhythm section, lots of electric guitar hooks...as the song started to come together, it reminded us of the old days in an exciting way.”

Andy MacDonald adds, “Liam and I routinely exchange demos of songs we are working on, and when I first heard his demo for 'On The Spot' it reminded me, in a great way, of something that could have fit on the first Two Hours Traffic (self-titled) album. Once the full band started playing around with the song and Nick added the main guitar riff, it came together really quickly, which is often the sign of something special.”

Have a listen to the new tune below, and mark May 23rd for the release of I Never See You Anymore!

• Kirk

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“Get Paid” by CJ Wiley

This past Friday, CJ Wiley released their debut LP, So Brand New, and to celebrate shared the new single “Get Paid”,

Co-written with Dave Monks (Tokyo Police Club) Wiley says the song takes “a tongue-in-cheek look at how expensive it is to be alive, reflecting my frustration with the relentless grind of life. It captures the feeling of being stuck in a society we’re sick of, enduring it for the sake of our loved ones, while knowing full well that we all deserve something much more meaningful.”

Check out the video, from Doran Brooks, and you can grab So Brand New now via Tiny Kingdom!

• Kirk

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“Silarjuaq” by Maya Cook

Multidisciplinary artist Maya Cook recently announced her debut album salt, and last week released the album’s second single, “Silarjuaq”.

The energetic song is a total earworm, and Maya explains the song was written “for a friend in Igloolik who was going through a hard time. It’s a song about how despite all the bad things that happen, and the harmful things we do to others and ourselves, the world is an incredibly beautiful place-because we are alive and get to exist in it together. Silarjuaq, meaning ‘the universe’ or ‘the world’ in Inuktitut, is a declaration of that, an ode to the heartbreaking beauty of being in this world.”

salt is set for release March 21 via Aakuluk Music, and you can have a listen to “Silarjuaq” below!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: February 17 - 23, 2025

“Save My Life” by Hawksley Workman

New Hawksley Music Alert!

Was pleasantly surprised and equally happy to see that Hawksley Workman has new music coming! Also excited to see that the first track released, “Save My Life”, had a video with none other than Mounties bandmate Steve Bays in the directors chair. That’s fitting as he also co-wrote and co-produced the song - busy man!

Hawksley said the song is “confident, optimistic, and everything we need right now. We wrote this with a sense of urgency.”

Get ready to have the whistling part of it stuck in your head - this one’s an ear worm!

• Christine

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“Daylight” by Basia Bulat

Last Friday, Basia Bulat released her newest album, Basia’s Palace, and dropped the brand new single to celebrate.

“Daylight” is as lush and gorgeous as the rest of the album, with Basia explaining: “I wrote so much of this album in the middle of the night, when it felt like the world of dreams and the ‘real world’ were finding moments to meet. I realized how much I had separated the two and wanted to invite that space between them to get smaller. This song became a way to remind myself to ‘consciously’ invite that energy in more, and evolved into a meditation on showing compassion to yourself through exploring your dreams.”

You can pick up the album now, and watch out for Basia Bulat on tour starting next month, with a stop here in Vancouver at the Hollywood Theatre on April 30th!

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: February 10 - 16, 2025

“Wire Walks” by Amy Millan

It’s been 15 years(!!) since the last solo release from Amy Millan, but now the Stars co-founder has teased a brand new album with the first single, “Wire Walks”.

Anchored by her unmatched voice, the new song is a beautiful, lilting tune, with Amy explaining: “Getting older is a trip. You assume you’re gonna grow out of feeling like you might fall down a hole any minute, but for me the feeling continues to hover,” continuing to so say, “I reference Stars’ ‘Ageless Beauty’ here with the lyric ‘I lied when I said that time would catch your head.’ I thought when I was younger time would mend all wounds, but I was wrong, it does not. Turns out they stick around! So what I have learned with my sage years is to stop trying to dodge and outrun the hard feelings. Embrace the difficult bits, the footprint that made me what I am. When outrunning isn’t working, I might need to lean into what I’ve always been.”

You can check out the etherial video below — Luca Tarantini — and pick up the new album I Went To Find You when it’s out on May 30, via Last Gang Records.

• Kirk

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“Hallways” by PUP

Toronto’s PUP have announced that their next album, Who Will Look After The Dogs, will be released on May 2nd.

Lead singer Stefan Babcock says the song “Hallways” was the first song he wrote for the new album which has the lyric that ended up being the album title.
“Within days of announcing our last album, coincidentally titled The Unraveling of PUPTHEBAND, my life unexpectedly imploded. I wrote the lyrics for 'Hallways' while all that was going on. It was a weird fucking week," says Babcock. "The title of our new record, Who Will Look After The Dogs?, is what I wrote at the top of the page, the very first thing written for this album. I think it’s devastating, but in a ‘holy shit this is overdramatic’ kinda way. At least in context of the line that comes before it. That’s what makes it funny to us. That overblown stuff we all say in our dark moments can be hilarious once you've cooled off a bit. I don’t know if anyone else thinks it’s funny, but sometimes you gotta laugh at yourself. It's the only way out of the abyss. Trust me.” 

I cannot wait to here more from one of my favourite bands! And you definitely need to watch the accompanying video for “Hallways” below - which sees the band becoming one with furniture and appliances.

• Christine

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“Listening Party” by Odds & Limblifter

Ahead of their co-headlining show at the Commodore this week, Odds and Limblifter have gotten together for a brand new single, “Listening Party”.

It’s exactly what you would hope & expect from the pair of 90s alt-rock powerhouses, who describe the collab as “in the spirit of Max Webster and Rush creating "Battle Scar,” two crack bands are forged into one.” and say the song is “a dedication to the raw symphony of the natural world — a breezy manifestation of friendship, music, and the great outdoors.”

Have a listen below, or pick up the Limited Edition Square Shaped Flexi 7" from Limblifter’s bandcamp, and make sure you’re at the Commodore this Friday night!

• Kirk

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“Oulalala” by Omega Mighty

Ear-worm Alert!

This track landed in my inbox on Valentine’s Day (convenient, as it’s a love song) and I’ve been humming “Oulalala” for the last several days.

Omega Mighty says her new pop track “is for the lovers…the ones who believe in love, or desire to be loved but also want to keep the relationship fun and exciting. It's a cheeky flirtatious bop, but it's also an empowerment song with a reminder to go for what you want!"

Gotta love love!

• Christine

Songs of the Week: February 03 - 09, 2025

“Can We Be Still” by Georgia Harmer

Georgia Harmer is back with her first new single since her debut album Stay In Touch in 2022.

“Can We Be Still” is a chill tune that highlights her incredible voice, and Harmer explains the song is “about lifelong best-friendship and striving to protect it from the inevitable changes that come with time. It’s about having a shared vision of the future and a desire to preserve it, to see the plan for ever-lasting closeness through.”

You can watch the video below (directed by Talvi Faustmann at Rosedale Heights School Of The Arts in Toronto) and keep an ear our for more to come!

• Kirk

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“10 Feet Tall” by Current Swell

I needed a beachy-vibe track on this cold February morning!

Victoria staple Current Swell is back with a new single, “10 Feet Tall”, from their upcoming EP Peacekeeper.

Of it they say it’s “an anthemic ode to youthful freedom and resilience [that] embodies the unshakable confidence that comes from being surrounded by the right energy and mindset.”

The band is about to head out on tour next month with a stop in Vancouver at the Commodore Ballroom on March 21st and then they’re off to the UK!

• Christine

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“Television, a Ghost in My Head” by Frog Eyes

We’re less than a month away from the new album from Frog Eyes, and getting the latest tease with the lead track, “Television, a Ghost in My Head”

The frenetic song comes with a video shot by singer Carey Mercer of a seal lounging near a ferry dock in Vancouver, with Mercer explaining:

“A ferry harbour is a bit like airport-space: all energies and commerce centered around that which is departing or arriving, but outside of the reductive human conception of the space, there is another galaxy of personalities and endeavours. My buddy the seal was really hamming it up, like they knew I had a record coming out and that I would sit on a rock and capture their silly energies, like they were ready for their close-up, as they say. So I filmed two vids, delighting in the comic energy and the various intrigues and characters floating in and out of my screen, and then sent them to Derek (Janzen - long-time visual collaborator), who sweetly agreed to line them up and place my words at the bottom of the screen.”

Have a watch below, and mark March 7th on your calendars for when new album The Open Up comes out!

• Kirk

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“Bang Bang Bang” by Fake Shark

Fake Shark is back with a new one and it’s… a banger.
See what I did there? Because the song is called “Bang Bang Bang”? You get it.

The funky bass, drums and shaker, and call-and-repeat gives me me total Cake vibes and I LOVE IT.

The band say it' “is a song about knowing you’re being talked about behind your back. It’s a helpless feeling, but also kind of freeing. You can find out who are your real people, so in this sense, it’s not a sad song, it’s a positive party song.”

• Christine

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“You Don’t Know Me” by BAWAH

Last week, BAWAH (formerly known as MAUVEY) released the first part of an incredibly ambitious project, MAUVEY TO A BAWAH — a four-part album series, a film series spanning 48 episodes, and a 48-chapter book.

Spanning the entire year, BAWAH will have new releases every week: new music on Fridays, new episodes on Mondays, and new book chapters on Wednesdays.

All 48 songs will tie in to a film episode, woven into a larger narrative that is “as much about reclaiming his past as it is about forging a future”. The film is directed by award-winning Andrew Huculiak (who you may musically know from We Are The City or Big Kill, or theatrically from Violent and Ash) and shot by long-time collaborator Joseph Schweers (Amazing Factory).

You can watch the first episode (titled Push Ups and a Bathroom Mirror) below, as well as listening to “You Don’t Know Me”, the first single from Part One of the series, MAUVEY TO A BAWAH: THE FIRST 13, which is out May 1st.

• Kirk

Songs of the Week: January 27 - February 02, 2025

“Desolation Boys” by Total Fucking Darkness

Total Fucking Darkness is the collaboration of long-time friends Torquil Campbell (of Stars & Memphis fame) and Stephen Ramsay (who you know from Young Galaxy), and now they’re joined by Tom McFall (whose engineering credits include REM, Bloc Party, Twin Shadow, Regina Spektor, among many others).

Last week they dropped their latest song, a twitchy, synth-pop dance number called “Desolation Boys”, and I don’t know if I can describe it any better than the press release:

Written in the final hours of a grueling [72-hour] session, new track, “Desolation Boys” showcases TFD’s menu to thrilling effect: Maximum Creative Violence Immediately. The song features a mix of savant-like lyrical spontaneity and a raw vocal take where Campbell can faintly be heard yelling, “go fuck yourself,” mid-chorus. Who is he instructing? Probably himself.

Check out the ‘Tom's Workout Video Remix’ of “Desolation Boys” below, and they’ve teased some live performances later this year!

• Kirk

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“When The Night Feels My Song” ft. Frank Turner by Bedouin Soundclash

Bedouin Soundclash recently announced a new headlining tour across Canada (with a stop here in Vancouver at the Commodore Ballroom on March 22) and with it released reimagining of their hit single “When The Night Feels My Song”.

They enlisted the help of Frank Turner (as well as another version done by The Interrupters, and Jesse Royal) to take the now 20-year-old tune. Of the original Frank says it:“is such a perfect song. It soundtracked many years of my youth, always the last song of the night in the indie clubs I used to haunt, a sweet and sad celebration of life’s journey. To be singing it 20 years later is a joy and an honour.”

• Christine

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“Undone” by Nick Faye

Okay, first of all, I love the artwork for Nick Faye’s new single, “Undone” (which is by Graeme Zirk)

Second of all, who can’t relate* to ills of online dating? Faye wrote the song after being canceled on or ghosted for six out of seven consecutive dates, and elaborates: “Dating can be really fun, and I made some really special memories while getting to know a lot of great people I met online or in person. But sometimes people can be really cruel on the internet or disrespectful towards others' time, attention, and energy. This song was written when I was feeling tired and worn out from a particularly brutal period of online dating.”

Have a listen below!

*if you can’t relate, I don’t want to hear it.

• Kirk

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“Golden Hour” by FEATURETTE

Last week Toronto’s FEATURETTE released their third full-length album PANIC PILLS and their first with their newest member Marc Koecher.

To mark this they released the video for the track “Golden Hour”, which was written about a near-death experience lead singer Lexie Jay had in a car accident.
Of the song the band says: “this song lives in those timeless pinnacle moments that flash before your eyes like when one has a near-death experience. Drawn from lived experience, the track starts slowly, luxuriating on the ‘golden hour’ moments you cling to before impact, slowly descending into a faster pace that rips you into reality, going a hundred miles per hour and flooded with adrenaline.”

The video for the track is also remarkable - with the band and DOP Lindsey Blane traveling to Iceland to film on black sand beaches, expansive fjords, and in the culmination of the video - a rave in an ice cave! Check it out.

• Christine

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“Danger Girl” by Shiv and the Carvers

I’m a sucker for a good Scott Pilgrim reference, so I immediately liked the new video from Shiv and the Carvers for their latest tune “Danger Girl”

The song is pop-punk banger, and singer Shiv Scott shares, “Danger Girl is a queer love song about falling in love with a woman that you know is going to break your heart. The “Danger” is the gamble of getting your heart broken, but knowing that it's worth every bit of pain. I was very inspired by Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag”, Blink-182’s “Josie”, and other 90s/2000s songs about women who are out of the singer’s league."

The video features a cameo from Bif Naked, as well as a load of references to (and locations from) both the Scott Pilgrim books and the adaptation film!

Spot them all for yourself, and mark down March 14 for the release of their next EP, Tell Me You Love Me Again.

• Kirk

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

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“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

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“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

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“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

Songs of the Week: January 13 - 19, 2025

“Keep It Coming” by Two Hours Traffic

Holy crap there’s new Two Hours Traffic!!!

Over a decade ago, the PEI band played what was to be their last concert, and while they have come out of ‘retirement’ and played sporadic shows over the past few years, I was definitely not expecting new music from them.

But last week they dropped “Keep It Coming”, a classic THT jam that will instantly get stuck in your head. According to the band, the song was written during a pretty tough year when ‘keep it coming’ became “a bit of a mantra, as well as a reminder not to worry about every little thing in the future and to trust that you will be able to deal with whatever comes your way,” says guitarist Andy MacDonald, with singer Liam Corcoran adding that the song has “the kind of arrangement we’ve tried to develop over the years, with lots of empty space on the recording and a focus on the groove and the rhythms. Our friend Dan Griffin (Teen Ravine) added keys and synths which ended up being the glue that made the recording really work.”

You can check out the lyric video below, and true to the title, the band has promised more to come!

• Kirk

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“I See The Same Things” by Frog Eyes

Vancouver’s Frog Eyes have dropped another new single, “I See The Same Things”, ahead of the release of their upcoming album The Open Up, which is set to come out on March 7th.

Of the song “taps into a central theme for the band of eschewing digital trappings and convenience culture, and when feeling enclosed by an increasingly fever-paced world, they turn toward their reverence for warm tones, historical rich reverie and storytelling art spaces, like The Western Front in Vancouver.”

Guitarist and singer Carey Mercer continues: “The concept for the video is to show Shyla, our keyboard player, digitizing and archiving performance-art pieces that mostly took place on the top floor in the Luxe Hall.  The video then shows us playing in the Luxe Hall.  It’s a conversation, as all art is, with the art of the city that you live in. We are all just doing the same things, day in, day out, it’s how the art gets made, I think.”

• Christine

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“Disco Polo” by Basia Bulat

We’re about a month away from Basia’s Palace, the new album from Basia Bulat, and last week we got our latest taste with the third single, “Disco Polo”.

The gorgeous song is named after a genre of Polish dance music, beloved by Basia’s late father, and honours her parent’s musician influence on her life. Bulat elaborates, “This is an homage to what I feel like is the two sides of my musical lineage–my mother was a classically trained piano and guitar teacher, and my father’s favourite genre was Disco Polo. About the only thing we could all agree on was the oldies radio station that was the peacemaker of our home when I was a child. I wanted to write something that felt like a folk tale about those genres and how they still influence me after all this time–even now every time I sit down at the piano all those different musical worlds swirl around each other and try to dance together in my mind.”

You can check out the fantastic video below, directed by Nora Rosenthal, and pick up Basia’s Palace when it’s out February 21 on Secret City Records.

• Kirk

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“Time Waited” by My Morning Jacket

It’s been a few years since we’ve heard from Kentucky’s My Morning Jacket, but they recently announced their tenth(!) studio album, along with the brand new single, “Time Wasted”

The new tune is perfectly chill and literally dreamy, as Jim James explains: “I made a loop of that piano intro and listened as I went for a walk, and all these melodies started coming to me. For a long time, I didn’t have lyrics, but then I had a dream where I was in a café and a song was playing, and the lyrics to that song became the lyrics to ‘Time Waited’ – the melodies just fit perfectly. And the lyrics are about how flexible time is, how we can bend and warp time, especially if we are following our hearts, the universe and time itself can flow to work with us.”

The new album, simple titles is, drops on March 21 and you can check out “Time Waited” below!

• Kirk