Songs of the Week: October 05 - 11, 2026

October 14, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Black Gatorade” by The Zolas

The Zolas may be celebrating the 10th anniversary of their album Swooner, but this month they also dropped a brand new single!

“Black Gatorade” is the first new music we’ve had from the Vancouver band in a while, and comes with a burst of energy and gang vocals, with lyrics that indicate a fresh start for the group (as well as a fun local reference when they sing about how “it’s nice to be back Making noise in Railtown”)

You can see the lyric video below, and fingers crossed for more from the Vancouver band soon!

Kirk

“Sailing Back To Souris” by The East Pointers

JUNO Award winners The East Pointers are heading out on their almost fully sold out tour this week, and have announced a deluxe edition of their album Schoonertown.

The new single “Sailing Back To Souris” is about “being away, missing home, and finding your way back to the people and places that keep you pointed in the right direction.”

You can catch them on said tour on October 19th at the Hollywood Theatre!

Christine

“Sit” by ARK IDENTITY

Toronto’s ARK IDENTITY (Noah Mroueh) released a new single last week with the new wave anthem “Sit”

The incredible catchy tune is ‘inspired by the constant barrage of outrage, opinion, and polarization that defines everyday’ with Noah elaborating, “Politics, racism, sexism, social media, people constantly arguing, the news, algorithms. It feels like there’s almost no space to just think for yourself anymore. ‘SIT’ came out of that frustration.”

No word on a full album from ARK IDENTITY, but check out the trippy video below!

Kirk

“How Real Is Real?” by Art d’Ecco

As we inch closer to the release date for Art d’Ecco’s new record Scheele’s Green, we continue to get new singles from the band.
This week, it’s a protest song that deals with “ICE raids, the genocide in Gaza, and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine”.

“How Real Is Real?”, Art says, “serves as a clarion call. Our new realities have desensitized us to the real life atrocities and injustices that are actually being experienced by people in our communities around the world. The idea that we’ve never been more connected to fast, unlimited free information but are still completely separated from reality and truth, is a paradox of our own making.”

Scheele’s Green is out October 23rd, and check out the new track below.

Christine

Songs of the Week: September 28 - October 04, 2026

October 05, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Darth Vapor” by La Force

It’s been a couple years since we last heard from La Force, the solo project of Ariel Engle, and now we have a brand new single with “Darth Vapor”

The dark and haunting track highlights Engle’s stunning vocals, and she says it “was born out of an improvised jam session in a small one-room studio in Montreal. I picked up a right-handed bass hanging on the wall and started playing it upside down, because I’m left-handed. I remember it all coming together at once — Liam [O’Neil] on some kind of rhythm-generating machine, and Thom Gill on a soft synth. Later, Liam and I shaped the raw take, and the theme emerged. The song is about excavation, consumption, and lust — both my own seemingly endless need to consume, and that of the world’s population. This endless want in the face of a finite world of resources."

Check out the video below, and keep an ear out for more new music as La Force promises a new album next year!

Kirk

“Private Lives” by Death From Above 1979

DFA is back! They’re celebrating their 25th anniversary of bandom by announcing their fifth LP, Private Lives, due out January 29th.

The first single and title track “Private Lives” is a rip-roaring vintage Death From Above song that I can picture crowds shouting back at them already.
The band says: “The song ‘Private Lives’ is a declaration of privacy in an era of overexposure. We are compelled, often by one another, to share our most intimate moments and quietest thoughts. To what end? More often than not, to be part of a cheap consumer feedback loop. Ultimately though, it’s just a ripping rock song with maniacal riffs!”

Can’t wait for more from the duo, but more excited to see that they’ll be heading back to Vancouver on March 26th at the Vogue!

Christine

“Getting Out Of Dodge” by Olivia Penalva

Appropriate song for today as I’ve got out of dodge and am camping for the last time this year!
But BC artist Olivia Penalva’s track “Getting Out Of Dodge” is about “finally choosing the unknown over the past”.

For her new album Exit Wound (which was released last month) hears Olivia pivoting from her traditional pop sound to more of a blend with folk, rock and adult contemporary.

Check the track out below!

Christine

“blocking a scene you can’t remember” by PISS

The new album from PISS comes out at the end of the month, and we’re getting another tease with their newest single.

“blocking a scene you can’t remember” is an intense slow burn about '“sexual abuse and its lasting impacts. The lyrics take the form of a monologue read by a girl in her room, rehearsing a long-overdue confrontation with a man from her past.”

This official video was co-directed by PISS front-person Tay Zantingh & Nushi Sharma, which you can watch below. And the new album you made me / skin on linen is out o October 30th.

Kirk

Songs of the Week: September 21 - 27, 2026

September 28, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Lions Pride” by Zeus

Zeus is back! The Toronto quartet has returned with a look back to their past for their upcoming album, Lost & Found (The Say Us Archives), which explores songs written around the time of their 2010 debut. As the band puts it, the project is “an outward rebellion within their scene: the basic need to drop all egos and just make music together, regardless of the [album's] final destination or distribution”.

And the first single off the album is classic Zeus, “Lions Pride”, which Mike O’Brien says is a song “that’s always had a special place in our hearts and is exciting for us to finally get to share it. This collection in many ways tells the whole story of the inception of our band. Each songwriter coming from his separate corner and finding a sound together. These songs didn't end up fitting the picture that became Say Us but they serve to fill in the gaps in that time period. We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane as much as we did.”

The 13-track album is out on October 9th via Arts & Crafts, but you can hear “Lions Pride” below!

Kirk

“Chain Chain Chain” by So Faint

At first I thought this might be an Aretha Franklin cover (and now I want to hear that), but it’s the new single by So Faint - the duo of Hannah Georgas and Lyn Heinemann.

They previously released their first single “Fully Slow”, announcing their long worked on collaboration as well as a self-titled EP for October 16th.

The new track “Chain Chain Chain” continues to showcase the effortless melding of their voices and as the duo states the song is about “choosing commitment while quietly knowing the relationship feels broken. Not because there’s no love, but because love alone isn’t fixing what’s broken. It's driven by history, loyalty, and the weight of having built something together. Staying becomes a choice grounded in commitment rather than desire.”
While that sounds like a bummer, the song itself makes you want to dance around the room with joy.

Christine

“Pure Comedy” by Allegories

Last week, Allegories — the experimental duo of Adam Bentley and Jordan Mitchell — released the latest single from their upcoming album with “Pure Comedy”.

The ethereal indie-pop song evolved throughout the years-long writing process for the new album, as Adam explains, “This is the song that I think best represents our new album. There are elements from many different iterations of the song still in there, and sonically, it feels like it touches on the kaleidoscope of sounds and genres that the record eventually became.”

You can check out the VHS video below, and gran By Accident, On Purpose, when it’s out October 16th.

Kirk

“Our Year” ft Lights and Felix Cartal by Tegan and Sara

Despite Tegan and Sara growing up in Calgary, we like to claim them as Vancouverites, and if this music video doesn’t put a stamp on that, nothing does!

Kits pool, the Museum of Vancouver, the City Centre Motor Hotel just to name a few, are all featured with each of the artists at the iconic Vancouver locations. Not to mention appearances by Vancouver Canadians, BC Lions, Vancouver Goldeneyes and Canucks jersies.

Song and video bring end of summer vibes and as Lights says they “wanted to share a tongue in cheek approach to more or less bitching about the economy while still celebrating that we made it this far, and that there’s always hope to keep striving for.”

Ahem, get out and vote Vancouver…

Christine

“Cherry Pit” by Kids With Knives

Vancouver shoegaze band Kids with Knives recently released a brand new video for their song “Cherry Pit”.

The track is for ‘anyone who has ever been someone's maybe. It's longingly sweet, a little desperate, and slightly unhinged’, and comes with a video shot in Tokyo during cherry blossom season!

Watch for yourself below, and you can hear the song on their debut album Open Wounds, which is out now.

Kirk

Songs of the Week: September 14 - 20, 2026

September 21, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Pieces” by WiL

Vancouver Island’s WiL & Company are back with a brand new song, “Pieces”.

The new single spotlights WiL’s commanding vocals and incredible guitar work, and is about the various fleeting moments that make up someone’s life, as WiL explains: “Be wild in your life by building it and filling it with meaningful, great experiences and moments. These, to me, are the ‘Pieces’ of our lives. Good or bad, just keep putting the f’n puzzle together until you run out of pieces.”

“Pieces” was produced by Leeroy Stagger, and you can watch a live performance video below!

Kirk

“Something Sweet” by Blonde Diamond

Last Friday Blonde Diamond released their latest EP Love Is A Shadow and celebrated by giving us “Something Sweet”

The the dreamy pop tune comes with a fantastical video directed by long-time collaborator Brandon William Fletcher, and perfectly represents the rest of the EP, which Alexis Young says is “an exploration of what it means to keep going.Spanning cynical joy, queer heartbreak, supernatural desperation, and hard-won sobriety, it probes my messy and nonlinear work of growing into a new chapter of adulthood. And while it’s not necessarily a beautifully choreographed arrival, it’s still a celebration of the series of life moments that brought me kicking and screaming to this next phase of life.”

Check out the video below, and you can grab the new EP Love Is A Shadow everywhere now!

Kirk

“4:44” by Land of Talk

Land of Talk is back (again!) with new music and the announcement of an album, LASTS, that will be released on November 13th.

Land of Talk aka Liz Powell says of the first track “4:44” (which isn’t the song length and was originally titled “Harmonic Nation”): “Melodically, I don’t remember where the track came from, it just appeared fully formed despite my best efforts to doubt it, shape it, or abandon it altogether.”
“I had recently read online some demonstrably false things about my personal (and professional) life written by someone who I thought knew me. Whether they changed the facts out of sheer ignorance or in an effort to protect my privacy is unknown. The experience reminded me how I’ve come to accept the false narratives and (essentially) myths surrounding Land of Talk for years. For a while, I was questioning if I even knew my own story; my own lived experience. As for the title, there’s a story, but that will stay private :).”

Mysterious, kind of like the video for the dreamy track that you can hear and see below.

Christine

“Good Boys” by Miesha and The Spanks

Also dropping a new EP last week was Miesha and The Spanks with Visions, and they want to remind you that “you don’t have to be a dick” with the hook-filled “Good Boys”.

Miesha says the song is “about raising good boys, and asking what is a good boy, or a good man, and recalls the many times in sexual assault cases/trials when a young man is facing charges and everyone comes out to say what a 'good boy' he is and how it's his future that could be ruined.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the last part, the video for the song is hockey-themed, as Miesha & the Spanks plan to shine a light on the Moose Hide Campaign - an Indigenous-led grassroots movement working to end gender-based violence during their upcoming tour.

You can catch them on tour all around western Canada in the coming months, including a show here in Vancouver on November 5th at the Fox Cabaret. But until then, watch the video — directed by Sebastian Buzzalino — below, and pick up the EP now!

Kirk

“You Win The Trophy” by princefarming

Toronto songwriter Michael Wynn (of Vicky von Vicky, Melted Wings) is delving back into his past and releasing a new EP under the moniker princefarming.

The three-song EP reaches back over 15 years to remaster songs from throughout his career, including “You Win The Trophy”, about the ‘mythology of Hollywood success’.

Wynn admits “For a long time, I didn’t think anything of these songs. It was only recently that I started listening again. I don’t think they are my best work, but I do think they have promise, and I thought they should be ‘out there.’”

The EP is called Bleeding Star and is available now!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: September 07 - 13, 2026

September 14, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Disappear Here” by Art d’Ecco

So much saxophone in this new release and I love it!

Art d’Ecco is back with a new single titled “Disappear Here” off their upcoming album Scheele’s Green (set to release on October 23rd).
Of the new track Art says: “Our addiction to being seen comes at a cost. The title makes reference to the billboards towering over Sunset Blvd. in the book Less Than Zero, and serves as an admonition for the the vain pursuit of be seen, in a world of disappearing art and culture.”

The story behind the name of the new album is just as interesting as it’s a real colour - “first synthesized by Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1775. With the shade previously hard to attain, Scheele’s green quickly became a status symbol for the wealthy, who covered their homes and bodies in it. Just as quickly, they became afflicted with strange ailments thanks to the arsenic compounds needed for the color. Scheele’s green soon became identified as a dangerous luxury the affluent were nevertheless reluctant to quit.”

Between the new track and the first release, The Death of Indie, Art seems to be tackling everything from our obsession with social media, evolving and harmful technological changes, and everything in between. I’ve already pre-ordered the album!

Christine

“The Gambler” by Brian Sumner

If you read these, you know if I see a cover by a musician I’ll always give it a listen, and this one was no different.
Apparently this cover of the Kenny Rogers classic “The Gambler” was recorded ages ago by The Sumner Brothers and has been hiding on a hard drive since the early 2000’s!

Well, thankfully Brian of said brothers has released it for us now, and he’s been putting out acoustic recordings over the past year - which you can also check out by clicking here.

Christine

“A Fleeting Thought Becomes Another Fleeting Thought” by Lisa LeBlanc

Last week, Lisa LeBlanc not only released a new single from her upcoming album, but dropped some details about that album too!

“A Fleeting Thought Becomes Another Fleeting Thought” is the second single off Patchwork, and is a frenetic song that builds and builds in energy, driven by LeBlanc’s fantastic vocals.

Patchwork is set for release early next year, on January 29, 2027, but in the meantime you can check out the video below!

Kirk

“Screens” by Shiv and the Carvers

Also announcing their latest album last week was Toronto skate-punk band Shiv and the Carvers!

With the news, they released their latest single, “Screens”, a high energy look at reliance on devices. The band says, “Screens is about the horrifying adult pacifiers we all carry around and rely on for everything. Modern smartphones are both a marvel and curse. We have access to so much information and power, but we're also being manipulated by them. Our attention spans are getting shorter, and the ways we process information is changing. I frequently find myself standing at the bus stop, feeling slightly uneasy, and pulling out my phone to help pass the time. I love my phone because it shows me pretty things and opens up my world, but I am so tired of seeing footage of war and human suffering interspersed with advertisements for plastic surgery. It's breaking my brain and soul. And I can't disconnect.”

You can check out the video below — directed by Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor of Bonnie Trash — and the band’s debut full length Always Watching on October 29.

Kirk

“Zoku Jeng” by CG Tears

On the other hand, CG Tears did not have a new album to announce last week… because they released their debut self-titled LP!

To celebrate, the collaboration of Clinton St. John (The Cape May, Pale Air Singers, Florida BC), Morgan Greenwood (Baths), and Chad VanGaalen (Chad VanGaalen) released a video for the song “Zoku Jeng”, illustrated and animated by VanGaalen.

It’s a soaring song, and the video is as trippy and mesmerising as you would expect from a CVG animation. Have a watch below, and pick up CG Tears out now!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: August 31 - September 06, 2026

September 08, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“These Days” by Matthew Barber

Matthew Barber is back!
Appropriately titled Find The Time, his new album will be out on November 20th and we have the first single “These Days”.
The music is inspired by becoming a stay at home dad and the questions that come from becoming a parent. “These Days” specifically reflects on putting “touring on the shelf” and is a “snapshot of the day-to-day flow of work and family, acknowledging the long and winding journey from initial lustful attraction to diapers and daycare. It’s about partnership and a deep appreciation for good fortune against all odds.”

He’s doing a few shows close to home this month, but hopefully when the album is released we’ll get an appearance on this side of the country (after all, his sister is here!)

Christine

“time loop at hot slit” by PISS

Vancouver’s PISS has announced their long-awaited debut album, as well as dropped the brand new single, “time loop at hot slit”.

The song is a loud, frenetic race as the lyrics dive into ‘girlhood in a culture of sexualization’, and comes with a video directed by singer Taylor Zantingh and Vivyen Sagsen.
Zantingh shares, “Some of the people with whom I shared the earliest version of “time loop at hot slit” take the stage to sing it themselves. Our local scene has been singing this song with us for two years!! It's very exciting to finally share it with the world, but no matter where it ends up, it will always belong to the femmes, queers, and weirdos in the Vancouver underground community <3”.

The new album is called you made me / skin on linen and is out October 30 on Paper Bag Records!

Kirk

“Opal” by Old Man Canyon

Vancouver’s Old Man Canyon has announced a new album Opal, which will drop on January 22nd, and released the dreamy title track as well.

Old Man Canyon (musician Jett Pace’s moniker) says the record addresses the societal chaos around us mixed with personal growth. He states:
"In a world where there’s so much chaos, how do we fit in as human beings? Everything we've been taught as a society is being challenged in some way. An opal is a stone that contains all colors—whatever perspective you're looking at it from, it will always be different. It’s a beautiful metaphor for us as human beings and the multitudes within us."

The track “Opal” is about this self-discovery and I particularly like the line “You said there's magic in trusting yourself, even if all I thought I ever wanted gets turned right upside down again”.

Can’t wait for more!

Christine

Songs of the Week: August 24 - 30, 2026

September 01, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Laughter (Bouquet Version)” by Basia Bulat

Last Friday, Basia Bulat released a companion EP to her latest album Basia's Palace, called Bouquet.

The EP is a collection of acoustic versions of songs from the acclaimed album, stripping them down to just vocals, guitar, and autoharp to give each song a new, emotional rendition. “Laughter” even features an entirely new string arrangement by Kieran Poile.

Basia elaborates, “I loved being able to bring this song, originally written on midi while wearing headphones in the earliest morning hours, all the way across the spectrum of sound into something completely acoustic and to my folk beginnings. The lyrics describe running through the mud with my very young daughters, “looking for the first blooms of the spring”. It is not only what I was literally doing at the time or writing the song, but also the spirit I try to keep with me all the time: looking for the first beautiful moments of life and light peeking out through the dark, and celebrating that they made it through.”

You can see a live performance of “Laughter (Bouquet Version)” below, or check out the entire EP, which is absolutely gorgeous!

Kirk

“38 Years Old” (Tragically Hip Cover) by Cabin Fever

Just got back from camping last week, and one of my music staples while I’m out in the woods is my Tragically Hip playlist.
August 20th was the 10 year anniversary of their last show (how it’s been 10 years already, I don’t know) and to mark that Ontario’s Cabin Fever covered their track “38 Years Old”.
It’s a dark and haunting version, which fits the subject matter of the song.

Singer/guitarist Kyle Faulkner says:
“Onstage, we always treasure our rare opportunities to cover and pay tribute to some of our favourite songs and artists, especially when we’re able to put our own spin on the style. ‘38 Years Old’ is such a staple of Canadiana, and an almost sacred object from one of this country’s most revered bands, that changing a single note almost felt blasphemous; however, something about the lyrics, the story they were telling, just seemed to haunt my thoughts whenever I’d listen to it or play it. There’s a tragic tale in those words, and slowing down and scaling back the musical feel of the instruments really seems to bring the heartache and shame to the forefront. We feel honoured to humbly submit our take on one of Canada’s greatest works of art.”

Christine

“East of Anything” by True Mountain Laurel

Speaking of new albums out Friday, the duo of Haley Blais and Sam Lynch just released the first album under True Mountain Laurel, and celebrated by releasing a new video for “East of Anything”.

The song is a fantastic example of their two voices blending over gentle guitar & violin, and the duo explains it was “our first whack at co-writing together. This song sat in such a magical middle place between each of our songwriting and musical tendencies. We silently danced around the subject of who would ‘get the song’ for a little while before we realized it belonged exactly where it was; that was the inception of True Mountain Laurel.”

You can pick up the album, Angel So Bad, out now, and catch them across the country this fall, including a show here in Vancouver at St. James Square on November 12th!

Kirk

“Bluebells” by Thunder Queens

Thunder Queens are giving us another peek at their upcoming album with their latest single, “Bluebells”.

The new track is as catchy and upbeat as you would expect from the trio, with the band sharing, “Recording 'Bluebells' was a very fun and different kind of creative process compared to all the other songs, since we wrote it almost completely the night before we headed into the studio to record it with Dave Schiffman. There was little time to overthink the lyrics, and we were excited to get it recorded.”

Have a listen and make sure to grab their sophomore album, Deep Below, when it’s out on September 24 via Victory Pool Records.

Kirk

“Ouroboros” by Self-Cut Bangs

Calgary five-piece Self-Cut Bangs recently announced their latest album, Growth Spurts, and dropped a video for the first single, “Ouroboros”, a chaotic rocker.

The new album came together with all five members of the band contributing, and Cayley Petsche explains “This first single, ‘Ouroboros,’ is, appropriately, the first song our new line-up wrote together. It started coming together within the first minutes of our very first rehearsal; a testament to the instant chemistry the band holds. It’s a song that touches on the complex feelings tied to the beauty of creating life and the death and re-birth of the self in doing so. The chorus mantra ‘the all is one’ paired with the snake imagery symbolizes the unity of all matter and eternal cyclic transformation.”

Check out the video, directed by band member Shawn Petsche, below and mark October 16th for the release of Growth Spurts!

Kirk

Songs of the Week: August 17 - 23, 2026

August 25, 2026 by Christine McAvoy in Song Of The Day, Songs Of The Week

“Fully Slow” by So Faint

Oh, I was instantly into the new song from So Faint, a brand new project from Lyn Heinemann and Hannah Georgas!

“Fully Slow” is the extremely catchy first single released from the pair, which comes from their self-titled debut, releasing Georgas’ new label Beetle Bomb Records.

Hannah explains, “I’ve been thinking about putting out music on my own label for awhile. I’ve watched the way music gets released change so much since I first started out, and now so much of that process falls on the artist. For me, it felt exciting to build a team I really know and trust and create something that feels personal. At the end of the day, I just want to put this music out into the world. I’ve worked really hard on it with Lyn, and I’m excited for people to hear it.”

And Heineman adds the song “explores the quiet ache of wanting someone who will never want you back—while still building entire fantasies around the possibility. The song is about “wanting someone who you know deep down will never want you back, but still fantasizing that they do. I’ve always been very prone to pointless intense crushes that remain completely internalized. I can construct a full storyline about what might happen and never do a single thing about it.”

Check out the video below, and look out for the self-titled album when it’s out on October 16.

Kirk

“Ultestakon”(Kyoto Session) by Jeremy Dutcher

I needed to share this one if only to be able to say: Jeremy Dutcher is going on tour with Yo-Yo Ma - how cool is that?

The two worked together in 2018 on a track titled "Honor Song" on Yo-Yo Ma's album Notes for the Future, and now they’ll be performing a series of concerts in Japan and Taiwan.

Dutcher recorded a reimagining of his song “Ultestakon” as part of the Kyoto Sessions, which they filmed a year ago in Japan.
Says Dutcher: “This is a traditional lullaby of the wəlastəkwiyik (people of the peaceful wave). In our traditional song forms, sometimes we sing words that cannot directly be translated into wəlastəkwey latowewakən (our language), this is one such song. We instead say, s/he is singing in ‘sky language’ that which can be understood by the ancestors.”

Christine

“In Your Eyes” (Peter Gabriel cover) by Dwayne Gretzky

For 16 years, Dwayne Gretzky has been the premier cover / party band in Canada, and now they’re finally bringing their popular cover series and energetic live show to record players everywhere with Dwayne’s World Vol. 1

The new album collects 20 covers from their popular YouTube series, including classic songs from Paul Simon, Queen, A-Ha, Fleetwood Mac, Devo, and loads more!

Check out their stunning version of “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel below, and keep your ears out for more when the album drops on September 15th (with a vinyl released a couple days later, on the 18th)

Kirk

“Antiques Roadshow” by Gizmo

You’ll never guess where Charlottetown rockers Gizmo got the inspiration from their new single, “Antiques Roadshow”.

Songwriter Julien Kitson explains, “The opening lyric to ‘Antiques Roadshow’ was, of course, inspired by the famous television show that I remember watching as a child on PBS at 1 AM. Written in 2022 but brought to life a year later, the rest of Gizmo and I decided to rehash this song and collectively finish it as a group during a band practice before a festival appearance of ours. Upon performing it at this festival, we felt it stick, and it has now become a metaphor anthem for hitting the road for many of our friends.”

The high energy song is off their upcoming album All Your Worships, which is out on October 2nd.

Kirk