“So Small” by Talia Schlanger

Super exciting news this week that Toronto musician Talia Schlanger has announced her debut album, Grace For The Going, will be released on February 2, 2024.

Her latest single “So Small” is a beautiful little track, with a soothing arrangement behind her smooth vocals. And I’ll let her speak about the song itself:

“Right now, like so many of us, my thoughts are consumed by the horrors of war,” says Talia. “My heart is consumed by collective grief.”
“So Small” was written and recorded as the pandemic years engulfed the globe in a different sort of trauma. The urgency of the song, offers a philosophical view on humanity and a perspective on our space on this planet that is deeply relevant to world events today.

“'So Small' is about finding a way to hold many truths at the same time,” explains Talia. “The idea that each of us is at once as big as the universe itself and smaller than the smallest speck of dust. This is a concept that appears in a number of traditions/faiths/systems of belief. My first window into this way of thinking was through the Jewish teachings I grew up learning as a kid. And it’s an idea I continue to cherish and explore as an adult through the western interpretations of Buddhist texts by teachers like Pema Chödrön, Joseph Goldstein and Tara Brach. For me, this sense of perspective has been life-saving.
'So Small’ addresses 'the war outside me and inside me.' I share it along with my prayers for peace, outer and inner, for all.”

Christine

“Part Two” by iskwē

iskwē is not slowing down; last week she released the fourth new single from her upcoming album.

“Part Two” was written along with producer Damian Taylor and Ali “Willa” Milner, and iskwē shares: “This is a song about my broken heart after a rocky relationship finally came crashing down, We should have known, and we probably did, that things would end as passionately as they began. We ran the other to the ground while simultaneously pulling each other back to our feet, but the landing got slipperier and slipperier with each recovery, until enough was enough.”

Still no word on when the new album will be out, and sadly, iskwē had to postpone the Vancouver show that was supposed to be later this week. But have a listen to “Part Two” below!

Kirk

“Hold My Head Up Higher” by JEEN (feat. Ian Blurton)

We’re still a couple months out from her next album, but JEEN has released the third tease by way of “Hold My Head Up Higher”, which was co-written with the prolific Ian Blurton.

The new song is a slow-burn that is the second track JEEN has colaborated on with Blutron — who has also produced her last few albums — and she elaborates, “When we were in pre-production for Gold Control, Ian and I bounced an idea he had back and forth for a couple weeks long-distance before really solidifying the song in studio rehearsals. It’s always fun collaborating with Ian, so I'm really happy we got the chance to do it again on this album.”

Gold Control is out on February 2nd, next year.

Kirk

“Who The Hell Am I” by NOBRO

I needed a banger to wake me up this Monday morning and “Who The Hell Am I” by NOBRO did the trick.
The band’s new album Set Your Pussy Free (or SYPF as you’ll probably see it printed, lol), was released on the 27th, and it’s non-stop rock and roll throughout.

No Vancouver tour date listed as of yet, but hopefully there’s one on the horizon, because I want to hear these live!

Christine

“The Matrix” by Mother Mother

Mother Mother is back! The alt-pop group has announced a brand new album, and celebrated with the release of the new single “The Matrix”.

The new tune starts in the most Mother Mother way possible with the lyrics “Baby love, baby child, you’re gonna die”, before going on to a chorus that defiantly proclaims “Fuck no!” to living in The Matrix.

Grief Chapter will be the band’s ninth album, and is out on February 16th, but you can check out the trippy video for “The Matrix” now!

Kirk

“Renegade” & “Can I Get Your Name” by Bend Sinister

Not only are we getting another two songs from Vancouver’s Bend Sinister, but we’re also getting a little more info on their upcoming album!

“Renegade” & “Can I Get Your Name” are two more tracks off their upcoming yet-to-be-named release, which will be out spring of next year, and follow the same boisterous, 70’s influenced groove as their last few singles.

With “Renegade”, the band says “Dog is man's best friend. We played with that metaphor in this song, starting with that relationship in mind and how perhaps it can relate to more than just our K9 pals.”

While “Can I Get Your Name” is “about that fairytale romance that stems from two strangers meeting in the crowd and finding love. With dating apps and the online world is it even possible to find love the old-fashioned way?”

We’re now heard a half dozen new songs from the album, and I can not wait to hear the rest of it!

Kirk

Path Of The Heel EP by The Halluci Nation

Okay, this is damn cool.
The Halluci Nation have released the first part of their new project: “The Road to Halluci Mania.” What’s that you ask? Well…

"The Halluci Nation's Bear Witness and 2oolman have always had a deep interest in Professional Wrestling ever since they were kids – loving the complex story lines that play out week after week, and seeing the underdog overcome adversity and have their chance to shine.

…Themed around one of the main character archetypes in professional wrestling – "The Heel" (a.k.a. the bad guy) – Path of the Heel follows a faction of this group, called the ALie Nation. The creator of the ALie Nation has gone from being curious about The Halluci Nation – the champion "Baby Face" tag team wrestlers – to becoming obsessed with taking them down at Halluci Mania, aiming to do so by recruiting two wrestlers into the ALie Nation.

The story unfolds through the album openers, Tree of Woe and ALie Nation (Interlude), both of which feature powerful vocals written and performed by Damian Abraham [of Fucked Up]. The theme then expands with Eater of Worlds and Atomic Drop, featuring long-time collaborators, Northern Cree, and fulled by fast paced beats with complex basslines, all brining the Halluci Nation’s classic sound into the present and beyond.

Just, wow. These songs are so good, and I can’t wait to hear this whole project start to finish!

Christine