Danko and Damian live up to the latter’s band name, Espanola keeps his head up, Great Lake Swimmers spring forward and more in today’s roundup of new singles and videos from around the country. Hit it:
Danko Jones | Get High?
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Are you ready to rock? Do you want a good time? Do you want to get high? If the answer to any of those questions is yes (and it really should be), then the undisputed kings of balls-out rock ’n’ roll are back to provide maximum satisfaction! An elite, three-man squad, dedicated to the noble art of riffs, melodies and life-affirming rock anthems, Danko Jones are ready to serve up all the Electric Sounds you could possibly need! The trio’s forthcoming banger Electric Sounds will be out on Sept. 15 and promises to have the instant sound and feel of a classic. “With the legalization of marijuana, it was inevitable a song like Get High? would be birthed,” says charismatic frontman Danko about the band’s new single. “I just didn’t know it would be our band that penned the anthem for potheads everywhere. Damian Abraham of Fucked Up even joins us to answer my question — Do You Wanna Get High? His answer is yes.”
Espanola | Look To The Sky
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Modern stalwart of Canadian rock ’n’ roll, Espanola (Aaron Goldstein), has announced his sophomore LP Espanola, Again, arrives Oct. 6. The album is produced by John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr, Alvvays, Waxahatchee), Goldstein’s sonic soulmate, and described as being “too rock ’n’ roll for Americana, too earnest for indie.” Following a long and arduous multi-year process for Espanola’s eponymous 2019 debut, Espanola, Again was recorded in 10 days at Goldstein’s own Gold Standard Recorders in Toronto, live off the studio floor. Keen-eared listeners will hear Micah Hulscher on keyboards, Goldstein’s soul sister and bassist Anna Ruddick, and Blue Rodeo drummer Glenn Milchem holding it down behind Goldstein, as well as features from Ian Blurton, Steve Marriner and The Northern Soul Horns, among others. First single Look To The Sky was one of the last tracks written for the record. Goldstein felt like he was missing just one puzzle piece, something simple and catchy and possibly the most rock ’n’ roll song on the LP. It was a chance to turn off his brain a bit and write something fun.”
Great Lake Swimmers | Promise Of Spring
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Great Lake Swimmers have released a video for the track Promise Of Spring from their album Uncertain Country, and announced a new deluxe edition of the LP that arrives Sept. 29. Fronted by singer-songwriter Tony Dekker, GLS released Uncertain Country this spring. The deluxe version will include new acoustic versions of six tracks. Though recorded in different locales — largely around the Niagara region, and with a variety of musicians — a theme of questioning runs throughout the album. Even before the world turned upside down, Dekker felt mired in uncertainty: From the climate crisis and the ever-changing political landscape to deep shifts within the music industry. The “uncertain country” Dekker chose as the album’s theme is not a specific place. Rather, it’s a territory we, as humans, inhabit in the 21st century — a world that, more often than not, is confusing, unfamiliar and unsettling.”
Ombiigizi | Eagle Man / Changing Woman
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ombiigizi, the collaboration of Zoon (Daniel Monkman) and Status/Non-Status (Adam Sturgeon), are back with another new track since the release of their Juno-nominated and Polaris-shortlisted album Sewn Back Together. Today, they share their version of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Eagle Man / Changing Woman, a guttural ode to the original, with swirling guitars and brooding ambience. “Ombiigizi started as a desire to create a stronger cultural connection that Daniel and myself had felt was missing from our lives as indie rock kids prior to forming,” says Sturgeon. “In many ways we both felt isolated from our communities and were using music as a part of our guide forward. Now, our time together as a band to this point has been a whole new experience of ourselves as Anishinaabe people and truly powerful and uplifting to share as collaborators. So, when it comes to the legacy of indigenous art, we could not think of any other artist to cover than Buffy. Her song Eagle Man / Changing Woman is a curiosity to us and a place of origins to the individual growth we have both come to as artists, as sober beings and as collaborators. We seek to consistently evaluate and make positive change in our relationships; with our identities, with our people and connections, and especially those closest to us. Buffy has been part of that guidance to us and oh so many others. We just heard she is retiring from live performance and wish her well and share this in honour of her positive influence and legacy.”
Lost In Japan | Run
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Indie-rock band Lost In Japan craft captivating sounds that resonate with listeners around the world. “Our mission statement has always been that we’re here for you no matter what is going on in your life. Pretty much all of our songs are about overcoming obstacles and making it through hard times. Some ‘sad boy’ stuff with very uplifting chords,” frontman Addison Johnson states. Produced by Dan Brodbeck (Helix, Headstrong) and Matt Snell (Dua Lipa, Dermot Kennedy), their sophomore LP Night Talks is “an album about therapy through friendship.” Inspired by late night drives, it’s about the type of “conversations you can have with your closest friend that you can’t have with anyone else.” Run is the concluding track, written for their fans. “In an unsure career of being a musician, we wanted [them] to know we will continue this if they’re willing to join us for the journey.”
Jimmy Rankin | Harvest Highway
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “On Harvest Highway (out Oct. 13), Jimmy Rankin hits the road again, time traveling and traversing far-flung destinations — along with his native Nova Scotia — through his singular brand of East Coast folk-rock. He nods to Nova Scotia’s Highway 101 — running through the fertile Annapolis Valley and down the southern shore of the Bay of Fundy — with the album’s wistful title track, an Americana-tinged road tune with one eye on the asphalt and one on the figurative rearview mirror. Rankin teamed up with fellow East Coast hero Joel Plaskett, who produced and played multiple instruments on Harvest Highway. Recorded to tape with vintage mics, the expertise of engineer Thomas Stajcer, and contributions from studio session all-stars JP Cormier, Ron Hynes, Dale Murray, Jordan Murphy and Madison Violet, its organic feel comes from its almost entirely live-off-the-floor takes, along with Rankin and Plaskett’s combined love for classic production.”
