Is it just me, or has it been a weird day in the music world? For those keeping score at home, let’s recap:
• Daryl Hall took out a restraining against John Oates,
• The Hives revealed they want to “franchise” themselves,
• Rick Ross is hiring a flight attendant for his jet — and the job pays $100K,
• The day after cancelling their final Ottawa concert, KISS axed tonight’s Toronto show because Paul Stanley has the flu,
• Tyler, The Creator suggested everyone go back to releasing music on Tuesday instead of Friday,
• Axl Rose was accused of committing sexual assault in 1989,
• A New York bus driver claims he cowrote Tupac’s Dear Mama,
• David Lee Roth is interested in touring with Sammy Hagar next year.
With all that going on, who has time to sift through hundreds of emails to find the best new Canadian songs of the day? Well, I do. So let’s get started:
Joey Stylez | The Wild
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Recognized as one of the top Canadian rappers of all time, chart-topping Cree hip-hop artist Joey Stylez credits his success to faith, family, and commitment after overcoming the struggles common to North American Indigenous youth. With many awards and accolades under his belt, he cites that the greatest award he has ever received is knowing that his strong work ethic has inspired others to succeed. On his new self-produced single The Wild, Joey calls back to the hip-hop basics that his fans appreciate. Says Joey: “As Native Americans, we pride ourselves in being land protectors and social rights activists, but on this one, we just wanted to create a mood that could lift people from their problems.”
Ghostly Kisses | Golden Eyes
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ghostly Kisses (aka Margaux Sauvé), is sharing the video for her recent single Golden Eyes. Blending spirited melodies with a touch of wistful nostalgia, and weaving in U.K. garage beats by George Fitzgerald and Louis-Étienne Santais (who offered production on the track), this fresh single unfurls a narrative of romantic awakening within the intricate dynamics of friendship. It’s a track that stands tall, buoyed by Ghostly Kisses’ self-awareness and songwriting prowess. With spellbinding vocals, coupled with ingenious wordplay, “Golden Eyes” boasts an infectious hook that lingers. The video opens with Margaux addressing the camera with the words, ‘I’ve got something to tell you’, hinting at an impending revelation. The singer appears somewhat uneasy in front of the camera, and the scene transitions from a cold and sterile photoshoot to the countryside, ultimately culminating in a vivid red world — a subtle nod to Ghostly Kisses’ upcoming second album, release date TBA.”
The Effens | Someone’s Gonna Get You (ft. The OBGMs & Denz Junior)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hailing from Toronto, The Effens deliver a dark, razor-sharp grunge-glam sound, channeling the raw energy of ’90s grunge and the defiant spirit of early-aughts indie-rock. Infusing their music with honeyed pop melodics and contemporary post-punk creativity, they craft a gripping and wild musical experience. In one of the coolest collaborations, The Effens teamed up with Denz Mcfarlen from Canadian punk band The OBGMs for Someone’s Gonna Get You. Not only did Denz complete the song with his vocals, but he also shared lyrical input. It’s about the fear and paranoia that people are contending with right now. “There was an understanding about the concept of the song and I was excited to hear Denz take those ideas and elevate them,” says songwriter Austin Fannin. “After he recorded his verse I completely changed my vocals and lyrics for my verse in the song. It was a great back and forth, making the song better in a way that is not possible writing alone.”
Beth Baines | Nepeta
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Beth Baines is an emerging singer-songwriter in Toronto. She has previously written and recorded material with the band Dream Whip and released music under the name Brushsigns. Beth has performed with acts like Sheer Mag, Shannon & The Clams and La Luz. Thematically, Beth’s new single Nepeta is about the material and immaterial possessions we carry with us to navigate periods of isolation. These can manifest as physical objects, like a Nepeta cutting we plant in a garden, memories of friends, or a song we listen to on repeat to hold onto a certain feeling. Imagine if Mitski was inspired by Felt and Cocteau Twins. This is what Nepeta sounds like.”
Waash | I Want To Be Good
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Over the past decade, Andrew Bishop has carved out his spot as one of Vancouver’s go-to pop polymaths. He concocted catchy garage anthems as the guitarist of Alex Little & The Suspicious Minds, acted as the sideman in the pop-noir combo Twin River, and made country-tinged solo tunes as White Ash Falls. Along the way, he’s built up an ever-growing resume as a producer. Now, Andrew has channeled all of it into the new project Waash, which combines his prolific songwriting with a love of towering shoegaze soundscapes. It’s both a culmination and a new beginning. The five songs that make up his self-titled EP were written slowly but steadily as Andrew took plenty of time to tinker with demos and build intricate arrangements from the ground up. His meticulous approach can be heard in the way EP opener I Want To Be Good ascends from the echoing strums of its intro towards a cloud-parting widescreen crescendo.”
Action Forever | Loveless Love
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sim, the bandleader of Action Forever, grew up in Brantford, Ont. His obsession with music began at age five and, for the next two decades, his natural talents were fostered by a musical family upbringing and constant exposure to a unique and eclectic mix of influences ranging from ’80s pop to prog, jazz and indie. He’d been working for years on a body of original fringe-pop for a four-piece band, now to be released under the name Action Forever. The music, while lively, electric, melodic, and danceable, explores darker themes such as loneliness in a digital age, abusive relationships, loss of identity, and mental health. Loveless Love was written from the POV of a man suffering from online sex addiction and parasocial relations. “Loosely, the song tells the story of a man who is entranced by the world of live online sex, so much so that he gives up who he is: His morals, his dreams, his money, etc. for virtual transactional relationships with performers which he ultimately falls in love with,” says Sim. “I want the listener to feel the tension of the main character’s struggle — the struggle of addiction.”
LAL | Spectacular
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This Friday, LAL (Nicholas Murray and Rosina Kazi) will release their eighth album and film project Spectacular, which brings together amazingly talented artists whom they have worked with throughout the group’s 25-year history. Today they are sharing the album’s title track. Kazi says, “In the midst of the pandemic, while investigating my heart and spirit and a broken heart, I realized that we are incredible just in being ourselves, and that we don’t have to live in this attention oriented, hetero patriarchal world, that we are conditioned to believe in, even as queers or weirdos. That we need to find balance between ourselves and the world around us. That grief is always present but so is joy and that love of the divine, and their love in us, is what’s most important.”
Marshall Jacklin | Came Out Swinging
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Toronto alternative artist Marshall Jacklin’s first official single is a complete rearrangement of the song Came Out Swinging by the band The Wonder Years. Jacklin performed, produced and mixed everything in the track, with the exception of the wonderful saxophones played by Italian winds musician Alberto Di Priolo. Jacklin, a classically trained pianist has, developed an individual sound that is equal parts past, present and future. Ravel, Monk, Simone, Newman, Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse; they all reside in Jacklin’s sonic world. He says: “I am primarily interested in what songs can be, in my belief that they can exist beyond emotional immediacy; the form can express complex stories with the same diversity of subject as film, literature or painting.”
