Welcome back to another edition of Canadian Beacon. I trust you’ve had time to have a good long think about what you did. Are you sorry? Well, OK then. I accept your apology. And in the spirit of forgiveness, I am willing to reward you with these new singles and videos from some of the finest musical artists singing for their supper within these borders. You’re welcome. Just mind your Ps and Qs from here on out:
Cuff The Duke | Seasons Come, Seasons Go
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With a foundation in Canadian roots-rock and a penchant for crafting noisy guitar jams, Cuff The Duke’s unique blend of genres has consistently escaped the confines of simple classification, earning them an honoured place under the umbrella of “alternative.” Six albums, a pair of Juno nods, countless miles on the road and stages shared with iconic acts like Blue Rodeo, Sloan, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Then, poof! A 10-year vanishing act. But like all great tales, theirs has a twist: Cuff The Duke have reemerged from the shadows. The band’s comeback album Breaking Dawn (out Sept. 6), is a deeply personal exploration of frontman Wayne Petti’s journey with mental health. For the single Seasons Come, Seasons Go, the band lament the passage of time and departures of old friends. The song took shape after their first manager, William “Skinny” Tenn, passed away of cancer and then a few months later, hearing the news that Dallas Good of The Sadies had also passed away. Those two individuals had a big influence on Petti’s early days as a musician.”
Busty & The Bass | Starstruck (The Breakglass Version ft. Jordan Brown)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Montreal indie collective Busty & The Bass return with a reimagination of their funk-pop single Starstruck (ft. Jordan Brown). The new version was filmed and recorded live off-the-floor in the band’s Breakglass Studio, capturing the group’s indelible connection as performers. Between the otherworldly falsetto vocals of Brown, the vibrant horn section, and Alistair Blu’s charismatic hook, the song is an infectious groove, leaving you wanting more. Starstruck is Part 1 of a series of three live performances filmed and recorded in collaboration with Montreal director/film-maker Guillaume Landry. “The track is an alternate take on the original version of the song and is generally more raw than the original,” the band say. “This version is live-off-the-floor and features the larger umbrella of musicians within the collective. Additionally, the track marks Jordan Brown’s shift from collective collaborator to a core member of Busty & The Bass. Landry’s vintage-styled video for the song matches effortlessly with the track’s themes of flashiness, glamour, and purity vs. corruption. His use of multiple frames throughout the video (with many shots taken from live show performances and backstage tour antics) gives the feeling of excess and requires several watch-throughs to internalize everything happening on screen.”
Leif Vollebekk | Moondog
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Leif Vollebekk reveals Southern Star, a poignant ballad including backing vocals by Australian singer-songwriter Angie McMahon and steel guitar by legendary Cindy Cashdollar. Leif’s new album Revelation will be out on Sept. 27. “I think this might be my favorite song I have ever written, and it took a while to reveal itself,” tells Leif. “I spent about two years waiting for the last verse to come. It was recorded in one live take with me on piano, Oliver on drums, Shahzad on bass and Angie, who happened to be in town, singing harmony. We added Rob Moose on strings and Cindy Cashdollar on steel guitar. I asked her to stretch out at the end, and, when she did, I just sat there in the control room, completely blown away.”
Eric Lankin | Labyrinth
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Montreal’s Erik Lankin is sharing a new window into the world of his upcoming debut LP The Icarus Album — a reinterpretation of the myth of Daedalus which Lankin has used to grapple with the loss of his father to suicide. The tormented conceptual opening track Labyrinth is set on a stormy island as Daedalus is trapped inside the prison of his own making. Descending, harsh modal clusters of the album’s classical string ensemble are paired with electroacoustic elements including static speaker tearing (borrowed from hardcore) and a low register heartbeat, pulsing out an eight-bit binary message saying, “I AM NOT OK.” Erik’s music flows between grief and torment to find places of hope, triumph and healing, reflecting his personal journey of coping with loss and finding meaning in music. His work is a testament to his talent, passion, and courage as a composer. He is dedicated to forging new paths for classical music to be expressed in the world.”
Bianca Lily | Too Much
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Young Toronto artist Bianca Lily’s journey into music was both organic and deeply personal. She began crafting songs at her family home, their melodies evolving through experimentation on the piano. Recording these creations for her debut Too Much EP was a natural next step, transforming their home into a foundation for studio sessions. Her music, a blend of boundary-expanding hyper-pop, offers listeners a vibrant mix of beats and melodies that challenge conventional pop norms. Too Much examines the fragility of friendships and the pain of betrayal. The title now serves as a declaration of strength and self-assertion. Recording this track was a transformative experience, blending personal narrative with cultural commentary. “Too Much is about people trying to push you around and getting the courage to stand up for yourself,” she says. “Earlier this year, I learned how fragile friendships are and how quick a friend can turn on you and then rally others against you over things that are not true. This is my response to a situation that really hurt me.”
Henry Taylor | Shoebox Of Money
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Henry Taylor is a Kitchener-Waterloo singer-songwriter who is gearing up to release his sixth album Sweet Thunder on Oct. 25. For more than a decade, he has been working with songwriting partner Monique Montgomery and recently with award-winning songwriters in Nashville including Cory Lee Barker, Mark Barnowski and Ri’chard Trest. His music is considered Americana with a mix of rock, blues, folk, and country. The uplifting single Shoebox of Money is a narrative about freedom and justice for a woman, delivered in country-rock fashion. “I wrote Shoebox of Money with Monique and Ri’chard,” he says. “We were in Nashville pitching MC1 and playing shows at Johnny Cash’s Storytellers and The Bluebird Cafe when Ri’chard invited us to his home studio in Old Hickory. We came up with this beauty after homemade beignets in his kitchen. It was inspired by a Neil Young lyric off the Greendale album, from the song Carmichael.”
Odd Marshall | Midsummer
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ontario’s Odd Marshall is that strange guy in the backwoods. His songs speak of world travels, but with this impressive debut, it kind of feels like he’s come out of nowhere. His forthcoming debut album Sand & Glue is a collection of songs both dark and bright. From start to finish, he takes listeners around the world with a strong backbeat and infectious hooks, with production by Don Kerr, Mike O’Brien on lead guitar and Jason Haberman on bass. If they’re not known as Canada’s Wrecking Crew, they should be. “Midsummer is inspired by a winter I spent in Karlstad, Sweden with three hours of sunlight,” he says. “I kept dreaming of the well-advertised Midsomer festival on the island of Visby.” In contrast to a lot of the darker material on Sand & Glue, this one is a respite from the globally imploding century we live in. There’s a time to focus on serious realities of the world, and then there are times when you want to shut it all out for a moment and sing a happy song. Go ahead, sing this one.”
Ariana Fig | How Do You Want Me?
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ariana Fig, born and raised in Hamilton, is a gifted and passionate musician whose love affair with music began at the young age of three. From her early days as a violinist in string ensembles and youth orchestras, to gracing the stages of musical theatre productions, Fig’s musical journey has been nothing short of extraordinary. At the age of 13, Fig’s creative spirit led her to explore the art of songwriting, and since then, there has been no looking back. Her journey has consisted of honest and heartfelt compositions and has become a powerful reflection of her evolving identity.”
Nicky MacKenzie | Come Back
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Nicky MacKenzie’s forthcoming Morals EP establishes the 23-year-old B.C. native as a gifted songwriter capable of both hauntingly poignant restraint and irresistibly catchy pop melodies. By focusing on the universalities that shape us — breakups, self-doubt, nights out — Nicky leaves space for her audience to unpack their own experiences. Following the themes of Morals, Come Back is about knowing something is bad for you but still returning to it over and over again.“I actually wrote this song a long time ago before COVID when I was taking audio engineering at school in Vancouver,” she recalls. “I was first developing the songwriting styles I knew I liked and Come Back came as a very fluid, lyrical, and almost experimental song at the time. Sometimes I like to write songs without thinking too much, almost word vomit the lines out and then figure out what it means after. It’s a good way to dig deep and surprise yourself. This was one of my first attempts at that and there are a lot of metaphors in this song for things I was going through at the time.”
