If you’ve been wondering what Kandle Osborne is up to these days, wonder no more. The talented singer-songwriter — who is also the daughter (and sometime collaborator) of 54•40’s Neil Osborne — recently kicked off a new gig fronting L.A. country-rock upstarts Midnight Cowgirls. Actually, they’re kind of a supergroup, since the band also includes Eagles Of Death Metal drummer Leah Bluestein and bassist Jennie Vee, along with multi-instrumentalist Blaise Dahl and guitarist Rex Elle. And the connections don’t stop there: Vee (who is also Canadian) is married to Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, who produced the Cowgirls’ upcoming LP. How do I know all this? I went to see The Stray Cats last night and the Cowgirls were the opening act. It was only the band’s “seventh or eighth gig,” Osborne admitted, and while they’re obviously still getting their act together, they went over well with fans. Check out their debut video Giddy Up above — then follow it up with all the other new Canadian fare that came my way today. Giddy up, indeed:
Ontarians | Start Over
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Given what the world’s been through over the past several years, we’re all itching to start over. Ontarians have encapsulated that message on their new single, naturally titled Start Over, which is also the first taste of the band’s sophomore album, More How It Is, out Sept. 20. Befitting their name, Ontarians have a sound that could only be made by a group of guys raised on a steady diet of Neil Young, The Band, Blue Rodeo and The Tragically Hip. They demonstrated that on their acclaimed 2021 debut The Greatest Short Story Never Told, and now they’re back with new songs from co-founders Frank Deresti and Craig Smith. Deresti says, “Each song on the record tells its own story, but the album as a whole represents a period of time where the world seemed to offer more questions than answers, and preconceived assumptions were being challenged at every corner. Amidst the somewhat dystopian tone of some of the writing, there is a thread of curious optimism and light-heartedness that has become a calling card for us as a songwriting team.” Those elements are certainly present on Start Over.”
Cassidy Mann | Orlando Earrings
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “As a lyricist, singer-songwriter Cassidy Mann often reshapes a small moment into a powerful and poetic song that feels both personal and relatable. With family hailing from the community of Sagkeeng First Nation, her Indigenous heritage continually influences her music, specifically through her storytelling. While Mann’s first EP If It’s Not Forever presented a catalog of how her early relationships ended, her new single Orlando Earrings mulls over the feelings that come with diving head first into a new relationship. “But now I’m having thoughts about running away and you’re calling me back asking if I’m OK,” sings Mann. The song serves as a B-side to her previous single Disappointing the Internet, both written at a melancholy and magical time in Mann’s life. “I was going through a lot of big changes when I was 25, writing these songs. I’d just graduated college, moved back home, and started seeing someone new. I was figuring out what I really wanted, what I thought was valuable and I was entering a new phase in my life.”
Erik Lankin | Legacy
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Erik Lankin of Montreal is sharing a contemplative and soaring new release from his forthcoming debut LP, The Icarus Album. It reinterprets the myth of Daedalus as a metaphor for the loss of Erik’s father to suicide. In the tracks leading up to Legacy, Icarus has overcome his grief and torment, having learned new ways to fly on the broken wings which his father left him. During this piece, he reflects on and laments his father’s life and legacy. The soaring violin melody over reversed piano is suddenly and repeatedly interrupted to mirror the way that our lives are interrupted by death and grief. Nevertheless, Icarus finds a place of profound acceptance, expressed with a grand orchestral swell as he invites his father, flaws and all, to take his place among the honoured ancestors.”
Marshall Jacklin | Jonathan
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Disappointment is known to us all,” says Marshall Jacklin. “There are seasons we fail to achieve what we set out to accomplish. Sometimes, this is so painful we stop wanting altogether. The line between acceptance and defeat, between persistence and masochism, is difficult to navigate. These past few months I’ve grown so scared I don’t even feel the fear anymore — my oldest friend, big nothing, hocking its wares, professing itself as home. This is a character song. Still, like the speaker in Jonathan, I wish to find the courage to want again too. Musically, the piano arrangement pulls heavily from my love of the album Nina Simone and Piano! and vocally from Anohni’s speed-shifting vibrato. In the mix, subtle sonic choices, such as roughing up the reverbs by sending them through old radio speakers and heavily distorting some of the piano microphones through classic tube preamps, combine with modern vocal processing to deepen the intersection between the wearing of age and the excitement for being alive in the now.”
Kate Trajan | Amazon’s Dilemma
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “B.C. jazz-pop musician Kate Trajan shares her new single Amazon’s Dilemma. The second single from her new album Ancient Fires (due Sept. 20), Amazon’s Dilemma is an exploratory genre-bending track about the psychology of power. “On the surface, this is just another song about Amazon warrior women wondering whether they should be treating their male sex slaves any better,” says Kate. “But I wrote it as an exploration of how we treat each other when we become the ones with power. If we have been harmed by others, does that make us more or less likely to treat people with kindness and compassion when we are in control? This Amazon is feeling conflicted.”
Matías Roden | Glowing
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Matías Roden is a Peruvian-Canadian singer-songwriter in Vancouver. His debut EP The Plea serves as Roden’s formal introduction to this world; the official start of his journey as an artist. It symbolizes a mixture of helplessness and resilience — it’s what happens when you’re young and you lose hope in the things that you thought mattered in your life. “I think the classic ‘quarter-life crisis’ for a lot of young people feels like you’re being put on trial by your own hopes and dreams and others’ expectations for your life,” Roden explains. “It can feel overwhelming to realize that maybe your life isn’t going in exactly the direction you wanted it to go. So The Plea is a play on words of a plea deal at a trial where you’re both at the mercy of forces beyond your control but also wanting to defiantly assert yourself. It’s like I’m saying ‘I will get my life back together, I will get over this heartbreak or over this failure to live out my hopes and dreams, I will make them happen.’ ”
Paige Warner | Bitter
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With an evocative voice that captivates her audience, Ontario’s Paige Warner creates alt-pop music with soul-inspired vocal licks layered on catchy hooks of poetic lyrics. Her ultimate drive in life and music is to create moments for people to feel empowered and seen, whether in their sadness and pain, happiness and love, or confusion and uncertainty. A collection of songs spanning years apart, Warner’s debut LP Bitter/Sweet is themed to women’s empowerment, the aftermath of a breakup (whether bitter, angry, sad, or hopeful) and surviving abuse. “This album has taught me that life is so extraordinarily varied,” she says. “These songs are all from different eras and experiences in my life, yet they come together in this album as one body of work.” The album’s saucy and defiant focus track, Bitter, was produced to crescendo along with the lyrics of the song, growing bolder and more swung. “The word bitter is usually used in a negative way, but this song is about how being bitter is fun and is sometimes a better alternative to being broken-hearted.”
Chrome Daphne | Like It Does
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ben Cherry and Chris da Silva, the Toronto producer duo Chrome Daphne, blend their diverse musical tastes into a unique sound that’s both catchy and introspective. Childhood friends-turned-musical collaborators, their music bridges the gap between Ben’s affinity for bouncy melodies and Chris’ penchant for moody atmospherics. Their music, often likened to artists such as Jungle, Cabu and Two Another, has quickly gained traction. The upbeat new single, Like It Does, was written last year and changed unbeknownst to Ben by Chris recently while the former was in Australia and came home to a season change. The original production was dark and had been reworked into a brighter, more funky style. It made him feel a new connection to Toronto as the city entered summer, like hearing “unexpected sunshine.”
Hot Mud | Welcome To Humankind
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The first single from Hot Mud’s upcoming sophomore album Pink Cloud Pop, it’s a quirky anecdote about life seen from many perspectives. Through innocent eyes with wonder, curiosity, and endless possibility. Through begrudging demeanor focused on the looming inevitability of death. Surprise… no one gets out alive. From Hot Mud’s perspective, it’s a new beginning. It’s a miracle that he’s still alive; it’s a rebirth, a Welcome to Humankind.”
Nathalie King | You
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Toronto singer-songwriter Nathalie King is known for her sultry smooth low voice and an upper range that is soft and melodic. The music she makes is noted for its cinematic electro-pop and trip-hop style, while her sound expresses deeply rooted themes like mental health and emotional life experiences. King is currently working on her new EP PTSD which she plans to release in October. “I’ve been writing songs as a therapeutic means to overcome childhood trauma and depression throughout my life,” she says. “Working in the studio together in Toronto, PTSD has a more electronic and U.K. sound to it thanks to the contributions of Bristol-born producer Joseph Snook.” The new single You is about the many thick layers that people wear to protect themselves from a harsh world. Underneath all that is the vulnerable soft inner child that just wants to belong, be accepted and loved. The song’s intimacy is achieved through vocals and piano alone, sharing its message without big production.”
