Due to some bizarre combination of factors — including but not limited to nearly 500 new releases, the arrival of September, the first Bandcamp Friday of fall, a dozen or so sponsored posts and the random, fickle gods that control the Internet — today has been the busiest day this site has seen for some time. So thanks for that. Before we all part ways for the weekend, let’s keep that enthusiasm going just a little longer for the latest roundup of new singles and videos from these worthy Canadians:
The Bobby Tenderloin Universe | Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Bobby Tenderloin Universe are a band, a community, and a movement; but, most of all, they’re an excuse to don your western wear and give yourself over to the song and dance at the heart of every show. Bobby enraptures his audiences with his deep, rich voice and thoughtful, tender lyrics, rustling up a fresh new take on the old country we all love. Some say he exhibits the sincerity of Johnny Cash, the wit of Roger Miller, and vocal stylings and production sensibilities of Lee Hazlewood. Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch is a new song about guilt, how love is the only thing that can conquer it, and ego death. Bobby wants his listeners to remember that these human experiences are universal and that you’re not alone. “The lyrics came to me very quickly in a stream of consciousness kind of way, back in a time when I was the Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch,” he says. “The electric guitar riff was inspired by the riff in Baby, Please Don’t Go, and I kept the chords pretty simple, to not distract from the lyrics.”
His His | Get-Go
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “His His, the recording project of Toronto’s Aidan Belo, plans to release his new EP, Good Gold Cassette, on Nov. 15. Combining elements of Greenwich Village folk, contemporary indie roots and lo-fi analog production, His His creates something honest and melancholic. Good Gold Cassette is inspired by his dad, claims Belo. “One of the earliest memories I have with my dad is driving in his old Nissan pickup truck in the early 2000s, going to get 1,000 bales of discounted hay that a farmer that lived nearby was trying to clear his barn of to make room for the new harvested hay. I remember watching my dad pack 30 or so bales at a time bringing it from the farmer’s barn to ours. It took a long time, and it was blazing hot. Get-Go was written “after going through old voice notes on my phone,” says Belo. “New Recording 315 was a voice memo that had the guitar riff and verse melody, albeit with lyrics that were indistinguishable other than ‘I’ve got a new home.’ The track was centred around this original voice memo and the demo was written and tracked to my Tascam Portastudio.”
Ada Lea | Come On, Baby! Be A Good Girl For The Camera
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Montreal’s Ada Lea (aka Alexandra Levy) will release her new EP Notes on Oct. 4. Today, the celebrated songwriter shares the single, Come On, Baby! Be A Good Girl For The Camera, a song she wrote “while on a very challenging tour that took everything out of me. Over the years, I’ve developed a suspicion that your skin must be made of macho steel to ‘make it’ in the industry — you’ve gotta be able to suck it up, put a nice smile on your face, and do a little dance with a twinkle in your eye. The chorus runs with that belief, in a cheeky, non-committal and playful way.” Of the video co-directed with Lawrence Fafard, she says, “I’ve been a fan of Lawrence’s photography for quite some time now. I am in awe of their visual eye and how they combine physical materials to create a textured image. ‘Have you ever made a music video before?’ I messaged them one day. Their answer was, as I would have hoped, ‘No, but I’d love to try!’ We had two weeks to prepare. The next day, Lawrence called me up with a revelation: “I could approach this video as a combination of beautiful shots”. It was an eye-opening perspective for me, too — to remember that video, at its core, could be broken down simply, into a series of striking images. From there, things moved quickly and everything fell into place.”
Cuff The Duke | Ballad Of The Breaking Dawn
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With a foundation in Canadian roots-rock and a penchant for noisy guitar jams, Cuff The Duke’s unique blend of genres has consistently defied simple classification, earning them an honoured place under the umbrella of “alternative.” Their story includes six albums, a pair of Juno nods, countless miles on the road, sharing stages with Blue Rodeo, Hayden, Sloan, Nick Cave and Calexico… then, poof! A 10-year vanishing act. But like all great tales, theirs has a comeback: Their new album Breaking Dawn, a deeply personal exploration of frontman Wayne Petti’s journey with mental health. Petti, who has spent the past eight years working as an artist manager for acts like The National, Owen Pallett and Broken Social Scene, found himself struggling to balance his roles. “I struggled with the idea of working with incredible and inspiring artists in that capacity and still being an artist in my own way. I finally realized that the only thing stopping me was ME. There are no rules about how one can and cannot be creative. I realized that it didn’t matter to me how it came out and who listened to it; all that mattered was that I allowed myself to create something just because I finally felt that I needed to.”
Leif Vollebekk | Peace Of Mind (Evening)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Leif Vollebekk reveals Peace Of Mind (Evening), a memorable and melodious single co-produced and mixed by David Baron (Lumineers, Shawn Mendes). “This version isn’t even on the record,” he says. “It just wanted to be its own thing. It wanted drums off the top. It wanted to have jangly guitars and 80s synthesizers. I suppose I wanted it to remind me of the bliss I feel when a great song come on the radio on a late-night drive. Considering the title, it’s rather ironic that I’ve spent more time recording this song than any other. I’ve recorded four or five different versions of this song. The latest, called Peace of Mind (Evening), is the version that seems to include everything I’ve loved from each version that came before, including the vocal-heavy album version. I suppose it’s testament to how much the song means to me.”
Shealagh Rose | Radio Silence
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Shealagh Rose is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Hamilton. Lush with soulful vocals, addicting progressions, and beautiful string sections, her 2017 debut EP Island boasted the aesthetic of indie-folk anthems. Shealagh’s sophomore release teases of her earlier works while introducing grittier sounds and blending the lines between folk music and contemporary pop. With Radio Silence, the first single from her upcoming sophomore EP, Shealagh’s motivation to write the single came from a fallout with a friend where neither was speaking to each other. Sonically, the track was purposefully written with gritty guitar, synth, pads and a more emotional vocal performance to encapture the feeling of an argument in the composition. “Now, more than ever, I’m sure we’ve all experienced that feeling of isolation or feeling cut off from people; when efforts to reach out are met with an indifferent or brief response,” she says. “Or even when it becomes too much that making the effort to reach out to people just becomes bothersome, leading to a vicious cycle.”
Robert Thomas | A River Runs Through
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “East Coast Music Awards Entertainer of the Year nominee Robert Thomas is a natural storyteller. With an energetic and welcoming voice, he highlights the stories of our lives with empathy, energy and humour. Based in Moncton, N.B., Robert has written for Bonnie Raitt, The Chicks, Kenny Rogers and Mister Mister. His forthcoming album is produced by Juno winner Catherine MacLellan. Robert’s new acoustic single, the poignant and reflective A River Runs Through, came to fruition from multiple inspirations — the natural beauty of the Trout River, the passing of time and the later works of Johnny Cash. “As I grew older, particularly over the last five years into my mid-60s, I was surprised to find the same thing happening to me as a songwriter,” he says. “It strikes me that the road ahead of me is now very much shorter than the road behind. My children are grown and the river of my life is flowing inevitably away from me. Because I am not particularly spiritual, I think Cash’s later work opened the door for me to venture into the same territory – questions of mortality, God and what is still to come.”
