This week:
Loon Choir – Small Fires
Boygenius – Black Hole
Michael Wilford, Sail Cassady – Rattle My Bones
Old Fire – Mephisto
Snotty Nose Rez Kids – I got paid today
Mountain Goats – Clean Slate
Bar italia – world’s greatest emoter
Everything But the Girl – Nothing Left to Lose
Yeule – 4ui12
Loon Choir – Small Fires
My first two selections come from Surkeus a music label in the Maritimes – Spotify link
I talked to the founder and community member Josef Mieto at his record shop Bad Eyes Gallery in Kentville. We talked for a bit about music and the work he is doing promoting Canadian artists. Here is a short video from their website
The tracks Small Fires and Rattle My Bones come from their 2022 compilation album. I am going to feature other artists from Surkeus in the future.
Here is a little bit from their website
Surkeus (“Surkeus” is said the same way as “circus”) is a community, an artistic alliance, and a record label.
Since 2019, Surkeus has cultivated a unique identity in the Canadian arts and music scene by helping artists expand their creative communities by being a part of ours. As a community, we focus on working together as a force for good through fundraising, charitable events, and coordinating special projects and releases.
As a label, our focus is now mainly on physical releases (cassette, CD, vinyl) of special recordings. We also offer artists promotion, radio distribution, and agency.
Loon Choir is an Ottawa band that will be playing at Irene’s December 9
From their website
“The Ottawa indie rock collective has been going strong for just shy of ten years now. They formed early in 2009 and released Expansion Forces in 2010, a full-length debut. Onto the scene arrived Loon Choir, this seriously entertaining synth-rock ensemble with five vocalists, strings, and a super upbeat rhythm section.” – Apt613
Loon Choir’s music and lyrics allude to injustice and the destruction of nature. It’s a tall order to fill, and these musicians deliver with a live set packed full of enthusiasm, spontaneity, and sincerity.
The band released their fourth album, In the Age of Alienation, with a sold-out launch party at NAC’s prestigious Fourth Stage.
Loon Choir has been raising its profile nationwide for about 10 years, with highlight tracks featured on CBC, a successful cross-Canada tour in 2013, and a shortlist for the R3 Bucky Award for Rookie of the Year in 2012.
this is a great video of Loon Choir
Michael Wilford, Sail Cassady – Rattle My Bones
The second selection from the Surkeus 2022 compilation, Michael Wilford is a drummer from British Columbia. It turns out this is a Halloween song – he writes
“Rattle My Bones was written during and in response to the loneliness that came from the periods of pandemic-driven self-isolation during the winter of 2020. The song characterizes my depression and anxiety as a ghost in my closet but treats the heavy subject with a wink and a nod as the ghost ends up being a ‘nice surprise’ due to the break from the monotony. It is perfect for the crisp autumn weather (and the seasonal depression that comes with it) and its instantly singable chorus about ‘ghosts in your closet’ fits nicely with the upcoming Halloween season.”
He doesn’t have many likes on Spotify, but I really think he will be getting more – a great song.
Snotty Nose Rez Kids – I got paid today
I don’t think we have played Snotty Nose Rez Kids so I am out to rectify all this.
Not a feeling I get much of anymore, but these guys have come up with something fun. You have to watch the video – great sense of humour.
From CBC Songs You Need to Hear November 1
Snotty Nose Rez Kids’ latest single, “I Got Paid Today,” captures the euphoric feeling of when your bank account is healthily full. With a nod to Mean Girls in the intro (“Get in loser/ we’re going shopping”), the two Haisla rappers set the scene for a blinged-out ode to spending dollars. Teaming up with Cree and Salish singer Tia Wood and rapper Lex Leosis, who lend their glossy vocals to the track, Yung Trybez and Young D bring their signature humour to the infectious chorus: “I got paid today/ bitch we goin’ shopping/ don’t save for rainy days/ bitch we goin’ shopping.”
Bar italia – world’s greatest emoter
This is a terrific band and productive – this is their second album for 2023.
For a band that freely plays around in multiple genres, ‘World’s Greatest Emoter’ is as straightforward as Bar Italia have sounded on record. Solidly between driving indie rock and atmospheric post-punk, ‘World’s Greatest Emoter’ has all the hallmarks of a classic track, bolstered by the three-part shifting vocal lines that the band have made their signature.
All the new material makes one wonder if Bar Italia simply work fast or if they’ve been sitting on some great songs for a good long while. Notably, it’s only a few months removed from the band’s first album of 2023, Tracey Denim.
Whether it’s old or new doesn’t really matter, ‘World’s Greatest Emoter’ is another great addition to a growing discography of killer tracks. With any luck, Bar Italia will become the new King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, dropping multiple albums a year forever
Yeule – 4ui12
I don’t know what this song is about, but I really like it. Below we can read what it is all about.
The song “4ui12” by yeule explores themes of dehumanization, romanticization, and the transformative power of art. The lyrics suggest a complex relationship in which the narrator feels both objectified and idolized.
I found this track going through The Guardian always a great place to find out about new music.
Each project from Singaporean-British singer-songwriter Nat Ćmiel, AKA Yeule, comes as a surprise. Their 2014 self-titled debut EP was a blend of ethereal, processed vocals with melodically driven electronic production, while 2019’s Serotonin II album manoeuvred through dream pop and wistful electronica, and 2022’s breakthrough Glitch Princess produced shuddering dancefloor beats. Their latest record is just as unexpected.
great music – described as possessing “a driving, energising pulse.” (again, The Guardian)
Boygenius – Black Hole
boygenius is an American indie “super group” consisting of American singer-songwriters Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. Earlier this year they released their first full length album, The Record which this old fella happily purchased on a road trip to Montreal’s venerable record shop Cheap Thrills. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/cheap-thrills-montreal-downtown-records-vinyl-1.6189282
boygenius have now compiled an EP of four tracks that were not included on the album. 2023 simply entitled, The Rest.https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/boygenius-the-rest-ep-review-phoebe-bridgers-lucy-dacus-julien-baker-b1113110.html
Black Hole was chosen based on the mention in the lyrics of “having a dart on the back porch” I thought a dart as a term for a cigarette was solely Canadian but there you go. https://www.dictionary.com/e/canadian-slang/
Here’s great live version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0WZ4HNWV3A
Old Fire – Mephisto Iterations EP,
Old Fire is mainly producer/musician John Mark Lapham. Over the years, he has enlisted the help of various musician in his projects. One musician Lapham has used on more than one occasion is Bill Callahan. Callahan used to be in the band Smog but has released a ton of very cool music over the years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfEkegI3ySIexample
Callahan is featured as the vocalist on this atmospheric number Mephisto. https://pitchfork.com/news/listen-to-old-fire-and-bill-callahan-new-song-mephisto/
Mountain Goats – “Clean Slate” from Jenny From Thebes
The Mountain Goats are a Californian band formed in Claremont, California, led by and sometimes composed only of John Darnielle. For almost 30 years, he has been releasing quirky music under sometimes producing lo-fi recordings even on just a cassette deck boom box. Recent years Darnielle has used a full band and more sophisticated recording techniques. Apparently Steven Colbert and this old fella have the same favourite Mountain Goat’s song.
The new album Jenny from Thebes is his 22nd album! The album apparently serves as a sequel to the band’s 2002 release All Hail West Texas, which tells the story of the character “Jenny” Darnielle describes the album as being about “the individual and society”, and about Jenny’s “southwestern ranch style house, the people for whom that house is a place of safety, and the west Texas town that is uncomfortable with its existence.” Here’s the band performing the track “Clean Slate”
Darnielle is a pretty compelling guy https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/inside-john-darnielles-boiling-brain/ He is also a novelist. https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/1029937.John_Darnielle
Everything But the Girl – “Nothing Left to Lose” from Fuse
It’s really nice to see the return of the UK duo Everything But the Girl. For 40 years Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt have been making great music. I’m including my two absolute favourite tracks from many years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ME8T4S4cjA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8C4tQvMUkI
ETBTG have now released Fuse, their the eleventh studio album. It’s their first album in almost 24 years. The album was preceded by the single “Nothing Left to Lose”.
Welcome back! https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/everything-but-the-girl-fuse-1234708286/
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boygenius – “Black Hole” from The Rest EP
Whole-Hearted 
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