Let's Remember Aretha Before the Year's End

We lost The Queen of Soul this year, and before she becomes just another slide in a "We Remember" segment at a saccharine awards show, perhaps let's revisit one of her smirk-inducing moments from the greatest decade in cultural experimentation: the 1980s. See, a lot of people tried to reinvigorate their 60s and 70s soul careers in the 80s by synthesizing their sound, and for a long time, that music was thought of as dreadful.

New Flight of the Conchords Song

Hey son, why don't you come over here so we can talk man to man? I know it’s been a strange time lately with your mother being gone and you only seeing me once a week. You must have a lot of questions. Well, instead of boring you with all the gruesome details about your mother and I, just listen closely to the new Fight Of The Concords single, “Father and Son,” that was just released today. Oh, this is a live version of the song taken from their Live In London HBO special.

Maryze/Ciele Release "Men Like You"

The music industry has and continues to be an extremely tough place for female artists to navigate. There are so many upsetting stories that we have all heard and now the wonderfully talented ex-Vancouverite and current Montreal resident Maryze is here to share her story. Instead of trying to fill this space with platitudes about the track we would rather let Maryze and her producer Ciele tell their story and the inspiration behind this song in their own words. 

Mesa Luna Release "Feel Nothing"

As the year slowly lumbers to a close, there’s a collective sense of sinking into some sort of hibernation mode. The weather is gloomier, it’s dark earlier and this overall sense of ennui seems to be hanging permanently in the air. If any of this rings true for you then Mesa Luna has arrived with the perfect soundtrack. The pet project of Blue J’s Justice McLellan, Mesa Luna’s first single, “Feel Nothing”, off of its upcoming album Lash, is a swirly, shoegaze-y tumble into the best kind of melancholy.

Cherrie Laurel Releases New Material

Sometimes you wake up after having a dream that feels so real that you almost second guess yourself that it happened. The music of Cherrie Laurel, the pseudonym of multi instrumentalist, producer and singer Brittney Rand, occupies this space. Most of you may be familiar with Rand's former band, the danceable and ethereal Mu, and while the music of Cherrie Laurel may not be straying too far from that last project, Rand infuses her new work with an amazingly personal touch that everything becomes so very immediate.

Ladytron Release New Single in Advance of February Album

It's been a long time for Ladytron. So long, in fact, that likely none of you readers remember the time we had them DJ an ION anniversary party, around twelve to thirteen years ago. We should really congratulate and appreciate any act that not only made it out of the summer of electroclash with their careers (and septums) intact, due to the genre being one of the first to be born and die in the same year. Their newest single, "Far From Home" is actually a return to the Berlin (the band, not the city) sound they made their primary inroads with.

Vancouver's HUMANS on Going Forward and "Going Late"

Vancouver has had quite the burgeoning electronic music scene bubbling up from the city’s DIY spaces to the mainstream the last several years, and at the forefront of this movement have been local dance floor heroes HUMANS. Made up of the very chill and personable duo Robbie Slade and Peter Ricq, HUMANS have gone from performing for late night audiences in crowded after-hours spots to being nominated for a JUNO and traveling the world playing for gigantic crowds at massive festivals like Coachella.

Autogramm - Merging Musical Histories

Sometimes you need to look to the past to move into the future. As musicians that have played in a ton of successful and varied projects throughout the years, the three fresh fellows that make up Autogramm have embraced that sentiment. Drawing from the traditions of late 70s and early 80s pop and punk rock power trios, the band has found a fresh and fun take on modern pop music that doesn’t feel at all dated.

Gregg Allman - I'm No Angel

When he wasn’t jamming with his brother Duane, Gregg Allman was quietly rocking a different circuit: the American court system. Married a staggering seven times in his 69 years on this planet (nice), Allman’s legal fees were the stuff of legend. But rather than mellow out and trade in his motorcycle for a minivan, Allman embraced his bad boy status as he approached middle age, dropping the surprise hit album I’m No Angel while on the cusp of turning 40.

Old Man Canyon Releases New Single

Vancouver has the sneakiest music scene in North America. In Canada, Toronto is the centre of the musical universe and the consensus, worldwide, seems to be that anything else of value can only be found in LA or New York. Known as a city that is extremely hard to create art in, it seems that the talented musicians in Vancouver, if they are able to stick with it, create some of the best and brightest music that’s available anywhere. Case in point, Old Man Canyon.

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