Back in the Before Times, Hillsburn bravely ventured across the country to record at Vancouver, BC’s Soundhouse Studios, Monarch Studios and Menagerie Studios with Grammy-nominated producer Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, The New Pornographers, Mother Mother). It would prove to be their final album as a quintet. In July, Hillsburn’s chief songwriter, Paul Aarntzen announced that he would be departing from the band.
Old cars are curious things. Over time, like a good partner, we come to appreciate their little eccentricities, the things that give them character, define their personalities. Those warning lights? That’s just their way of saying they love you. But every car has its day and they all eventually head off into the sunset. The debut single from Dartmouth’s Book Buddies, “Neon,” is an ode to one car in particular, but it stands in for all the first cars we’ve all had. Continue reading Book Buddies Debut with Love Ballad to an Old Dodge ‘Neon’→
The latest single from Prince Edward Island’s Justyn Thyme is a delightfully uncomplicated folk song that—in the way that seems to pervade PEI folk songs on some level—wistfully evokes life on the island. “Return Me” may be Justyn’s contemplation on what it means to be human and the winding journey toward authentic self-expression, but it all seems to inevitably circle back home. Continue reading Justyn Thyme Carves Out a Folk Portrait of Himself on New Single ‘Return Me’→
The Cape Breton-rooted, Ottawa-based electro-rock duo of Jay Bonaparte and Michelle Opthof, AKA Paragon Cause, continue their work with producer Sune Rose Wagner (The Raveonettes) but, in the context of our new reality, they’ve shifted away from their traditional melancholic sound in favour of something more optimistic. “Making Up For Lost Time,” their latest single, sounds like a backhanded compliment; it’s optimistic, but the last year has brought the bar so low that accomplishing anything at all sounds like a win. Continue reading Paragon Cause Optimistically Long for Any Future on New Single ‘Making up for Lost Time’→
