The Penske File – “Come What May”/ “Oh Brother”
Dig out your studded belt and slip on your checkered Vans and listen to these two tracks from Burlington band The Penske File. “Come What May” (sadly not an Attack in Black cover) and “Oh Brother” rattle with the pop-punk energy of the genre in the early 2000s. These songs are fun and angsty and should only be listened to very loudly. – Laura Stanley
Doug Hoyer – A Trio of Quartets
Blog pal Doug Hoyer doesn’t rest for too long. After the wonderful Stepping Stone LP earlier this year, he took on a new challenge: string arrangements. The result is this pretty little EP, with three of Hoyer’s previous songs performed by a string quartet. With Keiko Ishibashi and Scotty Allen on violin, Maria Kindt on viola and Noah Johnson on cello, Hoyer’s songs sound like something you could hear in a ballroom. The synthy “A Link to the Past,” the ukulele-filled “Oh, the Wind Will Blow” and the adorable “To Fall in Love” all soar on strings. – Michael Thomas
Jeremy Dutcher – “Honor Song”
Jeremy Dutcher’s “Honor Song” – sung in the Wolastoqey language – is a force. Dutcher’s operatic voice alone is such a powerful instrument but combined with a touch of electronics and a cinematic strings section, “Honor Song” stretches to breathtaking heights. Watch out for what should be a stunning record early next year. – LS
Seaborne – “Hypnotise”
Seaborne have moved from Vancouver to Montreal and have released their first single in French. The result is a fairly streamlined song, with a sprinkling of keys backing Maryse Bernard’s vocals for most of the song. As the song moves on, her vocals layer on top of another, creating a, you guessed it, fairly hypnotic effect. –MT
VISSIA – “I Wanted”
VISSIA’s “I Wanted,” off her forthcoming album Place Holder, is about wanting a lot of things but not being certain about any of those things. The track has a steady and bright beat that makes me think VISSIA is strutting around her home of Edmonton knowing that the world is hers, she just has to make a decision. – LS
Jonojosh – “Chance”
Jonojosh impressed us last year with his Outside EP and he’s back with another brilliant offering, “Chance.” There’s a long story to this song, but it began years ago when he met a woman who was dealing with terminal cancer. What began as a song that tried to delay her passing eventually became a song of hope. The jazzy keys and Jonojosh’s powerful vocals make this another beautiful entry in his impressive catalogue. –MT
GIRL/VICES – “Paper Skin”
I’m getting some heavy Grouper vibes from “Paper Skin,” a droney-folk track from GIRL/VICES’ forthcoming album Leech. Grace Papineau-Couture (GIRL/VICES) sounds so far away like maybe she’s hiding in bed under multiple covers and singing. Paired with some heartbreaking imagery (“Let your nails tear into me/My paper skin/Tear into me/I’m paper thin”), “Paper Skin” is a heavy track that deserves your full attention. – LS
Baby Drayton – “Shia LaBeouf”
As an unabashed fan of everything Christian Hansen has put out, I was thrilled to hear he and Molly Flood have resurfaced as Baby Drayton. His vocals and witty songwriting are still there, but he’s taken a much softer touch to his music. Just a strummed guitar and sparse notes on the keys back this sweet song about “acting like Shia LaBeouf” (ie going bonkers) and realizing that you can’t do that shit as you get older. It’s immensely satisfying. –MT
