I am so thrilled to be working with three of the five nominees in the Roots Solo Artist of the Year category for this year’s Western Canadian Music Awards — Belle Plaine, Joe Nolan and Mariel Buckley! All well deserved — I wish they could all win, but we’ll have to wait for the awards ceremony in October. That’s plenty of time for you do discover their incredible work!
With under a month to go until the release of his new album Cope on April 18, Toronto singer/songwriter Darcy Windover has released a new video for the single “Lonesome Feather.” It can viewed now exclusively at Great Dark Wonder.
The majestic Americana sound of “Lonesome Feather” is indicative of Cope as a whole, Windover’s most accomplished collection of material so far in his young career. Recorded with producer John Dinsmore (Kathleen Edwards, NQ Arbuckle) and his trusted band, including co-writer and duet partner Stacey Dowswell, the album sparkles with sonic and emotional depth recalling classic Tom Petty and Blue Rodeo records, but with an immediacy that places Windover squarely in the conversation about the best up-and-coming Canadian roots rock artists.
“Lonesome Feather” follows on the heels of the first single from Cope, “How To Be Lonely,” proceeds from which Windover donated to Cam’s Kids, a non-profit charity offering support to youth struggling with anxiety. Windover had previously entered “How To Be Lonely,” in the 2017 CBC Searchlight competition where it was named a regional finalist.
With other songs on the album dealing with issues surrounding mental illness, Windover has made one of the most inspiring and uplifting albums of the year. Its title, Cope, pretty much says it all.
Cope Album Launch: Thurs. April 18 @ Dakota Tavern, Toronto (7pm-9pm) TICKETS
The wait since last fall is over! Tomato Tomato have officially released their new album Canary In A Coal Mine today, and it’s a beauty.
It marks a significant creative step forward for the Saint John, New Brunswick-based roots rock outfit led by Lisa and John McLaggan, having been recorded at Nashville studio The Bomb Shelter (Alabama Shakes, Margo Price) with producers Jon Estes and Andrija Tokic, along with some of Music City’s finest musicians.
The result is a potent display of everything that’s made Tomato Tomato one of the most beloved groups on the Canadian folk music scene in recent years, from John’s inventive songwriting to Lisa’s unforgettable Neko Case-esque vocals.
Get it through tomatotomato.ca
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Listen to “Make My Head Go” on Spotify’s New Music Friday Canada playlist!
Or hear it at Amazon Music Canada’s Fresh Folk & Acoustic playlist!
https://music.amazon.ca/playlists/B07NRLXLGV?ref=dm_sh_f042-9133-8ad7-89d8-75101
After establishing himself as a pop-friendly troubadour with his 2013 debut While It’s Still Light Out, Starts And Fits (Believe Digital), displays Andrew Austin‘s dynamic musical evolution over the past several years. The album grew out of Austin’s work as musical director on the Disney/Family Channel show Backstage, and found Andrew collaborating with award-winning producer James Bunton (Donovan Woods, Vivek Shraya) who also mixed Starts And Fits for maximum earworm-inducing effect.
“Coming out of two years of [Backstage], I was suddenly faced with the challenge of writing for myself again,” Andrew says. “One thing I knew was that I didn’t want to play guitar at that moment, I just wanted to go into a room with a piano or a synthesizer and make sounds that way. That became the foundation for this record, trying to step away from doing things like I’d always done them with a traditional singer/songwriter mindset.”
Andrew also revelled in the ability to write from an adult perspective again, and overall Starts And Fits is the sexiest collection he’s offered thus far. Moreover, as the process unfolded and Andrew felt like he was finding a new voice, he had to keep some of his best ideas for himself while continuing to co-write with other artists like Donovan Woods, Emm Gryner, and Bobby Bazini, as evidenced by another of the album’s highlights, “Church Music.”
What it all adds up to is Andrew Austin’s emergence as one of Canada’s most dynamic singer/songwriters. While chances are that up until now you’ve heard his music in one form or another, with Starts And Fits he is ready to join the ranks of contemporary pop’s biggest names.
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Ask any artist why they make music and chances are they’ll say that, at least in part, it’s a form of therapy. That was definitely true for Darcy Windover as he made his latest album whose title, Cope, pretty much says it all.
For the Toronto-based singer/songwriter originally from Sarnia, Ontario, the new 10-song collection is the summation of a difficult period, encapsulated in the album’s first single “How To Be Lonely.” Sales of the song are being donated to Cam’s Kids, which offers support to youth struggling with anxiety.
PURCHASE “HOW TO BE LONELY” HERE
Windover had previously entered the song in the 2017 edition of CBC’s Searchlight contest where it was named a regional finalist. That momentum helped Windover complete Cope a year later with producer John Dinsmore (Kathleen Edwards, NQ Arbuckle) and his trusted band, including co-writer and duet partner Stacey Dowswell. Together, they built on the foundation of “How To Be Lonely” with songs that look at the causes and effects of mental illness from various perspectives.
“That song was written a few weeks after my mother was moved into a nursing home in Toronto,” Windover explains. “Having spent most of her life in Sarnia, and in spite of being closer to her sons, she said, ‘Well, I guess this is how to be lonely.’ That phrase stuck with me and the song wrote itself in about five minutes. The intention was to capture the feeling of someone who is feeling overwhelmed, mentally fragile and alone.”
But what perhaps is most impressive about Cope is its immediate sonic appeal, particularly for anyone who appreciates classic Ryan Adams and Tom Petty records. As a songwriter, Windover is cut from the same cloth, emphasizing melody, hooks and atmosphere above all else, with a little twang for good measure. Sure, melancholy is unavoidable, but never as a distraction from pure songwriting craftsmanship. With a wealth of experience embedded in it, Cope marks the formal arrival of a major voice within the Canadian roots rock scene.
I’m very excited to be working with Dave McEathron, co-founder of one of my favourite Canadian roots rock outfits, The Warped 45s. Dave’s new solo project Abandoned Companions, and The Abandoned Companions Companion Piece EP, are together a reaffirmation of his songwriting prowess. You can find out more at davemceathron.com, or click on the logo below to see No Depression’s post, including the new Southern Souls video for the standout track “Hell To The Heavens.”
Altering The Timeline, the debut release from PIQSIQ (pronounced “pilk-silk”), is a haunting five-song collection of otherworldly melodies built on ancient Inuit throat songs. True to throat singing’s traditional form, each track is an improvised plethora inspired by the soundscapes around us and infused with the guttural emotions that deliver the human experience in all it’s pain and glory.
Altering The Timeline is available now on Bandcamp, and will be officially released January 25 on Coax Records.
With a style perpetually galvanized by darkness and haunting northern beauty, Tiffany Ayalik (of JUNO-winning duo Quantum Tangle) and her sister Kayley Mackay join forces with Ruby Singh and his arsenal of eclectic rhythms and beats to form PIQSIQ. Together they create an experience that leaves the listener enthralled with the infinite possible answers to the question “what is the meaning of life?”
The project was sparked during a spontaneous jam session next to the Bow River at 2018 the Calgary Folk Music Festival. As the sisters throat sang, Ruby beat-boxed and ideas began to flow from there. Two short months later, the trio converged at Vancouver’s Afterlife Studio where they put together the sounds that would became Altering the Timeline.
Opening track “Akuglugu” — roughly translated from Inuktitut as “then you stir” — can be heard now at Roots Music Canada, and watch the album trailer below.
