Dan Bejar started Destroyer as a solo home-recording project in the early to mid-nineties. Exploring and overturning genressuch as glam, MIDI, yacht rock, & even underground Spanish independent artists, Bejar was proclaimed “Rock’s Exiled King”
Dan Bejar: vocals, midi marimba on track 8
Ted Bois: piano, yamaha d-50 on track 3
Nicolas Bragg: electric guitar
David Carswell: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, midi tuba on track 4
JP Carter: trumpet, effects
John Collins: bass
Joseph Shabason: saxophones, flutes
Josh Wells: drums, congas, bongos and various percussion
Luke Sital-Singh sings songs of love, longing and grief in this stirring performance of “Afterneath” and “Killing Me.” These are the songs I just never tire of hearing and I never tire of writing, because they make me feel less alone,” Sital-Singh says.
I’m not sure if you’ll remember because, you know, there’s a lot of stuff that goes on these days. But back in April of this year I was asked to perform at the TED Global event in Vancouver, and I said yes, obviously. It was an amazing privilege and I’m super excited to tell you that the video of my performance is now live on Ted.com.
I was asked to perform two songs and speak a little about what makes me tick as a songwriter. In my head my talk was entitled ‘Why sad songs are the most important songs’
So go give it a watch, it’s not long. And if you like it maybe share it with someone else you think would enjoy it too.Thank you, Luke x
Vancouver’s Dumb make whimsical slack rock that’s anything but. The band’s cool, campy outlook is both anxious and chill, enveloped in jittery rhythms and bright, fervent riffs. When Dumb settle down a bit, like on the driving “Mint,” they are no less biting. The sprightly single has dual meaning, playfully referencing both money and the Dumb’s new label, Mint Records. “The song ‘Barnyard’ is about a character who is walking along a highway towards an event that they don’t want to attend, becoming delusional in the process. We also wanted to make this a danceable song”
Sub Pop Record’s latest introduction to the world, Jo Passed brings psych rock from a north-of-the-border region better known for more traditional indie. Pink Floyd and Sonic Youth are touchstones here, as this eclectic release establishes Jo Passed as the latest band to watch on a label that is known for bands to watch.
Jo Passed originally consisted of Jo and his friend and drummer Mac Lawrie. The two moved to Montreal together, and touredthe far-right corner of North America. After Jo’s return to Vancouver, multi-instrumentalist Bella Bébé joined the band in January of 2016, and multimedia artist Megan-Magdalena Bourne joined on bass, after working on a video for the song “Rage” (from Jo Passed’s ‘Out’ EP). The nicest thing anyone has ever – ever – said to Jo Hirabayashi, frontman of Jo Passed, is that his band’s debut album sounds like “fucked-up Beatles”. ‘Their Prime’, the full-length follow-up to Jo Passed’s two EPs, ‘Up’ and ‘Out’, does sound like fucked-up Beatles. It sounds like Lennon and McCartney discovered Can and Neu!, and maybe a little Sonic Youth and XTC along the way. It demonstrates that timeless knack for dreamy melodies – chord progressions that sound like they were created in a land far, far away.
Over the course of 10 years, Dan Mangan has gone from a bearded 20-something troubadour playing coffee shop open mics to earning top ten radio hits, scoring Hollywood films, and winning multiple JUNO Awards. Today, the acclaimed songwriter returns to the rich, earnest, sentimental songwriting that he started with as a bright-eyed singer/songwriter in Vancouver.
A new video for Fool For Waiting. You can watch me croon under the spotlight like they do on teevee. Big thanks to Aaron A for directing and putting this together.
From my perspective, this video isn’t meant to be revolutionary or shocking. It’s meant to subtlely convey how far we’ve come as a society in the last several decades. When I was fifteen, my mom took me out for dinner and informed me that our good family friend Liz would be moving in. I was raised in a very open-minded household and had never for a moment considered myself homophobic, but I completely freaked out. I was terrified of being the kid in high school with the “gay mom”. I stopped inviting people over. It took ages to tell my closest friends – to which (of course) they responded, “Obviously, we figured it out. Who cares?”. My mom’s partner, whom she has since married and is still with, has become such a crucial part of my life that it’s pretty much impossible to imagine our family without her. Love is love, and sexuality is not binary. World goings-on are currently worrisome, and we have a long way to go, but we are moving forward. This video celebrates these steps forward amidst the chaos. It’s about celebrating the normalization of a more diverse understanding of love.
If there’s anybody in your life that this message might resonate with, please do share this with them.
“Fool For Waiting” is about “finding someone who makes you feel less crazy, or at least someone who finds your craziness endearing because it’s real and honest,” says Mangan. “And that real, imperfect love is not always as fantastical or magical as a wild romance, but that it’s worth waiting for.”
Produced by Simone Felice (Lumineers, Bat For Lashes) and engineered/mixed by Ryan Hewitt (Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers), the song’s vocals, piano, and drums were recorded live off the floor as a duo with Mangan and Matt Johnson (Jeff Buckley, St. Vincent). “The take feels a bit imperfect in a nice way,” says Mangan. “There’s a moment at the end where I chuckled on the line ‘Oh, and they tell me’. Simone liked it because he couldn’t tell if I was laughing or crying. And ain’t that just life…
The Orange Kyte is an experimental music project with a manifesto to release music in various shapes and forms varying in fidelity and approach but always drawing heavily from a love of ethereal tones, fuzz, reverberation and all things psychedelic. Introducing Stevie Moonboots and a revolving cast of collaborators and cohorts, musical and otherwise. Vancouver, British Columbia’s The Orange Kyte is an exercise in boundless sonic tomfoolery with an emphasis on mind expansion and continuous evolution.
Vancouver all girl trio The Courtneys are exponents of a catchy harmonic new wave pop, whilst also being home to some very gnarly guitar textures. Their sound is fat and driving, and, on “Minnesota,” Courtney Garvin’s guitar manages to sound like an overdriven keyboard. Vocalist Jen Twynn Payne is also the band’s drummer and she keeps the rhythms lean and uncluttered. The highlight is the closing “Frankie,” where Twynn Payne’s sad autumnal vocal melody is kept in motion by a precise motorik groove.
The Courtneys have such a sweet and amazing sound. I can’t quite identify what it is about their music that I find so completely endearing, but I absolutely love it. The combination of fuzzy guitars and driving beats along with Jen’s vocals (and a hint of 80’s nostalgia) make the Courtneys one of the bands I never tire of and look forward to hearing more from. This album has made the the lengthy wait since their last release worthwhile.
There may be trace elements of Sonic Youth or Joy Zipper in their sound, but over the spread of this album, The Courtneys create their own distinct world. Sunshiney slacker pop with just a pinch of melancoly that could have featured on one of my cool older sister’s pre-grunge mix tapes from the early 90s. Both this and their debut album are absolute gems, beautiful harmonies, fuzzy guitars. just pure happiness. reminds me of the days when Blake Babies were ruling indie pop. the contrast of vox and guitar noise is beautiful. Sunshiney slacker pop with just a pinch of melancoly that could have featured on one of my cool older sister’s pre-grunge mix tapes from the early 90s. Both this and their debut album are absolute gems.
Louise Burns is a artist is from Cranbrook, BC. When she was just 15, she was signed to Madonna’s Maverick label as bass player of all-girl rock group Lillix. Now based in Vancouver and signed as a soloist to Light Organ Records, always ready to participate in various projects including new wave band Gold and Youth, this slayer released her third solo record in early 2017. It earned a Polaris Prize nomination. The album is introspective, guitar-oriented new wave with some strokes of synth, New Orderesque high-pitched bass pulses, and tight drumming.
But there’s more to the opus. Track “Strange Weather” sees her master the country-inspired genre, complete with lap steel! The tunes are deliciously shadowy, and her bright vocals and energetic delivery give it a sunny glaze. There’s the charming “Pharaoh”, the delicious “Moonlight Shadow”, the dreamy and dazzling “Hyesteria”, and the gliding surf of “Who’s the Madman”, the latter as good as anything done by Echo and the Bunnymen. This is yet another ace for one of Canada’s most underrated talents, and her best work to date: great singer, songwriter, and musician.
Vancouver garage-rock trio The Courtneys are the first non-New Zealand band to sign to Flying Nun Records, an independent label known for its influential catalog of 1980s and ’90s guitar pop. Fitting for the band, devoted students of the sound they now recall and push forward with their sophomore LP, expanding the “jangle without sacrificing their cozy, lo-fi charm,” . Blending punk simplicity with hearfelt lyrics and good old-fashioned fun, these are bold songs “to be shouted into hairbrush-microphones everywhere.” Former tourmate Mac DeMarco once asserted: “The Courtneys are gonna melt your face off.”
Indie fuzz rock trio The Courtneys debuted in 2013 with a set that impressed on an international scale. The Courtneys II. The aloof, sugary singing from drummer “Cute Courtney” binds nicely with “Classic Courtney’s” exciting phaneritic guitar work. Together with “Crazy Courtney” on bass, the trio takes us on a highly engaging ride through lo-fi slacker culture and bubble-gum garage punk. The disc opens with “Silver Velvet”. “Country Song” bursts with a wall of guitars, the album’s standout jam. “Lost Boys” pays tribute to the 80s’ vampire craze while surf rock dresses up “Mars Attacks”. This was easily 2017’s best rock album.
“Young Mopes,” a record full of witchy, Stevie Nicks-esque gestures, Go-Go’s-inspired harmonies and chiming guitars. The “madman” of the opening track “make-believes that everything’s just fine.”…the album’s 10 songs thread the needle between darkness and light, evoking the hazy twilight world between waking and dreaming. “Young Mopes”embraces this existential crisis and addresses them through beautiful, glittering new-wave.
“Her demeanour at once relaxed and commanding, Burns effortlessly glided through her set, laughing with her band in between songs, bantering with the crowd and consistently delivering rich, velvety vocals. She swayed with her eyes shut as she strummed her low-slung bass, looking out steadily at the room on “Who’s the Madman,” a gorgeous and dreamily infectious cut from her new record.
“Young Mopes is her sharpest collection of songs, and one that finds her expanding on the scope of her ’80s-inspired goth pop to include such disparate influences as country music and the sitar.
The Fat Angel Sings 