The new Victory Chimes record, When The Fog Rolls In, is the new project from Montreal rocker, Jeff Louch. Their first full-length album follows the release of two previous EPs. 

In 2020 Louch was awarded a scholarship to the International Songwriter’s program at the Banff Centre of the Arts as well as the Quebec Council of Arts Research and Development grant which facilitated the writing of a new Victory Chimes record. The band recorded through the fall/ winter of the pandemic 2020-21.

“Conductor,” the second single from the upcoming album, was one the songs from the record written in a small studio room with only a grand piano at the base of Sleeping Buffalo Mountain at the Banff Centre of the Arts. The song’s backdrop was inspired by this immense and powerful landscape where the Earth meets the Heavens. 

Louch explains, “The main character believes they occupy and control this realm making ridiculous claims – a personification of some of the modern egoism we’ve seen lately in politics and culture.  The twist comes at the end when we find out our character is only a child caught up in an absurd fantasy.”

The new album, When the Fog Rolls In, arrives on May 20.

Dive into more music here: https://victorychimes.hearnow.com/

Vancouver alt-rock duo Dear Rouge have released Spirit, their third full-length album. Spirit is a call to live a freer, more courageous life. It’s a battle cry, and the cover art reflects the traces of the fight on lead singer Danielle McTaggart’s face. Spirit is an inspiration to its listeners to be bold and brave; to foster, to create, to encourage and to celebrate ourselves and others.

They plead outwardly for the energy to continue onward and upwards on new single “Gimme Spirit.” This is an especially important plea given that the song title is the defining essence of both the band and of Danielle herself.

Listen to “Gimme Spirit”: https://dear-rouge.bandcamp.com/track/gimme-spirit

“We wrote this song in a time of uncertainty and fear of the future. The lyric that stuck

was “take me back to why we started in the first place”. We felt this sense that if we could remember the whole reason and core desire to make this record, then the heart and passion would just come. We just knew it was special; this song brings us hope, and ended up being the title track for the album.”

The band recorded Spirit secluded away from busy cityscapes. Drew and Danielle took up residence in a lakeside cabin shortly after the release of PHASES, their sophomore record. The duo found themselves spending their days alone together, and Spirit began to take form over the winter months. “This album is a capsule of the space we’ve been in over the past few years.” Danielle shared, “Our hearts are in this album more than any other. It’s intimidating to release an album so personal to us but so worth it. Life is meant to be shared and we get to do it through our music. It’s such a huge honour we don’t take for granted. We hope this album brings others the same sense of healing and hope as it does for us.”.

Jozem is a Toronto-based artist via Kenya and Rwanda, who establishes his artistry through meaningful, expressive music that’s thought-provoking, sincere and relatable. Still something of a best-kept secret, Jozem has impressed audiences with his intimate and expressive performances, anchored by a voice rich in emotion and texture. 

His nostalgic new song “Youth,” is the second single to be released from his sophomore project, it came to me in a dream (out May 20th). The song is written in thanks to the kindred spirits you encounter in your life that live unapologetically, and help mold you into the person you become. 

https://fanlink.to/youthh

“I have felt like an outsider my entire life, whether it was because of my introversion, being a refugee/foreign, at times because of my blackness or my queerness or any combination thereof,” said Jozem. “‘Youth’ is about walking in one’s own truth, a celebration of being different, of marching to the beat of your own drum in a world that oftentimes will not acknowledge or understand you. It is about struggling to, but ultimately finding one’s voice and choosing to use it whether it falls on deaf ears or not.”

Ink Sticks & Stones is the moniker for Toronto-based composer-musician, Ai Rei Dooh-Tousignant. Being of mixed descent, she is constantly searching for different ways to express her many cultures, and openly advocates for a more inclusive Canadian music scene.

“Catharsis,” a conflicted yet hopeful neoclassical composition, was written during a period of personal physical rehabilitation following a brain injury that Dooh-Tousignant continues to recover from.

Dooh-Tousignant explains “Catharsis” as “a way to process how one can feel after finding some stability after an event that has overturned one’s life. 

It’s that moment when you know the worst is over, but the end is still far off. 

There is a tension in that stability; that things aren’t okay at the moment, but perhaps they will be eventually.”

Heartfelt lyrics and emotive vocals have helped Jade Hilton evolve into her distinctive sound. The singer/songwriter fuses earthly folk melodies over alt-pop beats. After graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign playing Division 1 tennis, she moved back home to Toronto and began releasing music. Now, she’s unveiling her debut album, Unrequited, produced by Dominic “Dot” Okune and Kenny Muto.

“Not My Type” is about embracing a casual relationship, even if that means dating someone strictly for their looks. “Although you don’t have anything in common, it’s still a lot of fun and carefree to be together.” Jade elaborates, “I wrote a series of songs related through the theme of unrequited love. I wanted to share my value of female empowerment through this album, so my fans know that they are not defined by their relationships. They have the power to lead and become themselves.”

Stan Lynch, the original drummer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and singer-songwriter, Jon Christopher Davis (JCD), have joined forces to create The Speaker Wars. Together they are a powerhouse of sonic goodness.  They wrote and recorded for years for their own pleasure and now finally feel the time is right to share their music with the world.

Their first single as a band, “Never Ready to Go,” dropped Friday – April 22, 2022. It was written for JCDs wife who has been with him since high school and pretty much any woman on the planet would feel honored to have a ballad like this written about her.

About the track, Jon says: “My high school sweetheart, and partner of 36 years, is the inspiration behind the song. Anytime I’m with her, I’m never ready to go.“

JCD sounds like a more gravely Bryan Adams with a touch of Don Henley thrown in for good measure and if you are a Heartbreakers fan you will feel right at home with Stan’s distinguishable drumming (after all, the man is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame).  

The track is pure rock and roll and the song harkens back to the old days when air-guitaring along with the tracks was part of the listening experience. Speaking of guitar, Andy Timmons, who not only has 7 solo releases,  as a session player he’s been featured on albums by drumming legend Simon Phillips, a live CD with Olivia Newton-John (Andy has been her music director/guitarist for several U.S. tours), two Kip Winger albums as well as recording sessions for Paula Abdul, Paul Stanley, and countless radio and television jingles. Before that in Danger Danger, he toured the world opening for Kiss and Alice Cooper and sold over a million records worldwide. He also happens to be JCD’s neighbor.

Stan Lynch, turned to songwriting and producing and has written songs for Don Henley, Ringo, Toto, The Byrds, Rita Coolidge, Tim McGraw, Eagles, Eddie Money, The Mavericks, and The Knack. Jon Christopher Davis has written for and recorded with Dolly Parton, Timothy B. Schmit (Eagles), The Go-Go’s, Billy Ray Cyrus, Steve Lukather (Toto), Vince Gill, Radney Foster, Rodney Crowell and Hal Ketchum.

Speaker Wars “Never Ready to Go” is out now.

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