Tel Aviv’s Roni Bar Hadas is following up her previous single, “Fear” with “Is It Love,” moving from explorations of self-love towards the bravery of being vulnerable within a relationship.

“I wrote this song about a guy I loved who was afraid to let me into his heart, after years of thinking that no one could ever contain his pain and demons,” explains Roni.

A softly melodic pop song that glides along, accented by gentle guitar and synths, “Is It Love” describes the confusion that Roni felt in this relationship. 

“I tried so hard to break my barriers and to be open-hearted so I would be able to love and be loved. When I finally had the courage to break my defensive walls, he wasn’t ready to break his,” she explains.

Check out Roni’s live performance of “Is It Love” via YouTube:

Melina Coolen is a Canadian musician, songwriter and audio engineer. Retropop influence is undeniable in her carefully self-produced sound and sophisticated songwriting style. She fuses that trademark sound with folk, jazz and progressive rock colourings in her sophomore EP, Windows. 

“I Believe in You and Me” featuring Sarah Frank (The Bombadils) was written in self-comfort, to persevere and move forward through the tough days. “You can hear the battle scars, but you can also hear the strength to carry on in faith,” Melina encourages.

Stream and share “I Believe in You and Me” (feat. Sarah Frank) on SoundCloud.
Also available is a lyric video.

The tracklist crescendos from a sad to happy tone signifying a sense of hope. “If you’re singing a sad song right now, you’re not doomed to it. It’s possible to sing a happy song and believe in ‘Fairytales Again’!”

Pretty Archie have long been regional favourites, with a stack of Music Nova Scotia and East Coast Music Award nominations to their credit. The Cape Breton-based roots quintet is celebrating their 10th anniversary as a band by releasing their finest work to date, a self-titled album via Curve Music and Warner Music.

Pretty Archie is their sixth album and represents a quantum leap forward in the evolution of the group’s sound which has incorporated elements of bluegrass, folk, country, and East Coast music. Now, they usher in an alternative country and Americana style with the help of Mark Howard (Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, U2, Tom Waits, The Tragically Hip, Peter Gabriel).

“Reasons” is about dealing with a break-up. ‘He’ is ready to go straight and be a better man, but it’s too late. Even though he’s willing to do the work to change, he realizes ‘she’ is not even thinking about him anymore.

28. & The.Blind.Monkey are two young and creative Quebec City native artists. Meeting in high school, they discovered their common love for music and passion for the grind. The duo quickly realized their complementary fits and exposed themselves to a wide variety of ideas, styles and working techniques.

New single, “Say That You Love Me,” found its inspiration during a breakdown in 28. & The.Blind.Monkey’s relationship. The pair had to reboot their priorities to understand each other better in order to continue their pursuit both respectfully and truthfully. The track’s hook came in a blast of inspiration while Monkey was sitting alone in his basement, listening to the new beat Twenny had just cooked. Half hopeless, half creative, the song started to write itself in the midst of emotions, stuck between what was going to be and what had to be.

Shades Lawrence is a Montreal-born alternative hip-hop artist of mixed British, Jamaican, Irish and Scottish descent. Honouring a tradition of spoken word, she is a pure lyricist; her words uplift, while keeping environmental justice at the forefront. 

She collaborated with a medley of producers—THAIBEATS, Yonas-K Beatz, Syndrome, DJ Pain 1, Rob Kelly, Mantra, SPECDRXM, SHRN—on new album, Trust Takes Time, out February 11th. Speaking from her heart, the LP has one clear message: love endures. 

Shades’ inspiration was born from “a desire to say ‘thank you’ to someone who helped me during a challenging time in my life.” Some of those significant reflections can be heard on the sincere track “I Do” available to stream and share on SoundCloud now.

Ever since Heather Avalon was a little girl, sitting at her grandma’s upright grand piano from 1921, she’s been in love with making music. Taught how to perform and record by her jazz singer mother, Avalon is ready to share her debut single “I Guess” with the world.

“Without deep connection to others within our universe, every interaction you have with anyone would be purely based on the physical,” explains Heather. She wrote “I Guess” about the change she experienced when she began to view sex as a mindful and spirtual connection to her partner.

This pulsating indie pop track is dreamy, ethereal, and honest. “I’m talking about connected, passionate, mindful, spiritual sex,” says Avalon. “I want each and every listener to experience complete and total confidence run through their body and mind as they listen.”