Feathership is the moniker for Jean-Philippe Sauvé’s musical project. First assembled as asix-piece indie-rock band, the act eventually morphed into a more personal and subdued affair, putting Sauvé’s delicate songsmith abilities to the forefront.

On new EP Peace Talks, Feathership displays a knack for memorable melodies and cinematographic moods, accompanied by Christian Sean (Hippie Hourrah, Sofia Bel) and a wide array of the best of the Montreal music scene: Guido del Fabbro (collaborator for Pierre Lapointe), Laurence-Anne (member of La Sécurité and prominent Quebec artist in her own right), Jason Bajada and Mat Vezio, among others.

The four songs address intertwined themes of nostalgia, a return to innocence and the difficulty of reconciliation; whether it be the epic sounds of “Dream Aloud” and “Fragments United,” the French-bossa vintage vibe on “Tant Étrange” or the hushed timeless americana balladry of “One by One.”

Solemn yet whimsical, the reverie of “Dream Aloud” is driven by the will to share optimism in the face of major present-day challenges. A “modern folk-utopian tale,” the visual narrative sews this together in a fun way, with clips from mid-century USSR animated movies.

is a percussionist, composer, and producer. Loida’s musical curiosity and open-mindedness has propelled him towards a wide-range of sounds, genres, and artistic endeavours. His thirst to participate in and experience this range of sounds is partly a product of Loida’s synesthesia. Music is a full-body experience for him, with sounds often invoking involuntary sensations of colour, texture, or even taste.

His album, Giverny, is a new age, indie classical collection of songs. During songwriting, he had the realisation that memories often come to us before we even remember, and similarly that’s how songwriting/composing feels – that they have been laying dormant until they feel it’s time to appear. With this album, Loida was influenced by French philosophy, arts, and music, from his time visiting, creating, and meeting people there.  

Picture listening to the focus track, “December Dreams” – Loida’s version of the movie score to the blissful cinematic moment of the ice dance in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. 

“On a snowy December night in Boston many years ago now, I found myself in a basement apartment in Somerville, heartbroken…” says Loida. “I needed peace, comfort, and to remember joy which is what this song brings me.”

Brave New World is the uncommonly rich, joyous and exhilarating second album from Toronto singer/songwriter Erin Hunt that defies categorization while freely exploring the deepest yearnings of the human condition. A profoundly musical record built for headphone listening –  to sit back, fire up a fatty and disappear into – but also perfect to blast over speakers, to groove to, until the music stops you in your tracks. 

The album closer (and fourth single), “Won’t Give Up” is perhaps Erin and her band at its most dynamic and explosive – underpinning the lyric of resilience and faith – then perfectly matching the powerful, insistent refrain that typifies the spirit and drive and exuberance of the whole record: “We don’t give up, we don’t give up, we don’t give up.”  

“This was probably the most difficult song I’ve ever written,” says Erin. “I was intent on writing it in a typical pop arrangement (which I usually don’t stray too far from) but the song just refused to go there. I kept trying to force it into being something it wasn’t and that’s why it took so long… Now I just shake my head at how stupid that would have been – it’s truly my favourite track on the album and my favourite song I’ve ever written.”

The classic Bakersfield sound shines in “I Know How,” Shane Ghostkeeper’s new single “inspired by the chance to redeem a lifetime of terrible dancing as a dedication to the craft for my upcoming wedding with the love of my life.” The music video was conceptualized and directed by fiancée Sarah Houle.

Fans of independent Canadian music will likely recognize the name Shane Ghostkeeper from his namesake project GHOSTKEEPER, a band that has been responsible for some of the more thrilling music to emerge from Alberta during the last 15 years. But while his parent band trades in a highly unique, left-of-centre approach to indie rock, this new project is a deeply reverential tribute to the music he absorbed while growing up in the Northern Alberta Métis communities of Paddle Prairie, High Level, and Rocky Lane. “The concept of this record,” he says, “is to present, as a gift to my people, an exploration of the country & western and roots records they surrounded me with since childhood.” Songs For My People is truly a family affair, slated for release on July 28, 2023 via Victory Pool Records.

​​Clare Siobhan (say “shuh-VON”), is an award-winning singer-songwriter from Truro, Nova Scotia who is making a home for herself in that cozy little intersection of folk, pop, and soul. Her layered harmonies paired with bright piano and ukulele lay the foundation for warm vocals that touch on connection, relationships, worry, and that age-old search for meaning and belonging that we feel as we grow.

After receiving some unexpected and scary news, Siobhan wrote most of the lyrics for the song “Flare” on the drive home, taking voice memos in between tears. It was a few weeks later when she finally wrote the last part of the song, the U-turn where she was able to find joy when there’s big changes happening in life. 

“[When I was writing this song,] I looked out my window at the tree in my backyard and thought about the changing of the seasons… life goes on,” Siobhan explains. “There’s this inevitability to change, and such stability in its repetition, and that was a comfort to me at the time. After that, finishing the song was easy – and to be honest, so was adjusting to the new change in my own life.”

The Weather Holds is the latest project and supergroup formed by Montreal-based producer and composer Devon Bate. The debut LP, You Couldn’t Ask For a More Beautiful Day, is a precarious return to his folk roots with the electroacoustic influences of his musical training: a nostalgic remembrance of busking in Winnipeg, the careful curation of CDs on bus rides, and fog-ridden memories that sound like experimental country but smell like forest fire smoke. 

The focus track, “Five Roses” is a clichèd love letter to Montreal and its community! There are at least 12 musicians playing on this little song – most of them join in singing the chorus, “I wrote a song.” The song highlights some of the collaborators featured throughout the whole album – we hear Beatrice Ferreira try to figure out the fiddle part, Alex Rand ripping a banjo solo, and Jean-Michel Blais improvise around a theme, among many others.

“The songs on the album cover a lot of conceptual ground that’s difficult to summarize – nostalgia, resisting nihilism, cops, heartbreak, bicycles, rosacea – but the album as a whole was largely inspired by my community in Montreal,” Bate explains. “As time goes on I’ve become an increasingly rare minority as an anglo who moved here for university but never left. The biggest reason I’ve been able to stay here and make a life off art is thanks to the community around me. Working as a music producer, I’m able to help lift up my people’s creative voices, and on this album they lift me up too.”

Dive in here:

https://devonbate.bandcamp.com/album/you-couldnt-ask-for-a-more-beautiful-day