The Pukka Orchestra was an award-winning Canadian ‘new wave’ band based in Toronto, Canada in the 1980s and 1990s and became an important and revered contributor to the ‘Queen Street’ music scene of that era. After a long hiatus, The Pukka Orchestra completed a new album in 2023 – Chaos Is Come Again – of reworked, remixed and remastered tracks from its two prior recording sessions that never saw the proper light of day. 

The album was mastered posthumously after the death of Graeme Williamson in 2022, the voice and writer of The Pukka Orchestra. Released by Pacemaker/Cadence Records, Chaos Is Come Again includes liner notes by Alan Cross.

Besides the obvious truism that every human life is important, part of the inspiration for their single, “Every Man and Woman is a Star,” there is the astonishing fact that stars that go supernova are responsible for creating many of the elements of the periodic table, including those that make up the human body. The song also draws inspiration from Graeme’s desire to seek out opportunities to play music. Although success is validating, he knew that being true to yourself is what will bring contentment, rather than fame. 

“As is everything Graeme wrote, it’s an important message, straight to the listener, wrapped in a catchy tune,” says Iris Williamson, Graeme’s surviving widow. “The lesson I always take from hearing Graeme’s work again is that he effortlessly elevates a simple, every day phrase to reveal its fundamental truth.”

For the bandmates of the late Graeme Williamson, getting his songs heard and his legacy sustained were the most important inspiration. Producer Neil Chapman had recently finished producing Graeme’s solo album, Because You Were There, and hearing his voice and words and songwriting again, so close and intimately, made him want to pull out the unfinished Pukka masters from the late 80s-early 90s and rebuild them to today’s standards and perspective.

Sue Decker’s rich and warm voice, distinctive slide guitar playing, and authentic songwriting make for a powerful combination. Her music inhabits the borderlands where blues, folk, country, and soul meet, now witnessed in her second album, Keeping Time. She collaborated with sought-after roots producer Steve Dawson to record at The Henhouse Studio in Nashville. In 2019, Sue had released her debut full-length album Outskirts of Love to international acclaim. 

Her latest single, “Hummingbird,” finds solace in nature. She explains, “In the first several weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had the precious experience of watching a hummingbird build her nest on a tree branch right outside my window, tend to the eggs, and feed the hatchlings. Then I got to see the little ones learn to fly. It helped me get through those bewildering and dark days.”

On Keeping Time, Sue’s unique capacity for pairing meaningful and topical lyrics with ear-catching melodies shines through. True to her aim as a songwriter, she uses ordinary language to fuse everyday moments with the unspeakable and the extraordinary. The recording process was mostly live-off-the-floor playing music together in real time. The powerful, intimate, and playful songs hold a lifetime of experiences within small moments—looking back on the past and what was not meant to be, current challenges we’re all facing, and preparing for what the future may hold.

Bracebridge, Ontario’s survivor-led collaborative project, Chorus of Courage, is lifting the veil on the ten tracks which make up Always By Your Side, the debut album which reflects and transmutes survivors’ lived experiences into rich and deeply honest songwriting.

Through gathering survivors and songwriters during a summer retreat, the project’s organizers, including qualifying registered psychotherapist and singer-songwriter Cindy Doire, created a home to explore some of the most difficult experiences that one could imagine.

Love, music, silence, acceptance, guidance, connection, and movement are key to Always By Your Side and its songs’ origins, which range from soulful empowerment (Alysha Brilla’s “Shine”), delicate reassurance (the Julian Taylor-penned “Sweet Little Hummingbird”), and the incendiary folk rock of Doire’s songwriting contribution to the record, “Burn It Down.”

The stories shared and held at retreat were given a voice and expression through Chorus of Courage’s songwriters. These songs were captured, recorded, and then sent to the project’s allies, who responded with another song written in solidarity, creating a powerful musical conversation.

By sharing these songs of resilience and hope, the members of Chorus of Courage seek to inspire empathy, ignite conversations, and catalyze positive change. 

With Always By Your Side, the project aims to create a ripple effect that elevates awareness, breaks down barriers, and fosters a culture of respect and support. Together, they stand as a testament to the indomitable spirit of all voices and advocate for a world where voices are heard, honoured, and empowered.

Dan Pallotta is sharing his first new single since the release of his 2023 sophomore record, Winnebago Dreams. The folk singer-songwriter from Massachusetts has chosen to explore deeply personal and cathartic themes on “House on the Reservoir,” which he describes as being about his own “triangulation between [his] dad and his father.”

The acoustic guitar led track features plaintive harmonica and piano, the production’s bedrock to centre Pallotta’s emotive vocals and moving lyrics which depict a tense and repressed relationship between his father and grandfather. 

“It split me into pieces, and I sold my soul for parts, inside of that house on the reservoir.”

Pallotta explains that “House is on the Reservoir” is about “seeing that you have taken responsibility for pain, transgression, betrayal, regret and anger that never belonged to you and that were never yours to take responsibility for in the first place.”

The core truth of lived experience in the song reveals Pallotta’s ability to “still […] have empathy for the people for whom you shouldered it out of a recognition that it’s something ancient, and probably didn’t belong to them either.”

The Neighbourhood Watch’s story-driven blend of folk and indie rock pulls on a personal experience with chronic illness and expresses that story in a way that resonates with people who are struggling with all kinds of illnesses – mental or physical. The Toronto band’s upcoming fourth album is a meditation on family, illness, and loving what life gives you nonetheless.

New single, “Bones,” was inspired by the fun, garage-rock inspired indie rock anthems that have become popular across Spotify in the last few years: the Backseat Lovers, Briston Maroney, and some earlier Cage the Elephant tracks served as major musical inspirations. “Bones” is a song about relapse and how your body can feel it coming on. The intuition that your body is about to give out again, after a prolonged period of health and stability.

Touching on this idea of bodily intuition, “Bones” taps into that feeling and lets it be a guide. 

The Vaniers [van-ee-ays] are a Toronto-based rock trio formed in 2016 by Diego Paz (Bass Guitar/Vocals), Alex Iacobellis (Guitar), and Nick Donato (Drums). Known for delivering scorching live performances and dazzling crowds, The Vaniers have become a staple in the Toronto music scene, celebrated for their high-octane shows and catchy tunes.

The three band members each like a wide variety of music: in-your-face rock tunes, catchy songs, and songs that tell stories. Their new single, “Charlie,” is kind of a mix of that. This is music that they want to hear. It’s not out there, so they decided to make it themselves. 

It’s universal. Everyone knows a Charlie, some have lived as a Charlie – and surely a lot of people want to be a Charlie. In this case, the focus of the song is about a man named Charlie who wants to chase after his dreams despite everyone around him being pessimistic about his star power. This is The Vaniers’ way of saying, “At the end of the day, you just gotta do it.”

“Believe it or not, ‘Charlie,’ and most of the songs on this record, were stolen from us,” says Paz. “Our hard drives, all of our work up to that point, disappeared overnight. To keep it short, we had to start the entire process again. Of course, we were gutted when it happened, but looking back on it, the songs went through more deliberation as a result. The second time around, we really doubled down on some of the risks we took, and through that we feel we made some of our most sincere music that is truest to ourselves as artists, and as people.”