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.”
Victoria, BC four-piece The Bankes Brothers—brothers Nelson and Morgan Bankes on vocals and guitar, lead guitarist Carson Cleaver, and drummer Gray Oxley—sound like the youthful high of a late-night romance and the blissful stagger home the next morning. The sum of their forthcomingIn Waves EP’s parts is something fresh, exciting, and uniquely vibrant within the current sea of sleepy vocals and sedated guitar tones.
Following up on the previously shared title track, “Things I’ll Never Learn” hears the band reflecting on broken hearts from relationships that they just weren’t suited for. The new single speaks loud and clear to that age old problem of being drawn time and time again to entanglements of the heart that just shouldn’t be.
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.”
We talk to Erin about the video, below!
1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically?
I wrote this song during a time of personal metamorphosis. I’d been single for awhile, recovering from a pretty monumental relationship, and was using my free time (there was a lot of it haha) to do a lot of soul searching and reconnecting with my inner/higher self. This song is that conversation between my soul and my identity. Interestingly, it was the most frustrating song-writing experience I’ve ever had; I kept trying to force the song into a typical pop arrangement, but it just refused to go there. I finally realized I needed to apply what I’d been learning throughout this metamorphosis: to go with the flow and allow myself (aka the song), to be what it needed and wanted to be. I learned it’s ok to be different and to express myself differently, not only from others, but from how I’d expressed myself in the past . There’s much beauty to be found in that perspective.
This song is deeply personal to me, but at the same time it felt really important to share its message, so I chose it to be one of the videos/singles I released. I’ve created a video for each of the four singles released for my album, ‘Brave New World’, this being the fourth single.
2. What was the inspiration behind this video(visuals, storyline, etc.)?
Like my songs, each of my videos is specific unto itself, meaning I don’t try to fit into any particular genre. I like to allow the song to tell me what it is, both in its writing and production. For “Won’t Give Up”, its general message is one of recognizing beauty and finding resilience in oneself. I chose to make the video solely with shots of nature being its beautiful and resilient self. In the bigger picture, we’re a part of nature and would do well to take our cues from it. It’s probably unconventional for me to not even appear in the video, but it just felt right. 3. What was the process of making this video?
Video director Martin Hawkes and I edited together shots of nature that he’d filmed, along with some stock shots, based on their representation of the lyrics, emotion and pacing of the song. Personally, I feel the main purpose of a music video is to pull the viewer in so they actually listen to the music. This ended up being a creative and smart way of doing that.
This was probably the most difficult song I’ve ever written. 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.
Don’t Get Lemon is a captivating, paradoxical, and chic pop trio hailing from Austin and Houston, Texas. Their music exudes an aura of detachment while maintaining a catchy and danceable quality. Drawing inspiration from the vibrant music scenes of 1970s Berlin and 1980s Manchester, DGL aims to captivate the listener’s senses with their fusion of glam and synth-pop elements. While there may be other alternatives to DGL, one wonders if we could truly embrace them.
Taking its name from Michaelangelo Antonioni’s iconic 1966 film set in swinging London, Don’t Get Lemon’s track “Blow-Up” offers glimpses into the unseen darkness. The lyrics, crafted using William Burroughs’ cut-up technique, and imagery inspired by David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet,” weave together bittersweet melodies that offer a fresh perspective on the traditional three-minute pop song.
Modern Mystery 
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