Warm and dark, soft with stabs of madness, poet and songwriter Jenny Berkel’s These Are the Sounds Left from Leaving is a cohesive collection of spare songs that bloom lushly with detail. The new album features contributions from critically acclaimed folk duo Kacy & Clayton, string arrangements by Colin Nealis (Andy Shauf) and for the first time, Jenny took on a production role, co-producing alongside Dan Edmonds and Ryan Boldt (The Deep Dark Woods). 

Exploring the openness and non-linear nature of time, “Just like a River” feels like a mellow meditation. A recreation of moments where small, specific reveries gave way to more sprawling contemplation–but in an appreciably peaceful and illuminative way.

Each song unfolds like a widening web of poetic associations, narrated by nostalgic piano, pondering strings, glittering guitars—and Jenny’s hauntingly immersive vocals. At times, they end with an unravelling, the music splintering apart into disintegration like a lingering open question. “The songs themselves are a study of proximity, bringing big fears into small spaces,” Jenny reflects. “They’re intimate examinations of a world that often overwhelms.” 

TANDM is a Toronto-based indie pop duo consisting of Maxine Beck-Sinderby whose distinctive vocals and catchy reverb-filled guitar riffs are driven forward by the energy of Thomas’ dynamic drum flourishes. Together, they tell complex stories of the bittersweet personal pleasures and conflicts experienced in young adulthood.

In the midst of preparing their third EP, TANDM offer “Accidentally In Love,” their optimistic and hopeful cover of the Counting Crows’ song from Shrek 2.

Musical talent runs in Maxine’s family as her uncles are Jason Beck known to the world as recording artist Chilly Gonzalez and Christophe Beck, the prolific Hollywood film composer whose work includes Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Frozen, Frozen II and Ant-Man. Thomas honed his craft studying with international jazz drummers Bill Ransom and Anthony Michelli.

Toronto-based alternative duo HjNX are back with their melancholic but defiant new single, “AK-Rocker.”

“AK-Rocker” is a comeuppance – the moment a gamble becomes a reckoning. A chance for salvation, but a dance with malice. 

HjNX invites listeners: “As the wave rises, and the heat falls heavy… will you dance?”

The siblings duo, Gregory and Mark Calderone, have been writing and producing music in their private recording studio, Apt. Sea since 2020. The brothers have been a part of the Hollywood scene for years; Greg on-screen as an actor in TV shows such as Salvation (CBS), The Good Doctor (ABC), Heroes Reborn (NBC), In Return (eOne) and the new series Sort Of (CBC/HBO Max); Mark as a musician under his solo project Nicemark with songs featured in shows such as CBC’s Kim’s Convenience. 

After a tumultuous experience in the music industry, Kim Ho almost quit music entirely. He took time to recharge, pursue other interests, and ultimately it led him back to writing music. 

Kim’s solo music project, Apollo Lovely combines the old school soul and R&B that Kim loved as a young kid with the pop sensibility of his previous band, Creature. The self-titled album Apollo Lovely is the cool older brother – smoother, and just a little more laid back. The music has an upbeat and sultry swagger that is perhaps a reflection of Kim’s new found confidence and freedom as an independent artist.

The latest single, “Catch Me,” is about a cat and mouse relationship that is not necessarily healthy, but both people are still not able to end the relationship. 

Kim explains: “This song is about a person I was seeing several years ago. She was a bit of a princess and was used to always getting everything she wanted. I was never really committed to the relationship and would often remind her of our ‘it’s not serious’ status, but that would only make her want me more. And the more she wanted me, the more I pushed her away.”

“When recording the song, I thought of a cat,” said Kim. “A cat will often come close to you to be pet, but stay just at the edge of your reach. So I sang it with a teasing and aloof delivery. I was trying to give the song a coy and playful feeling.”

Okabe is the creation of Canadian multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter, Kevin Okabe. After traveling the world and discovering his own unique sound that blends elements of blues, rock, jazz, and alternative pop, he settled down in Toronto to pursue his solo career as an artist. 

Okabe’s new single, “Blue Was The Feeling,” is a crunchy rock and hip-hop influenced track that deals with feelings of being lost in life and confused about where your place in the world is. It’s his favourite track he’s released so far because it really represents his originality as a songwriter. 

The main riff of the song was something that Okabe always had in his back pocket as something that he envisioned as a hip-hop beat for someone else. Eventually, the melody fell into place as he kept toying with the main riff. 

“I think that everyone feels some degree of doubting their place in the world or where they are at in their lives at some point, but I wanted to write about that in a way that didn’t seem so depressing,” said Okabe. “You know that ‘stank face’ you make when you hear a really crunchy groove? That’s the feeling I’m trying to elicit in listeners.”

After 15 years as the co-creator and co-lead vocalist of Running Red Lights, Scarlett Flynn is stepping into the spotlight for her solo debut. She unveils lead single “Sour in the Sun” from forthcoming EP, Living is Hell, through which she pushes herself forward into unexplored creativity despite a high sea of insecurities so honestly on display in her lyrics.

“I was a begetter, a creator, a hustler and a health nut and then COVID happened and I fell under the thumb of the addict, the saboteur, the loafer and the self-hater. ‘Sour in the Sun’ is as honest as I can get to the recounting of my struggle to fight the worst parts of my nature,” Flynn reveals. 

The debris of old wounds, self-doubts and fears of irrelevance all orbit around the core of Flynn’s music, a spiritual sister to art pop feminists like Beth Gibbions (Portishead), Fiona Apple and St. Vincent.