Sunshine & The Blue Moon capture our collective anxiety from MAGA-era tension by exploring its overwhelming darkness through the same psychedelic grooves that originally sought to overpower that brand of bad vibes with blasts of sonic light. On June 25, they offer bright, joyful voices in the fight against apathy and evil forces on their second full-length album, Born 2 Boogie.

Title track “Born 2 Boogie” crashes and shuffles with sinister-sounding guitars as it slips into a hypnotic groove, as singer Kai Davey-Bellin conjures images of dance halls burning as everyone descends into revelry. 

Born 2 Boogie simultaneously amplifies the good vibes of ‘60s psychedelia while wrestling with the demons that the last few years have re-loosed on the world. “Do as Grandma said: don’t watch the flowers grow,” Davey-Bellin sings on “Born 2 Boogie” over the jangle of tambourine. “There’s time for that when you’re dead.”

Mikayla Menzies is a dreamer who has been through her share of mental health struggles while growing up in the suburbs of Ottawa, ON. Engulfed in waves of grief after her mother’s passing, Mikayla found relief in rebellion. Trying to swim through the isolating waters of losing a loved one, she found herself a mess.

New single, “Mess,” is raw and evocative, carried by Mikayla’s poetic, singer-songwriter lyricism. A swirl of faded lavender and grey, the production on “Mess” almost makes it sound submerged – an accurate representation of how grief feels.

Canadian singer-songwriter Lucas DiPasquale draws on his love for hip-hop and alternative music to produce a unique style of bedroom pop. His notable collaborations include Popcaan and Assassin, and Grammy-award winning producers MOJAM (Sam Smith) and Stephen McGregor (Vybz Kartel).

When writing his new song, “Begging For The Tide,” DiPasquale envisioned the object of his affection as a “warm wave of ocean water.” Picture yourself on the beach at dusk, gazing at the setting sun and sky filled with that dark yellow and blood orange colour… lamenting the fact that you aren’t with the person that you like.

Toronto-based singer songwriter, Sia Shells, rhymes about the everyday magic we find through relationships, self love, reflection and dreams. Her juxtaposition of emotive, contralto vocals against upbeat dream pop sounds will instantly transport you to another world.

Sia’s moody, self reflective and intimate new track, “3%,” highlights the all too common feeling of phone separation anxiety. This past year has resulted in no other means of really communicating with our friends and loved ones than from a distance. Our attachment to devices is felt through the low percentage we experience and the chaos that ensues. 

Hailing from all parts of Niagara, Ontario, Foolproof is a three-piece grunge-rock band founded by lead vocalist and guitarist, Paige Kopp. Since then, the band has been writing new material and playing live shows with acts such as The Forgotten Rebels, The Mahones, Moneen, The Dirty Nil, The Creepshow, and more.

In 2020, Foolproof was crowned winner of 97.7 HTZ FM’s Rocksearch contest, gaining them daily radio play on the station for their first single, “VIOLET”. They’re following up with their debut EP, due out later this year. Ahead of the EP, the band has shared the new single, “The Wake” – a high energy, catchy alt-rock track.

Jordana Talsky is a singer, songwriter and vocal looper who fuses multi-genre influences into her own sound. A person of several voices, her ethos is to incorporate digital means into live performance in an organic way. Accompanied by a loop machine, she creates a choir of one with no pre-recorded parts. This unique skill has earned her final placements in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition and Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition. “Oh Yeah” is her insightful new single, posing the question, “How often do we actively reflect on our life happening?” It’s about a moment of awakening and listening to your inner voice; like when you remember something you had forgotten about, a dream that all of a sudden comes back in a flash, that allows you to stand outside of yourself and contemplate.