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Picture Credit: Swarm of Spheres   Swarm of Spheres - Brother, Take Five Release Date: October 15, 2021 Label: No Why Records Format: Vinyl / Digital Length: 23:07 Genre: Sludge / Stoner Rock Origin: Ottawa , Ontario , Canada By only looking at the cover artwork and the title, one might assume that "Brother, Take Five" could be a Blues or Jazz EP (or at least, I did). But you know what they say about the books and judging them by their covers. Swarm of Spheres actually are pretty far away from Blues and Jazz music-wise. Their latest EP was recorded at Boxcar Sound Recording in June 2019, and it contains six tracks that present that darkest side of fuzz-driven sounds. "Brother, Take Five" is a sonic confrontation with PTSD, anxiety, and rage. This EP can be mentioned alongside brutal releases such as Dystopia's "Human = Garbage" or Eyehategod's "Taken as needed for Pain". Swarm of Spheres create a sound that feels like wandering through ...

Picture Credit: Black Jade Media   Eunice Keitan - Lay your weapons down Release Date: July 23, 2021 Length: 04:47 Genre: R'n'B / Soul Origin: Toronto , Ontario , Canada The idea for this song came to Toronto's Eunice Keitan  when she had a conversation with a friend of hers. This talk revealed how fragile and worth fighting for human rights are. The musician's friend told her about him getting imprisoned, tortured, and consequently still suffering from PTSD, even now that he has reached refuge in a safe place. The reason for these atrocities, Keitan 's friend suffered from, was simply because he protested human rights. This sad story can lead to many reactions. Eunice Keitan  used the energy this inspiration gave her and wrote a stunning Soul / R'n'B hymn that concerns the violence that is taking place on our planet every day. On soft tunes but with a strong voice, Eunice Keitan  calls for an end of this: 'Lay your Weapons down' is a clear and unam...

Picture Credit: Matt King   Absolutely Free - Aftertouch Release Date: September 24, 2021 Label: Boiled Records Format: Vinyl / Digital Length: 40:46 Genre: Shoegaze / Krautrock Origin: Toronto , Ontario , Canada Absolutely Free's latest album "Aftertouch" is a beautiful example for the vast versatility of the Krautrock genre. Although the soundscapes of "Aftertouch" somewhat resemble passages from Holy Monitor's "Southern Lights" , looking for parallels to bands such as Zement or Oslo Tapes , one will hardly make finds. Instead, it is easier spotting similarities to the sound of Etxe Records acts like Blackout Transmission or Silo Halo . The major reason are probably the dreamy synthetic sounds that define a huge part of the music on "Aftertouch" as well as the both, artistic and poppy approach provided by the band. Coming up to their band name, Absolutely Free convey the feeling of being airborne. And while that impression may remin...

Picture Credit: Rich Chambers   Rich Chambers - Summer looks so good on you Release Date: July 01, 2021 Length: 02:36 Genre: Garage Rock / Rock'n'Roll Origin: Vancouver , BC , Canada In late 2020, Vancouver's Rich Chambers  showed us the rocks side of Christmas when he released his album " Santa's Rockin' Band ", which was his biggest success so far. The year 2021 began with his single ' I'm so tired ' that concerned injustice in our society. In Spring, ' Sorry isn't good enough ' followed, and now, in (Northern hemisphere) Summer, Chambers  has released the single on hand which is a rocking and rolling tribute to the hot season. Before you turn up the volume, don't forget to put on some sunscreen. Rich Chambers ' 'Summer looks so good on you' is a tune that makes the sun shine. This gorgeous and dynamic love song combines the energetic movements of Surf Rock with a kick-ass Garage Rock sound, and the velocity of 19...

Picture Credit: Kimia Jay   Kimia Jay - Fallacy Release Date: July 16, 2021 Length: 04:18 Genre: Indie Pop / Dream Pop Origin: Toronto , Ontario , Canada In her latest single, Toronto's emerging artist Kimia Jay refers to the ballet "Swan Lake" by Pyotr Illyich Tchaykovsky , and to the character of the black swan especially. The fascinating character recently received a lot of attention via Darren Aronofsky 's film "Black Swan". Kimia Jay decribes the black swan as a shadow self that accompanies us on all of our ways. The song 'Fallacy' is about getting to know and learning to love this black swan and thereby getting to know ourselves. KIMIA JAY · Fallacy "Fallacy" is a dynamic Dream Pop song driven by the movement of boppy Indie Rock. Kimia Jay provides us with soundscapes changing between atmospheric reverie and energetic movement. Joyful melodies and melancholic harmonies create a multi-layer sonic construct on which Kimia Jay presents...

Picture Credit: The Kyd   The Kyd - Beethoven's Spliff Release Date: June 11, 2021 Length: 02:44 Genre: Hip Hop Origin: London , Ontario , Canada What if the good old wunderkind Ludwig van Beethoven  was born in generation Y and grew up wearing hoodies and listening to Papa Roach? What would that musical genius' life be like? And most important, what would he smoke? Ontarian lyricist and rapper The Kyd might have had similar questions when his brother Misfit James looped a beat that reminds of Classic-era symphonies. Thus, The Kyd dropped some freestyles on the beat, and later wrote a full text - "Beethoven's Spliff" was born. The Kyd and Misfit James take us on a sonic journey back to the 1980s. The duo produces powerful and heavy Boom Bap Hip Hop with a dynamic and comprehensive rap flow. The mellow beat is defined by the featherweight of the violins on the one hand, and by the massive drums on the other. This is the kind of Boom Bap that KRS-One used to teach o...

Picture Credit: Paul Cafcae   Paul Cafcae - Longest Day of the Year Release Date: June 25, 2021 Length: 03:53 Genre: Protest Rock / Blues Rock Origin: Vaughan , Ontario , Canada The past 15 months have been quite weird, haven't they? The happenings on our planet surpassed some ideas for film scripts written by Emmerich , Lynch , or Spielberg . And yet, it has happened. In his latest single, Vaughan's Paul Cafcae is recalling the first year of the coronacene, beginning with the virus itself changing all of our lives, the brutal murder of George Floyd  by white police men, the global protests for equal rights, the dirty election campaign in the United States, the storming of the Capitol,... As hard as it sometimes seems to imagine that this is actually real, Paul Cafcae  has managed to wrap these happenings into one song. The focus of "Longest Day of the Year" is not solely set on 2020, but is getting connected to protests for freedom, liberty, and equality within the ...

Picture Credit: Keegan Chambers   Keegan Chambers - Out of my Head Release Date: June 11, 2021 Label: selfrelease Format: Digital Length: 13:33 Genre: Alternative Rock Origin: Toronto , Ontario , Canada The EP on hand is the sophomore work by Toronto's Keegan Chambers . Nevertheless, "Out of my Head" is quite different to the 2020 EP " Live off the Floor ". Although both EPs feature a version of the song 'Love at First Sight', Chambers ' latest release stands for the artist's redirection towards distorted guitar music and powerful, anthemic vocals. Apart from the re-recorded ballad mentioned before, "Out of my Head" features three new songs. Keegan Chambers  directly addresses and pillories abusers ('Look what you've done'), catcallers ('Catcallers'), and finally sings about rigged games ('Devil's Kisses'). The last track, the re-recording of the ballad 'Love at first Sight', stands out music-wise...

Picture Credit: The Bare Minimum   The Bare Minimum - Bitter Pill Release Date: May 28, 2021 Length: 02:10 Genre: Skate Punk / Hardcore Punk Origin: Toronto , Ontario , Canada Toronto's The Bare Minimum are your go-to address for melodic and dynamic Punk Rock, and for Nicholas Cage  memes. Waiting for concerts to take place again, the Ontarian quartet has released their latest single "Bitter Pill". Although the music video is bare of Nicholas Cage  content, it is worth clicking it. Here is the newest work by Chris Nikolaidis  (drums), Donnie Hopper  (bass), Mick Hutchinson  (guitar), and Cam Gray  (guitar, vocals). "Bitter Pill" is a heavy and energetic powerload containing different Punk Rock ingredients. The intensity of Hardcore Punk is decorated with melodic leads and anthemic vocals. And after all, the Skate Punk theme of the track creates extra dynamics, not alone via the changes from on-beat to off-beat rhythms. "Bitter Pill" is a hymn for stan...

Picture Credit: String Bone Photograph: Emma Hefkey   String Bone - Waitin' For My Dyin' Day Release Date: May 21, 2021 Length: 02:58 Genre: Americana / Anti-Folk Origin: Straford , Ontario , Canada When String Bone wrote music and lyrics for the single "Waitin' for my dyin' day", the Ontarian artist got inspired by the Netflix series "Lucifer". Nevertheless, the plot of the narrative in the song can easily be read without connecting it to the series. "Waitin' for my dyin' day" follows a protagonist who is yearning for mercy. This desire is so strong that they do not insist on the relief coming to them in life. Instead, death has a merciful value to the protagonist, too. Between the howling chorus "I'm alive", Barry James Payne  and George Leger III , create (Anti-) Folk and Americana as cold and dark as the inside of an open grave around midwinter. The gloomily harmonic soundscapes built by slowly stomping guitars an...

Picture Credit: Scott Klein   Scott Klein - Sunshine Release Date: May 20, 2021 Length: 03:23 Genre: Folk Rock / Alt Country Origin: Saskatoon , Saskatchewan , Canada In his newest single, Saskatoon's Scott Klein  is inviting us on a nocturnal dance that breaks the borders between the world we live in and the realms of fantasy and imagination. It is a melancholic and sentimental tune that makes dichotomies clash, and hence merges light and darkness, day and night, perception and imagination. Together with Aspen Beveridge  (bass, drums) and Leot Hanson  (lead guitar), Scott Klein  creates a thrilling soundscape of bittersweet melancholia. Folk Rock, Country, Americana, and Blues merge to a soothing slow motion thunderstorm. From the centre of these thick clouds, lightning strikes and hits the ground where it remains and thereby creates the connection between imagination and reality. The soft and gloomy sounds on "Sunshine" feel like trangsressing to another real...

Picture Credit: Bloom 604 Photograph: Lucas Inacio   Bloom 604 - Rust and Sunshine / Punk Breed Release Date: March 26, 2021 Length: 03:57 Genre: Post Punk / Alternative Rock / Noise Origin: Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada Jack Briscoe  is the person behind Vancouver's Bloom 604. When playing live, the band also constist of bass player Linden Poirie  and drummer Josh Lauzé , so Briscoe  can concentrate his energy to guitars and vocals. Speaking of energy, this band is full of it. As a little teaser for their newest album " Bloom ", this double music video has been released. In the meantime, the album is already available via FLØVER, so if you enjoy the sound, click here and order your copy. "Rust and Sunshine" and "Punk Breed" are the fourth an fifth track of the new album. The dynamic songs make a perfect double feature since they go together ideally. The little break after "Rust and  Sunshine" leaves the audience a little momet to ...

Picture Credit: Spence Paull   Spence Paull - Do You Listen To girl in red Release Date: March 12, 2021 Length: 02:58 Genre: Indie Funk / Indie Pop Origin: Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada Spence Paull's new single describe the following situation: a person walks down the street minding their own business when suddenly another person of ineffable beauty catches their eye. Their heart skips a beat, stunned by the other person's radiance. What to do? Look away? Smile? Talk? And if, then what? In Spence Paull's story, the protagonist wants to ask the other person whether they share their love for Norwegian artist Marie Ulven . Do You Listen To girl in red by Spence Paull Spence Paull's "Do You Listen To girl in red" is a dynamic and boppy song, perfect for boisterous dance moves. Funk, Jazz, and Indie Pop merge to a wholesome and colourful energy. Spence Paull's sound contains some influence from early 90s Pop music but without the plastic drums. Instea...

Picture Credit: Davilz by Definition Artwork: Angela Gidillini Devilz by Definition - The Bitter Remains of Human Consumption Release Date: April 20, 2021 Label: selfrelease / CD Baby Format: CD / Digital Length: 12:51 Genre: Thrash Metal / Groove Metal Origin: Windsor , Ontario , Canada Originally formed back 2010, Windsor's Devilz by Definition have disbanded and reformed several times. Hence, let's have a look at the current line up first: T. Robert  - drums, R. Morand  - bass (studio), M. Abrametz - bass (live), B. Munro - guitar, J. Couvillon  - guitar, S. Mailloux  - vocals. Five years after the release of their first full-length album " The Devilution ", Devilz by Definition are back with their third EP "The Bitter Remains of Human Consumption". As you might already have referred from the title, the three-track release is a soberly dark take humankind and its potential to screw everything up - our planet, other beings, other human beings. By the powe...