New Music

Canadian musician Keegan Powell makes songs that explore the mystery of pain, the release of demons and how through it all, life actually may be some kind of miracle. Imbued with infectious hooks and ferocious energy, Alien Radio is a compilation album composed of tracks previously released and unreleased from Powell’s archive, spanning across several separate recordings from the years 2016-2019. Inspired by wanting to contextualize his current albums with bits and bobs that were lost along the way, the tracks are a glimpse into an artist trying to overreach his ability and achieving it, only to forget about it altogether.

An ultimate companion piece to Powell’s previous work (including the college radio staple Fear Be Gone LP), Alien Radio (now charting on NACC’s Top 30 Top Adds) consists of crystal clear pop songs in the guise of quarter life angst.

Vicki Lovelee is a Chinese-Canadian alt-pop sensation based in Markham, Ontario. She merges the luminosity of pop with brooding shadows of dark drama and orchestral instrumentations. Her latest single, “Click,” stirs anticipation for a new album in Fall 2024.

When you hear the word “Click,” you usually think of three different contexts for the word, but they all relate to the meaning of the song. “Click” – for pieces to fit together. In this case, Vicki is speaking about not clicking with certain people. “Click” – like a computer mouse when you’re selecting something. It’s the same for the meaning of the song – the feeling of wanting to be chosen; to be “clicked” on. The final word is clique: a group of people with shared interests who don’t let others join.

iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (short for waseskwan iskwew, meaning “blue sky woman”) is sharing the sixth and final single from her upcoming album, the starkly honest and textured nīna (out April 12th), produced by 10x Grammy-nominated collaborator Damian Taylor.

Speaking of the pulsating and hushed tones of the new release from the album, iskwē explains its painful and complex inspirations:

“Feeling overwhelmed, I was faced with myself alone and the choices I had made over the past several years. With conflicted feelings of longing, remorse, and loneliness, I felt caged by a sentiment I could neither explain nor understand. I was alone. My mind had fooled me.

My tears felt endless and yet somehow this new solitude wrapped itself around my sadness like a giant cozy blanket I could not imagine emerging from ever again. A little piece of me had died, yet I found a little peace inside. A little piece of me had died, yet I found a little peace inside.”

“A Little Piece” twinkles with piano melodies and skittering beats, creating a wintry electronic soundscape which gradually opens into its prominent synth line’s exposed refrain.

The Bankes Brothers are about to light up Canada’s indie-rock scene and ignite audiences everywhere. Since the release of their debut single “In Waves” in February 2023, the band has garnered acclaim and recognition across Canada and beyond – regularly showing in the Top 5 on Canadian commercial radio’s alternative charts and seeing constant support on Sirius XM’s The Verge for the past year.

Now with the highly anticipated unveiling of full EP In Waves, alongside the final track “Walkin’” – all eyes return to The Bankes Brothers for what promises to be another banner year for one of Canada’s rising stars in contemporary rock and roll, set to embark on a whirlwind tour of the UK alongside Red Rum Club.

Human terminology might define M’Grasker as a “band,” however they would be more accurately described as Biological Property of M’Graskorp Unlimited Enterprises and Subsidiaries of the GlanGlan Group. Much of M’Grasker’s DNA was salvaged from the backstage areas and bathrooms of seedy Toronto music venues and transferred via Scienetic Quantum Hurtlage to the M’Graskorp Labs, located just beyond Space and Time (and slightly to the left). The band is legally obligated to be happy to announce their third offering: M’Grasker by M’Grasker, an album scientifically guaranteed to blow domes later this year.

It’s the night of the big game and you’re hunched o’er vials, flasks, and doo-dads in yonder lab, beholding apparitions in the shimmering concoctions before you. A faint melody tickles your ears from the near-distance of the future–the rustling of M’Grasker. At this locus of the endless cycle, the loveable lads are no more than nearly-human goo, yet to take on the familiar bodies donned in the glistening white suits you’ve fashioned for them in your mind palace.

You stare at the roiling decanter in front of you, fixated on something in the swirling mists. A reflection of the room behind you darts through your awareness. You spin in your gyroseat. There is nothing behind you but the mad scribblings you left there 4 days and 20 hours prior. The lab lights flicker, “I’ve traversed the very fabric of scienetic planes, yet nary have I been quite so addled.” You think to yourself. These hauntings…

Newcastle based Indie Pop artist Chelsea Reed has just released her long awaited new single and music video called ‘The Apple’, which premiered exclusive via AAA Backstage.

“I had been talking to a good friend who was trying desperately to exorcise her feelings for a man she knew she shouldn’t have any feelings toward. I thought about that final time you go and see someone who you know you shouldn’t and suddenly, the feelings are gone. Maybe they got a bad haircut. Maybe they said something so out of line, or they trashed your favourite movie. Or maybe you realised there was never really anything there to begin with. The obsession is finally over, and you can walk away knowing that.”

Chelsea Reed released her self-titled debut album back in 2017. She has since moved country twice, fallen in love, gotten married and toured Australia in an Indie-Pop band called The Tryouts.

The multitalented artist burst back onto the scene last year with the release of her single ‘Dominic’, which was recorded with producer Dave Jenkins Jr (Vera Blue, Daniel Johns). Written in the aftermath of a frustrating conversation with a friend; Reed channelled the incisive songwriting of popular 90’s artists such as
Ben Folds and Aimee Mann.

After recently heading back into the studio, Chelsea Reed is now ready to unleash her latest single to the world.

New single ‘The Apple’ is available on all major online stores and streaming services.