I hope that you’ve had a lovely week. I have a new song from We Found a Lovebird to share with you this morning for roundup consideration.
Vancouver’s We Found a Lovebird excels at trance-like chiming rock. Since 2009, they’ve released three albums, one EP and eight singles with highlights including a Polaris Music Prize nomination and radio support from CBC and KEXP. Since 2020, they’ve released seven singles from their upcoming album With Friends Like These.
Their latest release, “Signal Hill,” is a creation coming from multiple sources including a visit to St. John’s, Newfoundland’s Signal Hill which was thought of as a spooky setting for a Spy vs. Spy series. The group often pulls inspiration from iconic people, places and even overheard snippets of conversations. “Signal Hill” takes us deep into a Canadian Spy vs. Spy scenario in which you (the listener) are complicit and ultimately found out because of your taste in footwear.
Mississauga punk rock band Unknown Voidz was founded by Zan Khan and has recruited Ryan “Gooby” Goonoo on the drums, Jon Couzelis and Santiago Cara. Together, the band was previously signed into Spuds Records and have gone on to play across Ontario and Quebec. Their second EP will be released in September 2024 and they’re sharing the new single, “Take It As It Is,” ahead of its arrival. Spencer Lentini played bass on this track and the rest of the EP. His recent move to New York City saw Santiago rejoin the band but without Spencer, these songs wouldn’t have happened.
Mixed by Keegan Porter and recorded at Metrolab Studios, Zan wrote the song about staying true to himself. If people get mad over him living his life and minding his own business? He just says “Take It As It Is.”
Producer and genre-bending singer-songwriter Loryn Taggart has ambitiously broken through the music industry. This Hungarian-Canadian musician who was raised in the Prairies, took a leap of faith at just 16 years old when she left her family home and moved to Toronto in the pursuit of a life of music.
Now based in Montreal, it wasn’t long until Taggart’s talents were being noticed. She had the pleasure of touring with Canadian Folk Musician Donovan Woods, and most notably in 2021, when she secured the role of David Bowie on an international tribute tour highlighting Bowie’s The Berlin Trilogy era. After partnering with La Tribe Agence and Moment Factory, Taggart went on to perform the role of Bowie at renowned venues such as Place Des Arts, Canadian Arts Centre and the Amphitheatre Cogeco.
Latest single, “Walls,” brings a wonderful mix of Taggart’s pop and jazz background. The infectious single was inspired by emotions brought on from living with a boyfriend in the same dwelling as his last partner.
Hailing from Toronto, ON, Puma June is an “emerging Canadian artist you need to hear” (Exclaim!). The pop/R&B multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter makes music that is a unique blend of pop, funk, hip-hop, and R&B – a genre-bending sound that is both nostalgic and distinctive to the listener. With lots on the horizon for 2024, including being selected as one of this year’s RBCxMusic ‘First Up’’Emerging Artists, and selected for the EquityxProduction Program through SOCAN Foundation, Puma June is the embodiment of a self-made artist and is a rising voice in the Canadian pop/R&B scene.
In a world of hyper curated personal image/brand, her introspective new single, “Never Satisfied,” speaks to dissatisfaction that many of us can feel and relate to. After starting work as a nurse right at the beginning of the pandemic, she began to find her individual voice in music for the first time. So many of us go down a certain lifepath because of fear or other people’s expectations of us. As Puma June continues to shift more and more toward music full time, she feels more and more satisfied. The song’s raw lyrics are balanced by a musical sense of power and calm control.
Six years ago, Maddison Schreiber (Madam Sad) felt pushed to be a musician out of love and spite, which to this day continues to follow into their art. This upcoming album includes a large amount of work from Evelyn Charlotte Joe (they/them), who was also a great source of inspiration for them. They agreed to work on an album together. This upcoming album documents the feelings Maddison (they/he) went through during that time, and the feelings they had for Evelyn.
The pair spent around two years working on the LP, through which they both suffered from poverty and flare ups with disability. “I think with the colonial state of the world, with post capitalism and economic failure, many artists are going through heart wrenching, brain breaking, measures to make the simplest of results, and that’s something we experienced, too,” says Maddison.
They speak on “Exs” inspiration coming from growing in relationships and trying for neutrality in feelings after break ups.
At just 16 years of age, Summer Bennett from Paradise, NL, is emerging as one of Newfoundland’s most formidable talents. Summer won the 2021 Newfound Talent Contest from MusicNL and is a three time Arts and Letters Award winner. She is also a multi MusicNL and ECMA nominated artist.
Signed with Scilly Cove Records, Summer worked remotely with multi-Grammy Award winning producer Greg Wells between Newfoundland and Los Angeles on her debut One Thousand Fahrenheit EP. “Working with Greg Wells has been a dream,” says Summer. “He has worked with the biggest stars in the world and I feel very lucky to have him produce my songs. It’s like he can read my mind!”
The EP’s focus track, “Just A Phase,” is about the toxicity and negative aspects that social media influence and the internet can bring. Deep lyrics cover a unique teenage perspective backed by a modern pop sound.
To Canada by way of Lebanon, Raphaela is a multicultural singer/songwriter. She aims to evoke wonder and daydreaming in her audience through her timeless, affectionate and mature sounding voice, lyrics and melodies.
Brand new track, “Be My Hero,” stemmed from a feeling of wanting to finally start taking care of herself and placing boundaries where in the past she wouldn’t have. The song represents Raphaela’s journey over the last few years of striving to become a version of herself that she’s proud of – Someone who says “no,” who works towards achieving her dreams unapologetically, and who does all that while remaining kind and authentic to others, but most importantly, towards herself.
Philanthropist and singer-songwriter Dan Pallotta is marrying the two worlds of his life’s work with “All of Our Dreams,” taken from the recent Stephen Gyllenhaal-directed documentary, Uncharitable, which advocates for securing greater funding for the nonprofit sector.
This stately and cinematic song was produced by Pinar Toprak, known for her work producing grand scores for Marvel blockbuster films. A critical production decision was to have the song sung not just by Pallotta, but by nonprofit workers from around the world.
“It’s about having the grace to say no to old ways of thinking that no longer work, and to say yes to new ways of thinking that can work,” Pallotta explains of the song’s meaning. “Because that grace, or lack of it, is what’s standing between us and the world we really want — it’s what’s standing between us and all of our dreams.”
Central Coast Alt Rock outfit Bad Witch have dropped their highly anticipated single and video called ‘Taste’, which premiered exclusively via The AU Review.
“Inspired by my love of The Pixies, Weezer and 60’s doo-wop, Taste is about losing that lust for life. I wrote it during a time when I was practically bed-ridden with demotivation, when life wasn’t giving me the same satisfaction it used to when I was younger and hungrier.”
Harley Shaw – Bad Witch
Bad Witch effortlessly blend elements of old school Punk, Indie and Blues to form their infectious sound.
The band debuted in 2022 with the release of their single ‘Uptight’. They followed up in 2023 with the release of singles ‘Right Side of The Devil’ and ‘Lion’.
Since their debut, Bad Witch have shared the stage with the likes of The Rubens, Meg Mac, Nathan Cavaleri, The Lazy Eyes and many more. Earlier this year, the band dropped their new single ‘739’ which secured a rating of 4.5/5 on Triple J Unearthed.
New single ‘Taste’ is available on all major online stores and streaming services.
