New Music
JULIANA EYE is a dynamic, unapologetic alt-pop artist. Her brand of indie-pop is inspired by the nostalgia of ‘90s & early ‘00s alternative rock and post-punk aesthetics. A love of infectious pop melodies fused with melancholy informs her ‘danceable sad bangers.’
The Toronto-based songwriter took to music obsessively at the early age of thirteen as an act of rebellion against her traditional upbringing. LATE BLOOMER is a 6-track homage to her teenage self, produced by Tal Vaisman (KADEEMA, Wayley, Dawson Gamble). Drifting through themes of escapism and nostalgia, the debut EP became a way to revisit her youth and make sense of the growing pains. She reframed negative experiences into something beautiful instead of bleak, learning that there can be a bloom after a deep freeze.
“THE DRUGS AREN’T WORKING” is a fever dream about driving recklessly through life. You’re forced to face your demons when your vices no longer help you escape reality, and the things you’ve been putting off finally catch up with you.
The Weather Holds is the latest project and supergroup formed by Montreal-based producer and composer Devon Bate. The debut LP, You Couldn’t Ask For a More Beautiful Day, is a precarious return to his folk roots with the electroacoustic influences of his musical training: a nostalgic remembrance of busking in Winnipeg, the careful curation of CDs on bus rides, and fog-ridden memories that sound like experimental country but smell like forest fire smoke.
Focus track, “Five Roses,” is a clichèd love letter to Montreal and its community. There are at least 12 musicians playing on this little song – most of them join in singing the chorus, I wrote a song. The song highlights some of the collaborators featured throughout the whole album – we hear Beatrice Ferreira try to figure out the fiddle part, Alex Rand ripping a banjo solo, and Jean-Michel Blais improvise around a theme, among many others.
Brave New World is the uncommonly rich, joyous and exhilarating second album from Toronto singer/songwriter Erin Hunt that defies categorization while freely exploring the deepest yearnings of the human condition. A profoundly musical record built for headphone listening – to sit back, fire up a fatty and disappear into – but also perfect to blast over speakers, to groove to, until the music stops you in your tracks.
The album closer (and fourth single), “Won’t Give Up” is perhaps Erin and her band at its most dynamic and explosive – underpinning the lyric of resilience and faith – then perfectly matching the powerful, insistent refrain that typifies the spirit and drive and exuberance of the whole record: “We don’t give up, we don’t give up, we don’t give up.”
Australian/Anglo Indie Rockers NOASIShave just released their new single and music video ‘Walk On’, which was premiered exclusively via Scenestr.
The lads will be hitting the road for a run of Australian tour dates that kick off in July.
“Walk On is inspired by early years of my life in the UK and listening to bands such as the Stone Roses, Gorillaz and Sneaker Pimps. I have a fondness for that period in my life, and the music around our home, and in my grandad’s car. The song is about the pace of 21st century living and for me, the coming of age in a new country and a very different time of life.”
Tom Spiby – NOASIS
NOASIS were originally formed the UK. In 2013, Darren Spiby (founding member of NOASIS) moved to Australia and after a few years acclimatizing, brought together a group of lads to run around Australia playing OASIS anthems.
Managed by Our Kid Promotions, NOASIS are a hardworking band that are nothing short of infectious.
The lads recently released their stellar single called ‘In The Shadow (Of Notre-Dame)’. The single was premiered via AAA Backstage and received airplay on over 100 radio stations worldwide.
New single ‘Walk On’ is available on all major online stores and streaming services
NOASIS
‘WALK ON’ | TOUR DATES
July 1st – The Manning Bar, Sydney, NSW
Tickets available at www.noasis.com.au |18+ only
July 8th – The Triffid, Brisbane, QLD
Tickets available at www.noasis.com.au |18+ only
July 14th – Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide, SA
Tickets available at www.noasis.com.au |18+ only
Sept 16th – Altar, Hobart, TAS
Tickets available at www.noasis.com.au |18+ only
Sept 22nd – The Espy, Melbourne, VIC
Tickets available at www.noasis.com.au |18+ only
Nov 24th – Freo Social, Fremantle, WA
Tickets available at www.noasis.com.au |18+ only
Dec 9th – Miami Marketta, Gold Coast, QLD
Tickets available at www.noasis.com.au |18+ only
Dec 16th – The Basement, Canberra, ACT
Tickets available at www.noasis.com.au |18+ only
Formed in 2017, The Free Label is made up of six musicians from Toronto, ON. With a collective love of 80’s disco and 90’s RnB, they got their start playing house parties and dive bars – hence being affectionately referred to as “your mom’s favourite party band.” With a sound that is both unique and infectious, The Free Label has taken the music world by storm and will be touring in North America, Europe, and South Asia/Japan all throughout 2023.
“Shine” is the first single to be shared from their forthcoming debut album (set for release next year). Featuring Braxton Cook (who has produced for Taylor Swift and played saxophone on Mac Miller & Christian Scott’s projects), “Shine” is a laidback anthem that celebrates individuality, encouraging listeners to embrace their unique qualities and shine like a superstar.
Toronto-rooted rock band Jane’s Party are on a course from campus cover band to revered indie rock outfit with a still-growing pile of achievements and accolades propelling their rise. Their viral hit “Daydream” has been streamed over 50 million streams and used in videos by Fortnite, Pittsburgh Penguins NHL, Insider, Yahoo! Life, LadBible, World Surf League, Yahoo! News and Florence By Mills.
The protagonist in their new single, “Ships On An Ocean,” is singing from a place of absolute defeat. There’s no confidence or will to even interrupt the slow-motion breakup he’s going through – in a way he’s dropped all barriers, knowing there’s nothing he can do about any of it. The title references the “ships that pass in the night” metaphor, originally from a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; the idea that we can come so close to one another for a brief period of time, and then just sail off into the night.
JP have experimented with different sounds and styles over the past decade-plus, but the simple-but-substantial melodies, rich, multi-part harmonies, and mastery of musical dynamism weave through it all. In addition to official slots at dozens of taste-making music festivals on multiple continents, they have shared stages with the likes of Arkells, Tokyo Police Club, LIGHTS, Lord Huron, Manic Street Preachers, and two European tours with BRITs Critics Choice winner Tom Odell.
Indie rock act The Lightning Struck‘s sound didn’t happen by accident. In 2000, frontman Loren Davie moved to New York City after listening to The Velvet Underground and Nico one too many times. Over two decades of making music there later, Loren returned to his hometown of Toronto and brought the city’s sound with him. He formed The Lightning Struck with old friends Michael Milanetti and Blitz, and the trio were soon joined by Aussie expat drummer Liam Baidon.
Debut full-length, bolt from the blue, is a straightforward rock release that treads a fine line between groove and noise – two genres that serve as essential to the band’s identity. While this could arguably be dubbed as a pandemic album, it’s more of a recovery album. There is a struggle to come to terms with our current world both as a society and on a personal level. bolt from the blue explores our anxieties and negotiation with the world as we find it now.
Groovy focus track, “Rock n Roll Ending,” looks at the 21st century situation of “burnout” – read as: systemic exploitation – and rejects it entirely. “Don’t want a culture where we eat our young,” Loren protests. “Caught in a web of scams before we’ve begun.”
As longtime members of Blue Sky Miners, the musical duo of Eric “The Duke” Duquette and Jena “Goldie” Gogo had released two albums, toured North America, and enjoyed national radio play. Still there seemed to be uncharted musical waters on the horizon, so Duke & Goldie escaped from Toronto and set out for a small island in the Pacific Northwest in May of 2020.
The rag tag pirate-like community of (aptly named) Protection Island turned out to be the perfect coastal environment for the pair’s musical evolution to take place. Fire lit jams, a newfound connection to nature and deep reflection on their roles as settlers in this land gave spark to the self-titled EP that the now Vancouver-based twosome are proud to present. https://linktr.ee/dukeandgoldie.
Recorded with producer and pedal steel ace Aaron Goldstein (Julianna Riolino, Daniel Romano, Kathleen Edwards) with rhythm pros Anna Ruddick and Dani Nash, Duke & Goldie charts out landscapes and stories from thrilling rocky mountain highs, to mysterious remote deserts and walks the line barefoot between warm-folk storytelling and mystical country twang. All while asking deeper questions about the duo’s place in the land they love so much.
Singles “Courage,” “Rocky Mountain Feeling” and focus track “See You There” navigate the ups and downs of life on the journey to self-discovery. “See You There” was written in contribution to a fundraiser for a women’s shelter, for which Goldie ruminated about a spectrum of tough experiences—inequities, systemic failures, abuse—in search of the beauty in human connection. “We wanted to tell anyone experiencing adversity that they are not only seen and worthy of love where they are, but that they deserve so much more,” she states.
