Over the past decade, Andrew Bishop has carved out his spot as one of Vancouver’s go-to pop polymaths. He concocted catchy garage anthems as the guitarist of Alex Little & the Suspicious Minds, acted as the sideman in the pop-noir combo Twin River, and made country-tinged solo tunes as White Ash Falls. Along the way, he’s built up an ever-growing resume as a producer.

Now, Andrew has channeled all of it into the new project WAASH, which combines his prolific songwriting talents with a love of towering shoegaze soundscapes. It’s both a culmination and an entirely new beginning. The five songs that make up WAASH‘s self-titled EP were written slowly but steadily as Andrew took plenty of time to tinker with demos and build intricate arrangements from the ground up.

His meticulous approach can be heard in the way EP opener “I Want to Be Good” ascends from the echoing strums of its intro towards a cloud-parting widescreen crescendo.

Kandle can weave magic so powerful because she feels it too, she is out here in the darkness with us. A true music industry veteran, she has been a powerhouse in the scene with an impressive career spanning over a decade.

“St. Paul’s” is the second single off her next album to be released in spring 2024. A hypnotic and sexy waltz through the corridors of pain and grief, “St. Paul’s” is catharsis in the face of despair. Coming back bolder than ever, self-produced and in charge, this fearless chanteuse shows us once again that her cinematic, raw songwriting can’t be packaged up and put in one simple category. With a wide range of influences ranging from Portishead to PJ Harvey, “St Paul’s” is just a taste of the highly anticipated release from one of Canada’s finest songwriters.

Aloysius Bell (a·lo·wish·us bell) is the alter ego of Winnipeg-born, Montreal-based singer-songwriter Annick Brémault. While her name is a nod to the male pseudonyms of the iconic Brontë sisters, Aloysius Bell is a persona born from intense soul-searching who aims to shed light on murky, in-between spaces.

Born from the interplay of otherworldly realms and her imagination, Aloysius Bell‘s debut EP Warm Thing artlessly melds her distinctive songwriting with pop, RnB and electro influences. Produced with multi-disciplinary Toronto artist Driftnote (Korea Town Acid, R. Flex) and mixed by David Plowman (July Talk, Dillan Ponders), Warm Thing is set for release in February 2024.

For Brémault, new single “That Is Me” highlights the way that she was taught to please – like many other AFAB humans – and in this song she’s reimagining herself the way she wishes she’d been in her 20’s: not wasting time trying to please other people. 

Tasmania based thee-piece alternative rock outfit Verticoli have just released their brilliant new single ‘The Fear’.

“The Fear is about channeling panicked, nervous energy into something positive creatively. The music was written in that kind of a headspace, and the lyrics try to reflect that kind of intensity, and the idea that you can disempower fear by doing your best to immerse yourself in it.”

Verticoli are on a mission to produce high-quality music that is heavy, melodic, and raucous. The band have toured heavily across Australia, supporting the likes of Cog, Kingswood, British India and DZ Deathrays. They opened the Field Stage at Falls Festival in Marion Bay (14/15) and were selected by Triple J Unearthed to play the 2017 Party in the Paddock.

Last year the band released their sophomore album ‘The Echo’. The album received support from radio stations like Triple J, Triple j Unearthed, Double J and community radio across the country. The album received praise and positive reviews from the likes of AAA Backstage, AIR, Australian Music Scene, Tone Deaf, The AU Review,
Music Feeds, Hysteria Magazine, The Music, and The Underground Stage.

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

Dany Horovitz is a Canadian singer-songwriter known for delighting audiences with his memorable melodies and beautiful storytelling through vivid lyrics of love, loss, and life, drawing inspiration from ancient poets, modern philosophers, and personal experiences. Born to a middle-class Jewish family in Montreal and raised outside Toronto, Dany‘s music is infused with modern takes on familiar sounds: melodic guitar and piano chords, popping bass licks, and toe-tapping percussion.

What kind of advice could you give a young kid in this world? For Dany, he wanted to be prepared if his nieces and nephews wanted to ask the cool uncle for life advice. Here’s what he came up with: try to be your best self as much as you can; forgive yourself when you’re not your best, because that will happen, then try again; and, forgive others too whether they ask for it or not. Basically, be good. That is the essence of his new song, “Be Good.”

Sim, the bandleader of Action Forever, grew up in Brantford, Ontario. His obsession with music began at age five and, for the next two decades, his natural talents were fostered by a musical family upbringing and constant exposure to a unique and eclectic mix of influences ranging from 80’s pop, to progressive rock, to jazz and indie.

He’d been working for years on a body of original fringe-pop music for a 4-piece band, now to be released under the name Action Forever. The music, while lively, electric, melodic, and danceable, explores darker themes such as loneliness in a digital age, abusive relationships, loss of identity, and mental health. 

“Loveless Love,” the latest single from the group, was written by Sim from the POV of a man suffering from online sex addiction and parasocial relations.  

Hailing from Montreal, Raveen as a trio has flourished into a united entity since releasing their debut full-length Always in 2017. The record marks their foray into more subdued, lush songwriting and a grandiose approach to arrangement with orchestral strings, choir work and field recording. Live performances are evocative of Jeff Buckley‘s dynamic peaks-and-valleys approach, while blending electronics and live instrumentation in new, innovative ways. Their releases are consistent markers of growth, with more on the way in the coming year.

The group’s latest single and resurgent return after the pandemic era setbacks with “In The Middle,” a driving and emotive track. “This song tries to provide a snapshot of the emotions we feel in those moments when love and growth fight for dominance in our lives.” -Eric Segun

Orson Wilds is a seven piece indie rock band from Toronto, Ontario. Fronted by Eric Reid and Brianna Bordihn, they have recently released their second EP This Burning House (We All Fell Asleep In) through Take This To Heart Records.

New single, “Be Brave,” is about being grateful for good parents. As we get older and friends start having children, you realize who stepped up and made tremendous sacrifices for their kids, and you might also feel grateful in hindsight for your parents who gave you more than you could appreciate at the time.