Amid sadness and despair, there can be light and happiness. But managing to capture both of those moods in the span of a few minutes of a song is challenging to say the least. Icelandic indie folk singer Svavar Knútur has managed to create a beautiful dichotomy of range and emotions with a Double-A side release: the hauntingly aching "While The World Burns (Repainted)" and the gear-changing, adventurous "November," both from Ahoy! Side B and also found on his double-album Ahoy!

We’d all like to live in a pleasant self-deception from time to time. And it's even better when we can get someone else to do the heavy lifting. That's the philosophy behind “Lie to Me,” on which Ontario alt-popper Punch the Camel revisits a relationship he now knows was just a mirage—but one that still beckons him just the same.

“What if I called you and said that I wanted you again?” he wonders. “Is it hopeless, or would you just try to break my heart again?” Hmmm … sounds like a bit of a no-win scenario either way the coin falls. But only if one insists on living in reality, which may not be an absolute deal-breaker here:

“I liked it better when you lie to me,” he admits.

There are plenty of Christmas standards heard throughout the holiday season, but few would have the backstory that a song co-written by Toronto singer-songwriter Kat Goldman and senior citizen Joel Claener has. The result is "New Orleans Christmas Day," a soothing Yuletide number packing plenty of musical accents that makes you think of "The Big Easy."

Goldman says the song's origins date back to her establishing her own business entitled Songwriting For Seniors and posting a sign at a nearby natural foods store. In 2023 an 81-year-old gentleman, Claener, phoned Goldman and eagerly explained an idea he had for a Christmas song set in the Southern U.S. Claener told Goldman he'd call her back, but the call came a year later at the beginning of summer 2024. 

The train song is one of the most time-tested traditions in North American music. Yet when it’s done right, it feels just as fresh and affecting as the very first time an itinerant bluesman rode the rails. The proud tradition continues in “Last Train Home,” the exquisitely mournful title track to Niagara Falls singer-songwriter Evan Rotella’s sophomore album.

Late-hour introspection of the kind only a vagabond lifestyle can induce, the song finds our hero heading back from another night on the eternal road, pondering what he’s learned and what’s been lost to him. Rotella’s voice crackles with self-recognition as he surveys the “thieves and cheats” that are sharing the ride with him, the “heroes and saints” who are his fellow passengers on a trip whose rituals are as routine as it is outcome is unknown. 

It's a bit of a jaunt (4,128 miles to be exact) to travel from Wakefield, England to Whitehorse, Yukon. But that didn't stop the duo of Andy Campbell and Dave Langdale from naming their fine indie rock group Wonders Of The Yukon. Now, the group offers up a superb seasonal single, "Christmas Not Ending," a beautifully executed song that is rich in texture and deep in feeling.

While suggestive song titles and lyrics aren't new or novel, the songwriting quality sometimes can say a lot or leave lots to the imagination with an engaging economy of words. For Rothesay, New Brunswick-originating but now Quebec-based group Sussex, they have raised that bar with their latest single "Under Your Tongue," a toe-tapping jewel from their album Shine, which should leave you with a smile or wry grin.

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December 28, 2024 -- La Marche A Cote (8 p.m.) -- Montreal, QC

 After veering from the adult contemporary and pop worlds, Montreal blues singer Sarah Sokal is bringing a sensational and powerful new album Twisted Games to listeners led by a delectable, brawny single "Man Made." It's a beefy, bluesy, party-starting track that showcases Sokal's alluring and alarmingly strong pipes, keeping the blues alive by bridging the gap between tradition and modernity, drawing in a younger audience who appreciate both timeless blues and the appeal of mainstream music.

"Man Made," co-written by Sokal and Stewart McKie and produced by DUBë (who also mixed, recorded, and engineered the song), brings to mind the likes of classic Amy Winehouse and the late Sharon Jones with its feel-good, uplifting tempo and confident, self-assured arrangement. Keyboardist Dave Lines complements Sokal's introductory verse before guitarist Andy Dacoulis, bassist Dray Woods, and drummer Jean Nadeau flesh the "Man Made" to perfection. It's a track that almost out-Dap-Kings Jones' iconic backing group.

February 22, 2025 -- Aurora Cultural Centre -- Aurora, ON

Some music is meant for certain times and occasions, but others can transport you to those lazy Sunday mornings, reflective afternoons, or cozy evenings with a loved one. For St. Catharines, Ontario-based jazz singer Sammy Jackson, those feelings and emotions are pieced together in her complex but incredibly captivating new album In The Meantime, the follow-up to her 2021 Juno Award-winning album With You. It's a seven-song collection led by the stunning "Home Sweet Home," a song epitomizing the album's style: extremely rewarding and innovative while almost effortlessly pushing the boundaries of jazz with subtle but succulent pop hues.

"In The Meantime is a collection of songs written between 2020 and 2022 focusing on personal experiences and feelings," Jackson says. "The music on this album is a continuation of my last album With You, touching on topics about love and relationships but now exploring the complexities of marriage, family life, and motherhood."

Traditionally, Christmas shopping has seen one half of a couple get all of their presents purchased, assorted, and gift-wrapped weeks if not months before the big day. The other half? Well, they leave things until the last minute, plead with the store clerks not to close on time, and take whatever item remains on the shelves, at the cash register, or in the backroom. Now Brantford, Ontario-based Americana artist KC Armstrong has crafted the perfect, toe-tapping, upbeat narrative with his latest single, "I Hate That Sweater."

With the political climate and divisiveness rampant across many areas in North America and beyond, gathering family and friends around the table for a big feast might come with discussions or fervent arguments. But for Tillsonburg, Ontario singer Justine Chantale, she wanted to remove any baggage that could cause emotional or mental strain. With help from Toronto pop tandem Broadtree (Nicole McCafferty and Armand Antony), Chantale has created the roots-y, revealing pop rock single "Bye Felicia."

It's hard to put your stamp on the holidays as a singer. Christmas albums are the norm for nearly every artist, and trying to get airplay for new Christmas songs can be challenging. Then you have a trove of standards that rarely are removed from rotation. But if you have a song as tender and soulful as "Anytime Of Year" released by Toronto-born pop singer Joèe you shouldn't have that issue. The single, which creates mental pictures of '50s era doo-wop bands singing around an open flame in the dead of winter, is a pristine and polished song that hits all the right notes while tugging at all the right heartstrings.

There are calm, soothing versions of Christmas carols and standards that are amplified throughout shopping malls and big box stores. But Montreal blues rock group Izzo Blues Coalition have injected a fresh sense of verve and energy with their blistering cover of "Merry Christmas Baby." It's a performance that would make Santa question whether he wants to put himself on the nice or naughty list.

They say that knowing is half the battle; what they don’t tell you is that it’s only the first half, and maybe not even the hardest half either. On their new single, “I Didn’t Know,” Nashville crossover rockers the Goldy lockS Band capture that moment when you realize you’ve been hoodwinked—and must acknowledge not only the time you’ve wasted on a lie but the shadow of uncertainty it’s cast across your future.

The song is a portrait of betrayal that’s rendered in stark, snapshot-like images: a rainy bus stop, a dead cell phone, a “missing ring” that turned into a “nasty thing.” Somebody’s done somebody wrong, all right, and the tune’s chorus couldn’t do a better job of laying out just how much of a cause for despair that is: “I didn’t know/ How quick that this would fold/ I didn’t know/ And our love could grow so cold.” Which begs the nagging question: Now what?

open.spotify.com/track/2LcfxnRdsmc12WmUM2jdKI

Delaware-based music collective ‘Dutchman’ is excited to announce the release of their highly anticipated double single, featuring the captivating tracks “I Need You Now” and “In Your Heart,” both out now.

With a fresh yet evocative sound, the band continues to solidify their place in the music scene, building on their previous successes, including being featured in The Washington Post and having acquired thousands of international streams.

Dutchman is fronted by singer/songwriter Connor Johnson, who has been present since the band’s inception in 2017, and has benefitted from the dedicated efforts of Guitarist, Garrett Gravatt, who initially joined in 2020 and has notably served as a pivotal role in helping Johnson to engineer and produce their sound.

There's an adage that says home is where you hang your hat. But for North Carolina blues rock musician Alex Blum, the adage stating you have to leave in order to come back might be more apt. The musician's travels resulted in his latest single "Hometown," a groove-riddled homage off his Good Weather album regarding where he grew up and the good-natured attitude of its inhabitants. 

"'Hometown' is a song I wrote while far from home, and it had truly been too long since I had been in my hometown," Blum, raised growing up in Chapel Hill but now based in Charlotte, says. "I had taken a trip full of idealism, hitch-hiking between off-grid communes and eco-villages and other various alternative living communities across the country and working very hard trying to contribute to what I thought was a positive mission. But the communities were beset by bickering, gossip, and slander, which I would have thought was part of ordinary life, but people would really kick each other out of a living situation over the most petty grievances."

Toronto’s oH! The Artist ‘Risks It All’ With New Single and Wins Big, Bringing Heartfelt R&B Back to the Spotlight

Good news, fellas: It’s safe to share your feelings again. And for that, you can thank Toronto-based R&B soul-barer oH!, who on his new single, “Risk It All,” is single-handedly bringing sincerity back.

With an openness and vulnerability that could make any lady’s heart melt, our hero admits how hard it is to commit to love in a world that’s full of traps and fakes. But he’s real, dammit, and he’s looking to get with a girl who’s real too—ideally, the one who’s standing right there in front of him.

I’m ready and I’m able
Wanna turn the tables, girl
I’m scared but I’m ready for us, yeah
I’m ready to risk it all

Songwriters can find inspiration at any place at any time. For Indigenous folk rock Mike Bern, a yard sale discovery was the seed which fueled his latest and possibly greatest effort in "We Are The Stars," a beautiful ballad which is sure to join previous singles "Reverberation" and "New World" which appeared on the Indigenous Music Countdown charts.

Bern, a native of Tobique First Nation, New Brunswick (Wolasoqey (maliseet)), says he found a poem in an old book he discovered at a yard sale entitled Algonquin Legends. "In the book it has myths and folklore of the Wabanaki People," he says. "In the 1800s, all these songs and stories were collected. The poem 'We Are The Stars' stood out to me, and I loved it so much I wanted to incorporate my style of music."

Sometimes the best creative sparks in life come from making a small mistake. For folk, pop, and soul musician Donny Smith, a simple phrase directed to his wife one day was all that was needed for "Adore You," an engaging piece of ear candy that shines thanks to highbrow pop sensibilities and packs plenty of style.

"One day, I looked at my wife and, instead of saying 'I love you' as I usually would, the words 'I adore you' came out," Smith, says. "That small but meaningful phrase struck with me, and I knew it had the potential to blossom into something special. From that moment, the song was born."

"Adore You," written and recorded by Smith but with production and mastering duties done by his brother David Smith, is pristine adult contemporary pop that is as flawless as it is catchy. Smith attributes the song's synergy to the near telepathic nature the brothers have when it comes to creating music. "Over the years, we've developed what I call a 'musical sixth sense,'" Smith says. "We instinctively know each other's strengths, sounds, and creative limits, which makes collaborating feel seamless. This connection was invaluable in bringing 'Adore You' to life."

Remembering the first night you met your significant other can bring back vivid memories. Or in the case of Joe Ferland, guitarist and singer for Toronto "neo jam band" Danceland, it can help stoke the fires of creation. The end result is "Sapphire," a winding but wonderful new single from the band's Licky album that sounds fresh and exciting while conjuring up images of late '60s greats like Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead.

"It is about the night that (Danceland singer and Ferland's wife) Jale and I's love affair began," Ferland says. "We had been hanging out and playing in bands together. Then, one night, a bunch of friends went to a dance club called Sapphire that our bandmate and friend was bar tending at. Jale and I danced all night."

Christmas is often a time of getting gifts, wrapping gifts, visiting friends, and preparing rather large meals. It's a busy time when one should be relaxing, watching the snow fall as loved ones enjoy the warmth of a fireplace, candles, and the company of each other. And listening to gentle, soothing songs that evoke memories of simpler times. That feeling is felt throughout the hauntingly brilliant Snow Came Falling, a Christmas album by Woolwich, Ontario-based folksinger Carla Muller. It's an album inspired by her father and family and epitomizes Christmas at its essence.