Niagara Falls-based alt rockers James Blonde encapsulate the restorative magic and magnetic appeal of the nightlife with their new single “Back To Life”.  Because no matter how dull and lackluster – or depressed and lifeless – one might temporarily feel, everyone knows that the best cure is a well-timed night out. Check it out on YouTube here:

Ukubonga [Gratitude], the new recording from South African singer Lorraine Klaasen and South African guitarist, composer, arranger, musical director and producer Mongezi Ntaka is a collection of songs from the Southern Africa’s Township music songbook and features songs written by some of Southern Africa’s celebrated singers and composers. Lorraine & Mongezi decided to show gratitude to the dedicated artists who endured and survived some of the most brutal and humiliating experiences a human can experience while pursuing their musical careers to support their families. Both Lorraine & Mongezi experienced some of the conditions that this generation of artists experienced in South Africa during the dark years of apartheid but not to the extent experienced by these celebrated artists whose songs Lorraine and Mongezi are borrowing to remind Africans of the basic concept of gratitude.

Kit Vale is the solo project of Toronto-based singer/songwriter Jen Simpson, whom you may know as the stunning voice of Canadian rockers Neon Bloom. Inspired by a diverse mix of musical tastes ranging from post-punk to hip-hop, Simpson uses Kit Vale as a project that combines elements of these influences and every genre in between. They have culminated in a melodic synthesis of sound filtered through her distinct gothic, garage-glam style.

Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/track/1Xq6l3rrfObOAHhx0WH9CQ?si=d6d51367575e43e4&nd=1

“Pet” is Simpson’s second single under the Kit Vale moniker and was produced by the legendary Rob Sanzo. The track was co-written with bassist Robert Lechner, Simpson’s bandmate from her former group, along with Tony Sjoman and Walter Gardner, the Brooklyn-based The Never Evers. While The Never Evers thought they would never ever release the eight songs they recorded together, the powerful performance on “Pet” could no longer be contained.

Check out “Pet” on YouTube here:

A wistful pop ballad with a subtle jazz feel, Harriet Chung’s latest single “Old Montreal” relates a timeless situation to a history-rich locale, love lost in a romantic city. Offering a different local vibe from her earlier single “Vancouver,” “Old Montreal” is introspective, just this side of sad, questioning a star-crossed relationship gently, without bitterness or anger:
Maybe your flight began to depart
As I strolled along Clock Tower Beach
You’re off to break another heart
In some distant land so far out of reach.

Check out “Old Montreal” on YouTube here:

Autumn is often symbolic of deep transition, of parts of nature – and our natures – dying to make way for the new. Toronto-based rockers A Short Walk To Pluto, endorsed earlier this year by Howard Stern on his top-rated SiriusXM show, illustrate that poetically in their folksier but no less tight new single “Give Me Grace” – Check it out on YouTube:

A soaring, jangly, acoustic ballad about the transformational power of love perfectly captured in a song, “Give Me Grace” tells the story of two separate people eventually destined for one another. The first narrator, the woman, feels trapped in an internal, everlasting winter, where the sun can’t break through a sky seemingly made of ice.  The second verse tells the story of the male protagonist’s isolation and longing for companionship throughout a beautiful and fiery, yet lonely and daunting, autumn.

JUNO Nominated Singer/Songwriter & Multi-Award-Winning Music Educator Celebrates a Personal Connection with Sixth Single from Her Delectable Debut Album “Lemon Meringue Pie”.

Just like the languid last days of summer can make you nostalgic for all the good times shared, the warm memories that a favourite song from our youth brings to the surface can make us long to relive those days as well. JUNO nominated Canadian jazz vocalist Mary Lou Sicoly knows the power of that feeling very well and celebrates a personal connection with the music and music makers of ‘70s supergroup Earth, Wind & Fire with her smooth, sweet take on their nostalgia-fueled classic “September” – Check it out on YouTube here:

The Copenhagen, Denmark band The Lost Weekend' debuts with a conceptual wall of noise and an alternative rock album that aims to cut through and join the year’s best rock releases in giving the listener something real.  With sailing and crashing guitars, and a vocal frontman that burns bright, The Lost Weekend brings forth a sound that reminisces the most iconic bands of the 90s.

Several years in the making, “Radiance” has been both a solid anchor and a forward driver in an uncertain world – an organic constant that gropes and hunts, or as the band puts it:
“The record has been a quest to find continuity in a society hungering for meaning.  It is a journey that goes back to beat music’s rise, past the 90’s grunge and shoegaze to 00s Indie Rock, and then spills over the borders in searching voodoo fables. Tales of anti-heroes and bumbling declarations of love.  The Lost Weekend, and Radiance turns on being lost in the fog of the weekend, the noise of euphoria – to go forth, let go, give existence form, and then spit it out.”

Rich vocalizations and big-band pop vibes aren’t the only things driving young breakthrough artist Valentina Cherico. Her unique fusion of pop and Latin music sends shivers down spines across the globe, featured prominently in her newest single, “Believe In Yourself” – watch it on YouTube here:

Based in Pittsburgh, PA, 19-year-old Valentina’s polished vocals are merely the icing on this massive production. Featuring sexy Latin trumpet riffs, stylish Spanish guitar licks, and an alluring depth metaphoric of our own potential, “Believe In Yourself” is a massive mix that has something to tickle everyone’s fancy.

Truly a visionary in his craft, Plex consistently releases hard hitting hip-hop anthems reminiscent of old school hip-hop that progress the civil rights agenda. Who Am I To Judge carries this banner proudly  -
Check it out on YouTube here:

Following the release of “Great Ones (E’s Up)”, a track that topped the Indigenous Music Countdown this year, the critically acclaimed rapper debuts his newest project, Who Am I To Judge and has released the new song “Red Flags” featuring Aleah Belle. The 12-track LP is curt – corporate greed and manufactured hate are a toxin in the veins of society, condemning corrupt governments, cultural appropriation, uncanny wealth, and the toxic remnants of fake news and sinister intentions.

Being a good guy doesn’t necessarily entail grand gestures, but merely paying attention to the little things – doing the dishes, walking the dog, cooking dinner. Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Moxon catalogs all the ways he fits the bill on his new single “Real Good Guy” – check it out YouTube here:

Taking its cues from easygoing ’70s soul, “Real Good Guy” features tinkling piano, joyful horns, subtle harmonies, and even some exuberant whistling as Dan basks in the reality of being a responsible member of a household. Throughout the song, there’s the sense that Dan isn’t actually trying hard to convince anyone that he’s a good guy, but that he’s instead marveling at a particular stage of life.

Almost eight hundred years since the first guitar strings were fashioned and plucked in Spain, arguably one of Canada’s best guitarists and award-winning singer/songwriter composer Jeff Gunn finds a new six-string story to tell with his meditative new single “One Life” check it out on YouTube here:

Few artists have honed the guitar as a storytelling instrument the way Jeff Gunn has, and “One Life” is the latest demonstration of Gunn’s transcendent musicianship. “One Life” is the latest single from Gunn’s meticulously crafted third studio album “Momentum,” an eclectic collection of beautifully executed guitar-driven songs that are as compelling as they are versatile.

Death, breakups, moves, and more separate us from people who are important before we want, sometimes before we need. But in life, people come and go.

This is the theme of Thunder Bay singer, songwriter, and producer Collin Clowes’s latest single, “Go.”

Check out “Go” on YouTube here:

A slow, soft track, “Go” evokes the emotion of sorrowful grief. This extremely human experience is encapsulated in the tone, lyrics, and melody of the song.

Collin is responsible for writing, recording, producing, mixing, and mastering the track, plus did the vocals, guitar, keys, synths, drums, samples, and bass. In short, “Go” is solely a Collin creation, and it comes from a place deep inside the artist.

Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/artist/385HjNvJFeratbybX2IZhx

The Canadian metal-rockers of Edmonton, Alberta are in a “State of Mind” -

Watch and listen to “State of Mind” on YouTube here:

The collective made up of Michelle Johnson (vocals), Steven Johnson (guitar), Corey Johnson (guitarist, bassist, keys, producer), and Keith Runco (drums) have created a new, gothic style of metal - surging electric riffs and laden with the vocal prowess of Johnson. Infusing orchestral and piano-based melodies with wavetable synthesis, Circle of Wolves are re-inventing metal into an entirely different and exciting sonic experience. By combining harmonies, with complicated chord progressions, and an exhilarating stage show, Circle The Wolves are intent on tearing up the rule book, forging a path of songwriting, and performing uniquely their own.

KYTLY’s latest single, “Begin Again,” is sparse indie-rock confessional from her forthcoming album, Detours And Exits, out October 13. Produced by Fountains of Wayne’s Brian Young (Jesus and Mary Chain, The Posies) and featuring a cast of musicians from Afghan Whigs, Jesus And Mary Chain, Brian Wilson’s band, Fountains of Wayne, if you’re going to start over, this is the way to do it.

Check out “Begin Again” on YouTube here:

More than a decade after debuting with the acclaimed but short-lived indie-rock outfit The Caraways — and following years of navigating the curves, hills, and valleys of existence — the bewitching Canadian vocalist and multi-media multi-talent has returned with her long-overdue appropriately-named new album.

Bilingual, Hamilton-based, indie-pop singer-songwriter Mary Clements releases her sunny debut full-length album, COME WITH ME, out on November 4^th and it will be available on all platforms. She’ll be celebrating the release with a concert and party on November 17^th at The Staircase theatre in Hamilton, Ontario.

Mary Clements is a singer-songwriter based out of Hamilton, Ontario, who uses her music to explore the world around her. Rooted in piano and voice, her songs can sometimes sound like indie-folk, pop, classical, or even country. Her sincere vocals combined with the textures of her production create a simple, authentic experience.

"I draw inspiration from artists like Ben Folds, Sarah Slean, and Rufus Wainwright but also of course, from the world around me," says Clements. She's also greatly influenced by her degrees in Classical Voice and French. While French has played a big role in her life through the French education company she founded in 2009 called Les Petites Pommes, she's now very excited to utilize the musical part of her education.

A person’s teen years are so important in defining who a person is, and who they’re about to become. Fortunately, Canadian alt-rock artist F. Scott has a sonic snapshot of that time in the form of his single “Lakes” which he wrote while attending an outdoors camp on John Island at the pivotal age of 17. Check it out on YouTube here:

“Lakes” is sweeping, orchestral, head-bopping, and gorgeously, discordantly chaotic in the way being a teen is, or should be. “When I wrote this song I was greatly inspired by the beautiful landscapes of northern Ontario that surrounded me, and the friends from all over Ontario that I made there,” F. Scott divulges. “The cover art showcases a picture of my friend, standing on Front Beach on John Island.”

Who doesn’t look to the moon for guidance in matters of the heart? And where better to look for a voice to guide you than a rising star coming from the place of Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky and The Wild Bunch?

It’s an age-old tradition in song and verse and following this lineage as well as a long line of British female singer-songwriters, eclectic Bristol, UK-based songspinner Saskia Nyx adds modern depth with her new single, simply titled “Moon.”

Check out “Moon” on YouTube here:

After sounding the “Alarm Bells” and vowing to give up drinking in his last single, Alliston, Ontario’s Grant Boyer returns with something dark and thought-provoking: “De-Evolution.” Check it out on YouTube here:

Does that title remind you of ‘80s icons Devo? It might, with its theme of societal regression wrapped up in a catchy chorus:
De-evolution is here, and we don’t care
Shove my face in a phone and
You can take me anywhere.

But this track’s purely of this century, with its creeping-menace hook that reflects what Boyer calls “the general sense of unease that we crave” and its “online arguments [that] go nowhere.” It was originally intended to be acoustic, until the addition of brain-crunching riffs, scraping rhythm, and a jolting solo gave the track a powerful new edge.

Music has a profound way of making us feel less alone, and that was particularly true during the pandemic. And yet at the same time, live music halted, also stunting some of those musical connections. Ottawa-based rockers Evil Creek capture this conundrum with their release of their new single and video “Away From The Sun”, from their forthcoming EP of the same name out December 2.

Check out “Away From the Sun” on YouTube here: youtube.com/watch?v=yEIMJ8cTsfE

An Americana-tinged guitar anthem with introspective loud-quiet dynamics, “Away From The Sun” takes a deep dive into mental-health issues and depression, exploring loneliness and isolation.

I know I walk alone
My shadow follows me
Takes away my sanity
Take a look in my eyes
See I've become so hollow
Will I make it through tomorrow

The corresponding music video tells parallel stories of a band and an individual who found themselves closed off from the world

It's going to get loud Saturday, November 5th in Toronto at the all-newly renovated Parkdale Hall with some of Canada's most legendary punk rock bands taking the stage for WEST QUEEN WEST PUNK FEST.

The lineup features legendary Hamilton punk rockers The Forgotten Rebels with their unique and original blend of tongue and cheek punk rock that has been wowing audiences since the first days of punk in the 70's. They always provide a fun and entertaining show that'll be filled with classics like "Surfin' on Heroin" and many more.

The bill also features such legendary bands as Toronto's Random Killing and Montreal's The Ripcordz, who will also be appearing at the event. Both bands have a huge history together and have solidified themselves as two of Canada's top punk acts, releasing albums and touring the country and beyond for over 30 years.

The festival will also feature G.F.U, a punk band from York Region that is building a lot of steam in the Ontario punk scene, as well as two more legendary Toronto bands with The Liquor Pigs and Atomic Tomb who have both been staples in the Ontario punk rock community for over 25 years.