With a song on her heart, Hamilton, ON pianist prodigy Alex Whorms has leant her ethereal vocals and masterful penchant for delicate homages to a new interpretation of Jann Arden’s “Insensitive.”

Listen and experience this breathtaking version on YouTube here:

What was it about the chart-topping smash hit that would come to ring true with legions of fans — and other artists who cover it — all flocking to the track’s aching melancholy? Its truly honest lyrics of heartbreak and longing... Of letting go after being let down… All relatable, earnest words delivered by the honest-to-God truth of feeling every crack in your soul from losing love.

In short, it’s the perfect combination of sense and sensibility for the Hamilton-based indie songstress.

With a voice CBC calls “incredibly earnest” with an “honest purity,” award-winning Canadian singer/songwriter Alex Whorms delivers a stunning and timely rendition of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” in time for an unprecedented season.

“The idea for this project came about last year,” Whorms recalls. “I was on tour to promote my EP, Burgundy, and I met producer Micah Doern at a radio interview at Ryerson University’s CJRU. We became friends after that, and decided to try recording together.”

Whorms’ rendition of the holiday classic first recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943 was recorded and mixed by Doern, and mastered by JUNO Award-winning and GRAMMY Award-nominee Dan Brodbeck.

Enjoy “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” here:

Hamilton, ON’s artists Bubl T’s continue to push the boundaries of pop and limits of love with the release of their newest single, “Intimacy”.

“We’re exploring that certain subtle but very telling details of a close romantic relationship,” Bubl T’s hint of the progressive pop song’s content. “There are metaphors that reach places beyond Earth to truly imply the scope and beauty inherent in such a relationship.

“This is a pure and straightforward love song.”

Check out “Intimacy” here on YouTube:

That said, not all is light in its love; the final line in both verses, ‘even on Earth throughout all the most wonderful years,’ has a slightly haunting quality to it, despite its upbeat delivery. “We wanted to usher the listener to a somewhat safer and warmer place than the one implied by our present situation on Earth,” composer and producer Robert Bruce says.

With a voice CBC calls “incredibly earnest” with an “honest purity,” Canadian singer/songwriter Alex Whorms continues to shine in her favourite holiday song, releasing a video covering Joni Mitchell’s “River” as the season swings into full-gear. 

“Joni Mitchell’s ‘River’ has been my favourite Christmas song for years,” says the Ajax-born, the Hamilton-based artist of her affections for the track, originally released in 1971. “I heard it for the first time when I was about 13… My family was watching an old rerun of ‘Ally McBeal’ — it was the episode where Robert Downey Jr’s character sang it, and I couldn’t believe how beautiful the song was. 

“I immediately looked up the lyrics and taught myself how to play it on the piano. 

“I’ve pulled it out, again and again, every year.” 

“It’s cool for me that the lyrics mention ‘skating away’ because I was a competitive figure skater for most of my life,” she marvels. “Skating is extremely therapeutic for me… It feels like flying.

Watch “River” here: https://youtu.be/XlqH7o77D8A