Back from a week’s vacation to once again offer some New Music Friday suggestions. Because there aren’t a lot of albums on the schedule, it’s a singles-heavy week.
Singles
1. The Tragically Hip, Get Back Again (Universal Music Canada)
The Tragically Hip was one of those bands who saved everything. (I had a chance to play in their archives when I did a liner notes project for them; it was wild!) And yes, this means there are plenty of unreleased tracks sitting in a vault. This one is a holy grail of sorts because it was recorded in November 1988, before the band signed their first deal and the Up to Here album. The group would occasionally perform it live, but the only recorded version available until now was a live recording that’s part of the Live at Misty Moon set. But now, we have an official band-new music video mated to audio remixed and remastered from the original session.
2. AlexisonFire, Little Girls Pointing and Laughing (Dine Alone)
Alexisonfire is fiercely loyal to their hometown of St. Catharines, Ontario. Not only are they resurrecting their festival called Born & Raised (July 5-6 at Montebello Park) but they’ve put together a live album for the occasion. LIVE Born & Raised 2022, St Catharines ON was recorded during the inaugural festival back in 2022 and features tracks from all parts of their career. The single is a live version of a song that was recorded for their 2002 debut record.
3. Kaleo, Rock N Roller (Warner)
This single actually came out a couple of weeks ago but since I was on vacation, I never got a chance to mention it. This song has been around for a while, long enough for it to become a fan favourite–it’s a big encore song–when the band plays live. No only does the song date back years, but the video was made ten years ago and never given a proper release outside of Iceland.
4. Coldplay, Feelslikeimfallinginlove (Warner)
I know it’s just the first weekend of the summer, but we’re already talking about albums that will come out in the fall. Case in point: Coldplay’s tenth album, Moon Music. This advance single was produced by Max Martin (that should tell you something about how it will sound before you even hit “play.”)
5. Falling in Reverse, All My Life feat. Jelly Roll (Epitaph)
Las Vegas’ Falling in Reverse has taken a slight country detour with his song with help from the genre-bending Jelly Roll. And so far, so good. It’s already turning into a massive radio hit across the US. Will that translate into Canadian success? We’ll see. Watch for a full album entitled Purple Monster on August 16.
6. Devarrow, Likewise (Paper Bag)
Devarrow (Graham Ereaux to his mom and a carpenter, surfer, and nature lover from Nova Scotia) is gearing up to release an album entitled Heart Shaped Rock October 4. If you’re feeling that you’ve had enough of technology and are looking for the simpler things in life, this might be for you.
6. Lakeview, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is feat. Gideon (Gravel Road)
If you’re looking for some meat-and-potatoes crunchy guitar rock (think Nickelback, Breaking Benjamin, and early Staind), then Lakeview might be worth your time. The core of the band, Jesse Denaro and Luke Healy, come from country roots (you’ll hear that in the melodies) but also love metalcore. Can you combine the two? Yes. Yes, you can.
Albums
1. The Aquabats!, Finally (Gloopy)
If you’re been a ska-punker for a long time, you’ll how about these guys, otherwise known as Travis Barker’s band (he was known as Baron von Tito when he was with the group between 1996 and 1998) before he joined Blink-182. Call them a comedy outfit if you want–hey, they have a guitarist who calls himself Chainsaw Prince of Karate), but that would be selling them short. Just surrender to it. This is their eighty album.
2. Kittie, Fire (Sumerian)
Kittie was that rare thing: a super-fierce all-female metal band–and from London, Ontario, too. Since they were formed in 1996, they’ve sold two million albums worldwide thanks to a sound that combines everything from alternative metal to nu metal to death metal. Two years ago, there was a reunion. That has resulted in their first album in 13 years.
3. The Mysterines, Afraid of Tomorrow (Fiction)
Based just outside of Liverpool, The Mysterines are in the space between grunge and garage rock. After having success with their debut album, Reeling, in 2022, they’re back with a sophomore release that was partly inspired by a documentary of the New York indie scene of the early 2000s called Meet Me in the Bathroom.
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