NEWSLETTER - March 13, 2024 |
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Almost too much new music to cram into this month's newsletter, as the Spring bumper crop of releases is growing. Of note, I'm thrilled to be working with Charlie Angus--someone I've long admired--and his band Grievous Angels. I'm also excited to share the new Sammy Volkov/Dana Wylie collaboration, which I am declaring the best country duets album of the year. Enjoy! JS
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THE DENIM DADDIES / Northern Goods March 20 :: thedenimdaddies.com
The Denim Daddies are returning with Northern Goods, a long-overdue seven-track follow-up to their 2018 companion EPs Drinkin' and Thinkin'. Led by guitarist/vocalist Andrew Brostrom and his fellow Edmonton-based good ol’ boys, bassist/vocalist Kurtis Cockerill, pedal steel guitarist Booker Diduck, keyboardist Sahil Chugh, and drummer/vocalist Matt King—The Denim Daddies have been finding ways to satisfy the tastes of both country music purists and newbies for over five years now with outlaw-inspired alt-country that parties as hard as they do. Several old guys once told them that their sound was reminiscent of The Flying Burrito Brothers. A man with a mullet once said they sounded like Steve Earle.
The Denim Daddies / Northern Goods EPK
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THE LUCKY ONES / A Nickel For The Fiddler EP March 22 :: theluckyonesmusic.com
Direct from the Yukon, The Lucky Ones continue to build their case to be recognized as Canada's finest bluegrass band. Following a line-up shuffle, they're returning stronger than ever with their new EP A Nickel For The Fiddler, recorded by Juno-winner Steve Marriner and Jimmy Bowskill (The Sheepdogs, Blue Rodeo). Check out the new singles "Since The Farm Got Sold," "Fool's Gold" and "Waitin' On Paycheque."
The Lucky Ones / A Nickel For The Fiddler EP EPK
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EMILY TRIGGS / The Great Escape March 28 :: emilytriggs.com
On her new album, Montreal-born, Calgary-based Emily Triggs set out to challenge herself by ignoring any genre restrictions, and the result is her most honest and empowering album to date. The Great Escape was produced by longtime Neko Case collaborator Paul Rigby, who also played a multitude of instruments on the album. Other contributors to the sessions in Vancouver were engineer/multi-instrumentalist Dave Carswell (Destroyer, The Evaporators), bassist Darren Paris (Frazey Ford), drummer Geoff Hicks (Colin James) and engineer Erik Nielsen (City and Colour). Emily says, “My last album Middletown was about resilience, but sometimes you don’t need to be resilient, you need to change. You don’t have to leave a place, it can be metaphoric; you just have to leave a past version of yourself behind.”
Emily Triggs / The Great Escape EPK
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THE HELLO DARLINS / The Alders & The Ashes thehellodarlins.com
"Effortlessly classy and imaginative contemporary Canadiacana and country-folk." The Rocking Magpie
"With this phenomenal double album one of today’s most interesting groups has added a magnum opus to their blossoming catalogue." Bluestown Music
"This 17-song record stuns with radiating harmonies and toe-tapping instrumentation, as it inhabits a vast expanse of blues-influenced rhythms and sparse country-folk instrumentation—not to mention a healthy dose of bucolic country attitude." Alan Cackett
The Hello Darlins / The Alders & The Ashes EPK
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DEAD ROOT REVIVAL / The Controller's Exam deadrootrevival.ca
"No fake accents or false emotions, Savage is lyrically honest and simple." Exclaim!
"blistering, improvisational guitar playing" Kingston Whig-Standard
"To describe Dead Root Revival's music as a single genre would be a gross injustice to the band. They had elements of blues, rock and jazz all mixed and molded into one. It was one of the most interesting acts I’ve seen in a while." Soundcheck Entertainment
Dead Root Revival / The Controller's Exam EPK
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DENNIS ELLSWORTH / Modern Hope Tonic Records
"He has what I think is a gorgeous voice, especially on the ballads, that ability to sing tenderly, with a little less volume and more subtlety." Bob Mersereau, CBC
"Ellsworth is a fine songwriter and articulates his feelings exceptionally well." The Rocking Magpie
"Ellsworth’s new music is meant to make him feel better about his life choices, and subsequently, make us feel better about ours." Atwood Magazine
Dennis Ellsworth / Modern Hope EPK
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COLOUR FILM / Half An Hour April 26 :: colourfilm.ca / "Ain't Coming Back"
Following a six-year hiatus, Colour Film, the musical pseudonym of Hamilton, Ontario singer-songwriter Matthew de Zoete, returns April 26 with Half An Hour, produced by de Zoete’s longtime collaborator Les Cooper, and featuring stellar contributions from vocalist Kori Pop—who accompanies de Zoete on all tracks—along with backing from Cooper, Christine Bougie and Dan Rodrigues. Matthew de Zoete’s fondness for preserving unique moments has been a foundational part of his music since he arrived on the Canadian scene in 2006, first under his own name and then as Colour Film since 2016. His songwriting has been widely praised for its atmospheric blend of folk and pop, with his lyrics capturing those emotions that, once experienced, remain in our consciousness to help guide us through our lives. That approach has taken on a deeper meaning with Half An Hour, recorded just prior to the pandemic in January 2020, and delayed following an injury de Zoete suffered that almost derailed his music career completely. Now having partially recovered, de Zoete is ready to share Half An Hour, and revisit a time that already feels like another life.
Colour Film / Half An Hour EPK
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KYP HARNESS / Kick The Dust April 26 :: kypharness.net / "Prodigal Son"
If you aren’t familiar with Kyp Harness, then you have been missing out on one of the most powerful bodies of work any Canadian singer-songwriter has amassed over the past 30 years. With each new release, media outlets from coast to coast have hailed Kyp Harness as a genius, with Ron Sexsmith calling Harness, “my favourite songwriter... it’s his lyrics that set him apart. They are every bit as powerful as the best Dylan, Cohen and Lennon combined.” That brilliance is fully displayed once again on Harness’ latest album, Kick The Dust, a collection of nine timely observations of our fraying society, rendered with all the wit, wisdom and just the right amount of folk-rocking flair that Harness’ die-hard fans have come to expect. Standouts on Kick The Dust such as the first focus track “Prodigal Son,” along with “Business As Usual” and “Jesus Wept” demonstrate Harness’s unflinching ability to illuminate the dysfunction at the heart of our society.
Kyp Harness / Kick The Dust EPK
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GRIEVOUS ANGELS / Last Call For Cinderella May 7 :: Bandcamp / "This Is How The City Falls"
Many musicians talk the talk when it comes to social justice messaging in their songs, but few walk the walk like the Grievous Angels have for close to four decades. Of course, maintaining that reputation helps when co-founder and principle songwriter Charlie Angus has been an NDP Member of Parliament since 2004, representing the riding of Timmins-James Bay. But the Grievous Angels have always been, and continue to be, a collective unit dedicated to carving out a unique place within the alternative country and folk worlds with songs and live performances that reflect the tragic beauty of life in Canada’s blue collar northern frontier. The band’s current seven-piece line-up is returning with Last Call For Cinderella—recorded in Toronto with Grammy-nominated engineer Jeremy Darby—a 10-song collection that presents a fragile picture of the growing dissonance and fear permeating this moment in history. That notion is fully captured on Last Call For Cinderella’s first single “This Is How The City Falls,” written by Angus in the aftermath of 2022’s month-long convoy occupation of downtown Ottawa, during which Canada’s normally quiet capital was thrown into chaos by a conspiracy theory-fuelled mob. As an artist who has followed in the footsteps of Woody Guthrie, Dylan, Springsteen, Joe Strummer and Billy Bragg, Charlie Angus remains unflinching in his observations of modern society, as heard on many of Last Call For Cinderella’s standout tracks such as “Sleepwalking” and “I Could Tell.” However, other songs run the gamut of emotions, like the poignant ballad “Close Your Eyes” and the unexpectedly funky “Litany Of The Saints,” co-written by Angus’s old Toronto pal and Broken Social Scene member Jason Collett.
Grievous Angels / Last Call For Cinderella EPK
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SAMMY VOLKOV & DANA WYLIE / The Day Had To Come May 31 :: Bandcamp - "Secret Subway Conversations"
There is something undeniably powerful about a great country music duet. Just think of George and Tammy, Dolly and Porter, Gram and Emmylou—two soaring voices expressing deep-rooted emotion in the most human way possible. Edmonton, Alberta singer/songwriters Sammy Volkov and Dana Wylie realized from the first moment they sang together that they shared such a connection, and they are now allowing us into their world with their first collaborative album, The Day Had To Come. The pair is offering a preview today with the single "Secret Subway Conversations," which fully displays their unquestionable chemistry. The 10 original songs on The Day Had To Come, produced by Harry Gregg, present a classic country sound with modern flair, something that shouldn’t come as any surprise to fans of either Sammy or Dana. Since releasing her 2017 album The Earth That You’re Made Of—which earned her a Canadian Folk Music Awards nomination for Contemporary Singer of the Year—Wylie has managed to balance her other work in live theatre with more recording that led to her 2023 double album How Much Muscle. Meanwhile, Sammy’s 2022 debut album Be Alright! firmly established him as an artist on the rise, hitting the #1 spot on the prestigious CKUA Top 30, and other outlets comparing his approach and style to legends such as Roy Orbison and Charlie Rich. If you are someone who appreciates the pure artistry at the core of country music for the past century, The Day Had To Come is sure to be one of the best records you’ll hear this year.
Sammy Volkov & Dana Wylie / The Day Had To Come EPK
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And don't forget to check out my Spotify playlist containing 75 songs by 25 brilliant artists I was fortunate to work with this past year. Enjoy! |
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Member of the Americana Music Association |
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