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You can’t catch a bus in Vancouver without tripping over a struggling indie musician trying to figure out how to turn the pain in their soul into 10,000 Spotify streams and a record deal…or even just a level of familiarity that means the Green Auto regulars are excited to see their name on the bill. We all start somewhere.
So, we’re collecting jams from local artists both small and not-so-small and giving them a spin each month. Maybe you’ll find your new favourite bop.
SINGLES
Meredith Louise — “Trust Myself”
Meredith Louise’s bio notes her as a “singer, songwriter, and music therapist”. That’s good context to have for her latest single, “Trust Myself”, which certainly seems like a balm for anyone going through some shit. The song is breezy and catchy, with a syncopated soul groove that feels like a warm hug, and it offers a message of self-empowerment. If you can’t love yourself, how are you going to love somebody else?
Kaleia — “MAKE IT MEAN SOMETHING”
Don’t let the all-caps name of the track fool you: “MAKE IT MEAN SOMETHING” is actually a fairly understated alt-pop track. The sound is hard to place, hence the nebulous alt-pop descriptor: a wobbling hip-hop pulse, funky bass line, and a hint of beachy guitars to boot, all soundtracking a breakup that stews in the silence between fights. It’s a song for getting the last word in an argument, shouting optional.
Ché Aimee Dorval — “Feel Something”
While the lockdowns of 2020 are long in the rearview mirror, isolation isn’t tied to any one specific world catastrophe. In a release, Dorval says the song is about “shutting the world out, sleeping too much, dissociating, avoiding difficult feelings, and staying hidden away.” Soundtracked with atmospheric synths, stacked vocals, and an ultimately optimistic sheen, loneliness doesn’t feel so bad when it sounds like this.
Julian Hunt — “Our Plans Can Wait”
Happy Pride season, Julian Hunt! The young queer musician is celebrating the whirlwind of possibilities that new beginnings bring on his latest single. While the production makes the vocals a notch too quiet to be able to really make out, the effusive piano and synths are designed to sweep you up in a giddy, gallivanting sugar rush through a summertime fiesta when it feels like anything is possible.
Zoe Twist — “Where Good Girls Go To Die”
It’s easy to fall into unhealthy patterns, something Zoe Twist knows too well. The latest song from the Vancouver-based Berklee graduate channels Maggie Rogers and Olivia Penalva, with a rock-tinged pop song that sounds huge. The high point of the track comes from the ebullient electric guitar, which slides in under the final chorus and delivers a rowdy counterpoint to the layered choir-style vocals.
ALBUMS
Hyaenas — Human Nature
The band might be named after a cackling feliform, but Hyaenas are evidently interested in humanity. Human Nature, the first full-length from the queer Vancouver band after a series of singles and EPs, is an exploration of a world of big emotions and fallible experiences. Sounding like a scuzzy-edged version of the Beaches or a pop-minded take on Hole, the four-piece take on inner saboteurs (“Wanna Get Along?”), sexuality (“Queer”), and seismic shifts (“I’ll Take Mine”).
Iron Kingdom — Shadows and Dust
Iron Kingdom has a cinematic bent to its music. You can almost imagine the movie trailer voice: “In a world where metal has splintered, one band dares to stay true to the old ways!” The traditional metal band’s sixth album, Shadows and Dust, delves deep into the darkest parts of the human psyche, drawing inspiration from war, fantasy, and philosophy in lyrics that accompany guitar-laden heavy metal. Dewey Finn would eat this up.
Meltt — Pathways
It feels like just yesterday that Meltt was an upcoming psych-rock band. The last few years have been kind to the quartet, as the band now boasts more than a million monthly listeners on Spotify and a woozy third record to boot. Pathways is touted as the band’s most personal release yet, written as the members reached their 30s (welcome to random joint pain world!), and it feels both lush and intimate. Grab a hazy IPA and reflect on aging in Lotusland.
Orchid Orchestra — Feel
As debut records go, Orchid Orchestra’s Feel is self-assured. The trio, led by songwriter and counsellor Rupert Hudson, is an unflinching look at what it means to survive hustle and burnout culture. It’s an album full of tenderness and tenacity, with Isabella Medalle’s angelic voice shining through on harmonies and bridges. Lead single “Same Coin” has a rougher rock edge, counterpointed with theatrical elements that ultimately encapsulate the diverse, optimistic elements of the album, while title track “Feel” is lilting and wistful.
cherry pick — :3
With an EP named for an old-school emoticon (seriously, how are you meant to say :3 out loud?), cherry pick is proving adept at blending the new and the nostalgic. Her latest record fuses ’90s-style shoegaze, all fuzz and wash and texture, with a kind of clear-eyed brevity to her lyrics. The heavy-hitting “white fur” is a lesson in tranquil fury, dealing with the complex catharsis of finding out that someone you trusted has done something awful. It’s a short listen from front to back, but a powerful one.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.straight.com ’
