Summer Vids: Hed, Jep, Des, Fur

A number of new music videos have been released in the last couple of weeks. We won’t embed all of them here but provide links so that you can check them out if you haven’t seen them already. These four artists don’t need an introduction.

“Kiss You Inside Out” by Hedley

The Hedley boys currently have the biggest Canuck hit in the country, and I suppose the song of the summer. In focus is a car crash. Yes, this is what happens when one engages in chest-shaving activities while driving in order to show off thoracic tattoos. No worries, though, the head-on collision elicits activities of the romantic kind.

“Good Time” by Carly Rae Jepsen and Owl City

Camping—the event that involves forest-cooked meals, mosquito bites, and roughing it in a tent (er, in this case a cabin) with an outhouse in close proximity. As long as the trip doesn’t take place in black-fly infested northern Ontario, it should provide a good time. This tune is Carly Rae Jepsen’s 5th hit to date. Her “Call Me Maybe” has broken Lady Gaga’s record, remaining at #1 in the USA for seven straight weeks.

“Nobody Does It Like You” by Shawn Desman

The Des is featured singing into quite a few microphones. Can you count how many? No wonder he sports shades in the vid, as the glare from the sun reflecting off all those mics must be blinding. The song is up to #65 on Billboard this week.

“Spirit Indestructible” by Nelly Furtado

The scenery in Nelly’s latest video, title track off her forthcoming album, may look familiar to some of you. That’s because she filmed it in Vancouver with some snow-capped mountain terrain, beach footage, and bonfire scenes. When she makes it to the grass, though, she vanishes into thin air. The summer in Vancouver has been so cold, I think she opted to go camping with Carly in New York.

Which video is your favourite?

 

Suzie McNeil’s Dear Love Drops August 7

For perfect love is like a fair green plant,
That fades not with its blossoms, but lives on,
And gentle lovers shall not come to want,
Though fancy with its first mad dream be gone;
Sweet is the flower, whose radiant glory flies,
But sweeter still the green that never dies.

                                      —Archibald Lampman

Suzie McNeil is a very clever detective who has, over the past four years, extensively investigated the mysterious mechanisms of Cupid, that enigmatic figure who entrances us and wounds us with his invisible arrows. She has pieced together a number of findings from her research as to how love operates and how it affects us. These carefully documented details, collected in a thick manila folder, have been transferred into lyric and incorporated into a collection of songs that will grace a brand new concept album called Dear Love. We have already heard a few fabulous selections: “Drama Queen”, “Merry Go Round”, and “Tough Love”. Cupid often dares to engage in mischief. But now the heartbroken can rest assured that Supergirl is going to put him in his place. Dear Love is out on August 7.

Suzie McNeil Official Website

 

Toronto’s Najuah Is On the Brink of Misery and Love

Najuah is a six-piece outfit based in Toronto and led by sisters Hanifa and Juliet.  To Ugandan parents, the former was born in Zimbabwe and the latter in Kenya.  The family decided to cross the Atlantic, immigrating to Canada and settling in London, ON.  They took up music lessons (piano and flute) and began composing.  The style of music is refreshingly unique as is showcased in their new single “Devil”.  Their EP Misery and Love is in the works.  Check out Najuah’s Official Website.

 

Wintersleep Not Hibernating This Summer

Ellen Page and Sarah McLachlan came from a city that witnessed the Inception of frenzy when it was thrust Into the Fire on December 6, 1917. It is a city known for Citadel Hill, the H.M.C.S. Sackville Memorial, and Pier 21. In 2001, there in Halifax, a band of dudes assembled in a shanty apartment beneath an unfilled rooftop swimming pool, kept that way lest the building collapse due to incompetence soaking its architectural design. The dudes jammed, creating haunting melodies and decided to officially declare their forming a rock band. Wintersleep was to be their name.

Southwest of them in Canada’s lobster capital, Yarmouth, record label Dependent Music liked what they heard and agreed to release their albums. Their resulting work was inspired enough to draw the attention of Labwork Music / EMI in 2006. Wintersleep’s first two independent releases were re-mastered re-released with wider distribution and they released third album Welcome to the Night Sky. This earned the band two JUNO nominations in 2008, one of which it won: New Group of the Year. They were invited to perform the track “Weighty Ghost” on U.S. chat show Late Night with David Letterman (video link). New Interiors followed in 2010.

Earlier this year (2012), Wintersleep came out with a new single called “In Came the Flood” (video link) to herald a new studio album. They have entered a phase of burgeoning creativity. Their new album has been released and is titled Hello Hum. Wintersleep are Mike Bigelow, Loel Campbell, Tim D’eon, Paul Murphy, and Jon Samuel. Check out their Official Website.

 

Lily C is Reaching for Sunlight

A number of new Canadian singers these days are opting to dabble in the realm of adult contemporary / easy listening which offers us music that is delicate, sweet, light, and fun. New singers like Darrelle London and Liz Coyles are supplying us with such treats. Today, we would like to draw your attention to another new artist. Her name is Lily C.

Singer-songwriter Lily is from Toronto and describes her style of music as “happy pop” in the vein of Jewel and Nelly Furtado. As many Canadians of British and French descent long to visit Europe to get in touch with their roots, Lily Cheng had a yearning to visit Taiwan. While there she picked up Mandarin and began writing songs in Chinese as well as her native English. She established a sizable fan base and travelled around the island doing volunteer work, working as a DJ and television host. She released an independent album (Perfect Moment) and played her tunes in clubs, schools, bookshops, and even prisons. She took a trip to the Philippines which had a big impact on her (which she explains in an amazing CBC interview – see link below).

Lily’s mother was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and she went through a grieving period, returning to Canada in 2007. She toured around Ontario performing at various venues, honed her guitar skills, and worked with vocal coach Linda Cara to perfect her voice. Some of Lily’s lyrics center around the theme of shrugging off the pressures the media gives us that we have to look physically attractive in order to be accepted by society (like in Stef Lang’s song “Paper Doll”).

Last month, Lily launched her first Canadian release, a 10-track LP called Reaching for Sunlight which is available on iTunes, the most popular track being “Take Your Shoes Off”.

Lily C Links:

Reaching for Sunlight on iTunes
Lily C Official Website (where you can find links to her Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts)
Lily C CBC Interview

 

The Wolf is Finally Free

Three JUNO Nominations, a Felix award, a triple-platinum single, plus four gold singles, the Wolf is doin’ well. And now, having embraced a Michael Scofield spirit, Montreal’s Karl Wolf has released Finally Free, his fourth studio album. This work includes his hits “Ghetto Love”, “Mash It Up”, and “DJ Gonna Save Us”.

Karl was actually a sensatonal basketball player but his parents, both musically talented, steered him towards a career in music. So, rather than swingin’ up the court with Steve Nash to shoot hoops in the Canadian-invented sport, he preferred howlin’ up the charts with the likes of Kardinal Offishall. It was during his days of dribbling, however, that he gained the nickname “Wolf”.

Musically, Karl started out as a backup singer for the band Dubmatique. After his Felix award, he was invited to be the new lead singer of the outfit Sky. He began his solo career in 2005.

Karl Wolf Official Website

 

Pianist James Yang Pays Homage to the Biebs

James Yang lives and breathes piano.  He loves hammering those keys so much that he decided to do something special, turning the instrument into a drum and guitar as well.  As a one-man band, Yang puts together an impressive instrumental version of Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend”.

 

Jesse Labelle Releasing Two

“There’s two to every story
Two sides of a heart
One that fears the end
And one that fears the start.”
–Jesse Labelle

Romantics tend to veer away from conspiracy theories but when it comes to heartbreak, Jesse Labelle is the national expert on its coverups.  The romantic intensity of his hot single which features Alyssa Reid has uncovered itself in the top half of the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 as of late, and now the Toronto born and bred singer is launching a brand new studio album on August 7 called Two, mainly produced by none other than the talented force behind LIGHTS, The Midway State, and Fefe Dobson–Thomas “Tawgs” Salter.

Jesse Labelle Official Website

Check out the new MV for lead single “Heartbreak Coverup” on YouTube

 

“Desperate Measures” by Marianas Trench

JUNO-nominated, platinum-selling Vancouver rock band Marianas Trench has released a music video for its latest Top 40 single, “Desperate Measures” off album Ever After. Known for lightening things up and making music fun, the Trench adds dashes of humour to the vid. Lead singer Josh Ramsay with hair as blue as the water at Horseshoe Bay does some risky business dancin’ around in his undies after being victimized by a voodoo doll. Enjoy.

“Desperate Measures” / Ever After on iTunes 

Marianas Trench Official Website

“Desperate Measures” on YouTube

 

Saga: 35 Years Old and Still On the Loose

Saga is a JUNO-winning, platinum-selling Canadian progressive rock band now 35 years old and still making new music. They are in the midst of releasing a brand new studio album called 20/20.

Saga was formed in Oakville, Ontario in 1977 releasing its debut (self-titled) album the following year. Although sales were modest at home, it became somewhat of a hit in Germany and Puerto Rico. Images in Twilight followed giving Saga its first Canadian (minor) hit, “It’s Time”. Their third album, Silent Knight went gold. It was their fourth album, 1981′s Worlds Apart, that saw their breakthrough. “Wind Him Up” and “On the Loose” were radio hits in Canada and the United States. The album went gold, and Saga won the JUNO award for Most Promising Group the following year. Saga went on tour and recordings of concerts in Denmark and Germany made it to live album In Transit, a platinum-seller. Heads or Tales (gold) followed in 1983 spawning hits “The Flyer” and “Scratching the Surface”. Following the album Behaviour in 1985, a couple members left the band and there were record company changes. Saga has continued to release albums every couple of years up to the present and have enjoyed the most success in Germany with some in Sweden. The band’s principal members and composers are vocalist Michael Sadler (born in Wales) and Jim Crichton. They will be touring soon to promote their new album 20/20.

Check Out Saga’s Official Website