This week’s list is 60% Canadian and 40% First Nations.
1. Jon and Roy, Here’s Where You’re Wrong
Know Your Mind (Independent)
Recommended If You Like: Subtle arguments
Here’s a gentle song from a Victoria duo (who actually employs two other people in the band) that will appear on the upcoming album due May 7. If all goes well, they’ll be on a European tour this spring. But we’ll see, won’t we?
2. Maggie Lindeman, Crash and Burn
Paranoia (Universal)
RIYL: Female-fronted power pop
There’s a good reason for the title of this album. Back in 2019, Texas-born Maggie was arrested midway through a set she was playing in Malaysia and confined in jail and then house arrest for almost a week. The charge? Playing a gig without a permit, something the promoter should have handled. That kind of experience will have lasting effects, no?
3. Meg Meyers, The Underground
Thank U 4 Taking Me 2 The Disco (Sumerian/WMG)
RIYL: Dark times
Nashville’s Meg Myers did something interesting last November. She released two EPs on the same day: This one and the other entitled I’d Like 2 Go Home Now. The former is the source of this stompy new single that comes with an interesting animated video. This song was inspired by some unspecified dark time in Meg’s life, so feel free to speculate on the message in the lyrics.
4. Adrian Sutherland, Respect the Gift
Single (Independent)
RIYL: Music from unexpected places.
Hailing Attawapiskat up on the Ontario shores of James Bay (he still lives there despite the logistical and transportation challenges), Adrian is one of the country’s best Indigenous performers. I’ve met him several times and I’ve always left impressed with his determination to celebrate who he is and where he came from. Adrian has a lot to say.
5. Jayli Wolf, Child of the Government
Single (Independent)
RIYL: K.Flay
Jayli is an Indigenous LGBTQ+ performer based out of Toronto who wrote this song about how her father was scooped up and placed in a residential school back in the 1960s. On the surface, this track sounds kind of dub-steppy, but if you listen a little harder, you’ll hear some traditional Indigenous elements come through. Pay close attention to the lyrics. Fantastic video, too.
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