RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #18
Crazies keep on crazying, Covid keeps on cavorting but, through it all, Canada keeps on calling. We get so much Canadian music in the RGM inbox it sometimes feels as if we’re being stalked by an entire nation. We are blessed with more than we can reasonably manage but, in our relentless quest for gems, we make sure we listen to everything and, in this, the eighteenth instalment of The Maple Leaf roundup, we share five of our finest finds.
Kris Ulrich Press Photo (Credit: Buio Assis)
We begin today in Winnipeg, where we find singer-songwriter and in-demand session musician Kris Ulrich, who examines the paralysis of post-relationships in the quite beautiful ‘The Less I Know The Better’. This extremely smooth slice of Americana sets the bar high for the upcoming album, Pacific Central, as does the record’s second single ‘Hey Eden’, which showcases Ulrich’s not inconsiderable prowess as a guitarist. No pressure, then…
Toronto duo Mear have recently issued an extremely spidery video for their latest single ‘Soft Chains’, - arachnophobes, consider yourselves pre-warned - a song about being caught in the web of a restrictive relationship. Anyone with an aversion to green jelly should also steer clear of the visuals and instead concentrate on the crystal clear vocal of Frances Miller who sings with a heavenly Karen Carpenter purity against the track’s gentle folky guitar and enrobing keys of bandmate Greg Harrison. Be sure to stick it out for the delectable - and rather swirly - final minute of the track.
Meanwhile, seasoned and prolific singer-songwriter Hawksley Workman has just released a new album ‘Less Rage More Tears’ and one of the singles lifted from it, ‘Dwindling Beauty’, is a despair anthem for our times, incisively produced by Marcus Paquin (The National, Arcade Fire). Workman describes the tune as “a roughly drawn escape plan” and the universal deflation of the sparse verse rubs up against the blistering guitars of the chorus like an unstruck match to the box. Genius.
Now, just when you think you’ve heard all of the genre tags, along comes Appalachian emo, which is how Maybe Babs (aka Babette Hayward) best describes her sound. On hearing the Montreal-based artist’s first two singles, ‘Doorstep’ and ‘Simple Life’, we think she’s pretty much nailed it. Both tracks somehow manage to be simultaneously disarmingly intimate and expansively ethereal: the former is tethered by a huge, warm bass; the latter drowning in pedal steel. We can’t wait to hear more.
We leave you with another Toronto duo, Teen Ravine - who last graced the RGM pages in Maple Leaf #3 - and a live version of their song ‘Everyone’, arranged with chamber quintet and recorded in late 2019. The song is a departure for the band who more often find themselves bouncing around at the synth-pop end of the room. ‘Everyone’ warns of the perils of the always-on digital age and the dangers of an overcrowded mind. A timely lesson if ever there was one. With saxophone and cello weaving, the song soothes in a dreamy, snake-charming way and the applause at the end of the track transports us to an environment that already seems an age ago, adding even more poignancy.
And, on that slightly downbeat note, we must away. You can rest assured that there will be plenty more rustling of Maple Leaves around these parts very soon. It is, after all, that time of year. Look out for more in-depth Canadian LP reviews coming up in the review section too. Until then, we thank you for stopping by and bid you a fond farewell.
The Maple Leaf is a Rich Barnard production for Red Guitar Music
And we’re back! “From whence?” I hear you cry, in your florid way. Back from Canada, of course. We swam all the way, on our backs, our music-loving arms filled with a freshly picked bunch of hot new songs, gifted to us from our creative compadres ‘cross the waves. Imagine that. And we did it all for you.