RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #25
Hello again, dear readers. The Canadian musical harvest has been as rich as ever this year and we’re here to share with you the best of a bumper crop. Take a seat with us at the Maple Leaf table and sample some of the lesser-known fare from over there in the Great White North. We do listen to music from all territories but, clearly, Ontario has had the best weather this year....
We kick off with The Pairs, from London, Ontario, and their wonderfully uplifting new single ‘High Hopes’. The track showcases the fourpiece’s honeyed vocal harmonies, as it carries its message of reconnection and the importance of supporting friends in need. As well as a thoughtful lyrical approach, these gentle folksters also have one of those logos that reads the same upside down, which means they’re cool with me.
We turn next to a quartet of a very different kind. Award-winning string ensemble The Fretless have teamed up with an array of top vocalists for their latest LP, Open House; a collection of unpredictable covers. The chaps have been releasing a track each month and the highlights so far include Feist’s ‘My Moon My Man’, featuring Rachel Sermanni, and a stunningly inventive version of Steely Dan’s ‘Dirty Work’. Open House is out on October 22nd.
On a tram somewhere in Hamilton, Ontario, we find duo Coda Facto, who are about to release their new EP, Jamesville, on October 1st. Current single ‘Ode To Rose’ is an acoustic toetapper that will appeal to fans of The Milk Carton Kids and the like. Guitarist and vocalist Alexander DeRoo’s conversational Paul Simonesque delivery is the perfect partner to Jonathan Harley’s layered strings (he’s a one-man string quartet all by himself, it seems). A delightful thing, destined to get you on the right track.
We remain in Hamilton for ‘Coffee Cheques’, the latest single from rock trio King Park. There’s a dark, heavy edge to the band’s sound but they’re carrying around bagfuls of melody too, and the track put me in mind of a less unhinged Blue October or a more sophisticated Dashboard Confessional. The song is taken from the band’s upcoming album, Everett. If you can’t wait until it’s out, the band’s Soundcloud and Bandcamp pages are well worth a visit to keep you going.
We head over to Victoria, British Columbia now, where we find Jacob Weil. That is, of course, if he’s home. ‘Letters From Away’, his latest tune, is all about the emotional wrench of spending long stretches on the road. With a fragile Ben Foldsian vocal and a genius Sam Weber-adorned production, the track feels like the return of a brand new old friend, fresh from their adventures. Check out Weil’s debut EP, Feeling My Youth, and/or catch him on tour in the US through September and October.
Photo by Kristina Dittmar
Meanwhile, in Huntsville, Ontario, singer songwriter Emma Cook is readying herself for the release of her fifth album, Fight Left In Me, on November 4th. The sublime lead single, ‘Messed It Up’, is lovingly produced by Andrew Rasmussen and is chock full of light-touch pop flourishes, forming the perfect backdrop for Cook’s breathy but rich vocal. Exquisite. It’s time we delved into her back catalogue.
photo credit: Michael Novalski
If sizzling, southern-fried soul is your thang, then Torontonian Nelson Sobral is sure to appeal. His latest tune, ‘In The Middle Of the Night’, nails an inch-perfect authenticity together with a charmingly gritty vocal and a horn section to die for. And, praise be for guitar solos! A little skate through the back catalogue shows there’s more to Sobral than just picture-perfect pastiche, though. He runs the Americana mile from blues to singer-songwriter to country and back. A class act.
Jennah Barry by Kyle Cunjak _ Charlie Tyrell
In Halifax, Nova Scotia, is singer-songwriter Jennah Barry, who has recently released a new single in the form of ‘Venus In Heat’. Barry’s languid, velvet vocal put me in mind of the mighty Jonatha Brooke and (spoiler alert) the track’s jazz-noodling, string-slathered instrumental section is an unexpected curveball. We await more such hazy heavenliness from Barry, but until then we are enjoying a spin of her fabulous 2020 LP, Holiday. Why not keep us company?
Thank you for joining us, readers. It wouldn't have been the same without you. We hope you’ve found some things to please and inspire. Tell your friends (even the imaginary ones) and be sure to come back for more morsels of Canadian musical marvelousness next time, at the Maple Leaf.
The Maple Leaf is a Rich Barnard Production for Red Guitar Music.