Home Blog Page 1672

ON-FOOT App Unlocks Toronto’s Iconic Music Venues & Landmarks with Immersive Tours

Eric Alper
-
0
ON-FOOT App Unlocks Toronto’s Iconic Music Venues & Landmarks with Immersive Tours

More than just a backstage pass, the ON-FOOT app allows old fans and new, an inside look at Toronto’s most musical neighbourhoods and the artists and songs that made them legendary.
The mobile app–available on both iOS and Android–is launching two new immersive walking tours that will educate and entertain music lovers–especially those who have been missing live shows!

Transport yourself back to a 1970s popular gay disco that evolved into one of city’s earliest punk hotspots and find out which Toronto bar floor is immortalized in The Tragically Hip’s campfire anthem, “Bobcaygeon.” The fully immersive walking tours feature rich interactive media, historical reference photos, and striking audio-visual elements.

The new tours available on July 1st, 2021 include:
Spadina Music Tour
With stories of early speakeasies and saloons, underground DIY venues, and immortalized shows, this tour will explore the creation and evolution of one of Toronto’s most musical neighbourhoods. The tour features 15+ captivating stories written by Lana Gay of Indie 88, 90+ photos, and historical reference images from the Toronto Archives and Toronto Public Library.

Toronto ‘Gaybourhood’ Music Tour
Explore some of the city’s most iconic LGBTQ2+ music venues and landmarks of past and present. With 15+ captivating stories by Denise Benson of Then & Now, more than 100 photos documenting the neighbourhood’s landscape and venues over decades, this musical tour invites you to explore the city’s rich LGBTQ2+ music history. The tour features tracks by queer and queer positive artists like Barry Harris, Rough Trade, Cozmic Cat, Greek Buck, Jackie Shane, The Hidden Cameras, Owen Pallett, Vivek Shraya, Regina Gently, Witch Prophet and Stratavarious.

“Technology, particularly mobile, has provided a way for people to explore new cities and even their own in a socially distant way,” says Tristan Tiggeloven, Producer/Creative Director, Pop Sandbox. “After the successful launch of our first season of tours we decided we wanted to find a way to celebrate Toronto’s rich music history. From iconic venues to the artists who made them famous we felt especially in these Covid times it was important to highlight and commemorate these spaces and artists who were particularly hard hit during this pandemic.”

In addition to the newly launched music tours the app features haunted walks in both Toronto and Amherstburg, a Queen West and a Graffiti Alley tour. By using your phone’s GPS, interactive experiences (audio stories, archived images, and music) are triggered when the user arrives at various points of interest. ON-FOOT is available for iOS and Android, and can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.

ON-FOOT is free to install and try. Full tours start at $1.99 CAD.

French Indie-Pop Duo Djakarta Launches Infectious New Single, “Looking For Attention” — Available Now!

Eric Alper
-
0
French Indie-Pop Duo Djakarta Launches Infectious New Single, “Looking For Attention” — Available Now!

Mere months prior to the release of their forthcoming sophomore EP, Overseas, French indie pop duo Djakarta release their infectious new folk-inspired electro pop single, “Looking For Attention” — available now.

If you remember Djakarta from their self-titled debut release, this will be a brand-new listening experience for you. “Looking For Attention” marks the beginning of new beginnings for Paris-born brothers Raphaël and Tristan Stuart.

After stepping onto the scene with their debut EP in 2017, Djakarta have released a handful of singles, including: 2020’s “Any Open Door,” a cover of Lil Nas X’s Grammy Award-winning 2019 hit, “Old Town Road,” and the low-key folk track “Leave it for Tomorrow” from earlier this year.

This time around — and for the entire new EP — Djakarta has set aside the live, electric rock-type vibes of their inception in favour of a more modern-sounding, electronically enhanced and ultimately more organic production, which, after hearing the brand-new single, you will hear is much better suited to their current folk-pop inclinations.

This doesn’t mean they’ve completely abandoned where they started off, though.

Before breaking out into a signature, catchy electro pop synth melody, “Looking For Attention” kicks off with a soft acoustic guitar intro, which is bound to make you want to dust off the old axe. After a few bars, the listener is treated with interchanging vocal lines from the multi-instrumentalist Stuart brothers and Hawaiian singer/songwriter Keilimei, AKA Keilimeilani Trahan.

Overseas will feature five original tracks and will be released on the brothers’ very own record label: Lyrebird Records. According to the duo, the project is intended to “evoke the endless ocean between two continents” while also relating to the “dualistic nature” of their music and songwriting.

This “dualistic” nature also refers back to their band name. Yes, it was named after the city of Jakarta — a location they respectively hold dear to their hearts — but why exactly did the Stuart siblings put the letter ‘D’ in front of it? Well, according to the self-described “adventurers,” they used a ‘D’, because it could stand for many things, including: “duality,” “Duo,” or “double citizenship,” as they have spent their lives living between the world’s most romantic city, Paris, and their father’s own homeland down under: Melbourne, Australia.

“Looking for Attention” is available now. Overseas is available Fall 2021.

Mother Mother Announces 2022 Canadian Tour Dates

Eric Alper
-
0
Mother Mother Announces 2022 Canadian Tour Dates

Today, chart topping alt-rockers Mother Mother have released their hotly anticipated new album INSIDE. To celebrate the release, the band joined fans last night to premiere the video for their new single “Sick of the Silence,” which can be seen here. This follows up on their stunning debut of that song on The Late Late Show with James Corden, which fans can click here to watch now. INSIDE is Mother Mother’s first release with Warner Music Canada and is available everywhere now.

Of INSIDE, Ryan Guldemond says “It’s always a bit surreal and a little scary putting songs out into the world after the long and hidden process of making an album. Inside was written in the time of Covid, a unique time for us all, and directly embodies themes surrounding isolation and hope. As we start to emerge out the other side of this thing, it feels cathartic to share this particular body of work with the world. We hope that our fans find the same peace, healing and joy in listening to these songs as we did while creating them.”

With the release of INSIDE, Mother Mother have also announced their return to the stage in Canada in 2022. The dates see the band perform multiple shows in Victoria and Calgary, along with a stop at Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall. Due to popular demand, the group have also added an impressive fifth show to their Vancouver run of dates. These shows follow the international tour the group announced earlier this year, which was extended by adding new dates and upgrading venues in several major markets due to popular demand. In unprecedented fashion, shows on multiple continents have sold out over seven months prior to launch.

Guldemond says, “We’re so excited to tour in our beloved homeland of Canada, the place where we learned how to be a band. These new songs are so dear to us, and we can’t wait to share them in the way we love most: playing live. We have infinite gratitude for our fans and everyone who’s supported us by attending our shows over the years. We don’t take a moment on stage for granted, especially after this long hiatus we’ve all endured from the magic that is the concert experience. Long live live music!”

INSIDE was heralded by the infectious, instantly hummable lead single “I Got Love,” which quickly climbed to the #1 spot on the Canadian radio charts where it remained for a combined six weeks, while garnering over 6 million streams to date. The band quickly followed with “Stay Behind,” “Forgotten Souls” and “Pure Love,” which have cumulatively eclipsed 12 million streams in the leadup to the album’s arrival.

MOTHER MOTHER, comprised of Ryan Guldemond, Molly Guldemond, Jasmin Parkin, Ali Siadat and Mike Young, has had a whirlwind decade; over 1.3 billion streams and views, more than 15 million monthly listeners and counting on digital platforms and 3.1 million Shazam searches. The band had a recent feature in Rolling Stone, and made several appearances of late in Billboard’s Emerging Artist Chart, as well as topping Lyric Find’s global and US lyric search charts. In their native Canada, MOTHER MOTHER has had many top 10 singles on the alternative radio charts, including #1’s for weeks on end and the crown of most airplay for any alternative act at radio for multiple years running. Globally, the band’s avid fanbase continues to grow exponentially, as their presence on TikTok organically exploded during the fall of 2020 during lockdown. A variety of songs from O My Heart and Touch Up were used virally on the platform over 325 million times, resulting in millions of streams and new followers on streaming platforms and socials.

INSIDE Track list:
Seven
Two
Sick of the Silence
Forgotten Souls
Pure Love
Weep
I Got Love
Stay Behind
The Knack
Girl Alone
Like a Child
Breathe
Until it Doesn’t Hurt
Inside

Tour Dates
2021 Tour Dates:
Sept 19 Riot Fest Chicago, IL
Oct 03 Austin City Limits Music Festival Austin, TX
Dec 02 The Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC
Dec 03 The Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC
Dec 04 The Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC (early show, all ages) – SOLD OUT
Dec 04 The Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC (late show) – SOLD OUT
Dec 05 The Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC – ADDED SHOW

2022 Tour Dates:
Jan 07 White Oak Music Hall Houston, TX
Jan 08 Scoot Inn Austin, TX – SOLD OUT
Jan 09 The HiFi Dallas, TX – SOLD OUT
Jan 11 The Van Buren Phoenix, AZ
Jan 12 Music Box San Diego, CA – SOLD OUT
Jan 13 Regent Theater Los Angeles, CA – SOLD OUT
Jan 15 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA – SOLD OUT
Jan 17 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR – SOLD OUT
Jan 18 Neptune Theatre Seattle, WA – SOLD OUT
Jan 21 Summit Denver, CO – VENUE UPGRADED
Jan 23 Metro Chicago, IL – SOLD OUT
Jan 25 Saint Andrew’s Hall Detroit, MI – SOLD OUT
Jan 26 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, OH – SOLD OUT
Jan 28 Town Ballroom Buffalo, NY
Jan 30 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA – SOLD OUT
Feb 01 The Foundry Philadelphia, PA (early show) – SOLD OUT
Feb 01 The Foundry Philadelphia, PA (late show) – SOLD OUT
Feb 02 Irving Plaza New York City, NY
Feb 04 9:30 Club Washington, DC – SOLD OUT
Feb 05 The Underground Charlotte, NC – SOLD OUT
Feb 06 The Masquerade (Heaven) Atlanta, GA – VENUE UPGRADED
Feb 22 Tavastia Helsinki, Finland – SOLD OUT
Feb 24 Tyrol Stockholm, Sweden – VENUE UPGRADED
Feb 26 Parkteatret Oslo, Norway – SOLD OUT
Feb 27 VEGA Small Hall Copenhagen, Denmark – SOLD OUT
Mar 01 Fabrik Hamburg, Germany – VENUE UPGRADED
Mar 02 Kesselhaus Berlin, Germany – VENUE UPGRADED
Mar 04 Paradiso Noord Amsterdam, Netherlands (early show) – SOLD OUT
Mar 04 Paradiso Noord Amsterdam, Netherlands (late show) – SOLD OUT
Mar 05 Rotonde Brussels, Belgium – SOLD OUT
Mar 06 Kantine Cologne, Germany – VENUE UPGRADED
Mar 08 Freiheitshalle Munich, Germany – VENUE UPGRADED
Mar 09 Santeria Toscana 31 Milan, Italy
Mar 11 Razzmatazz 2 Barcelona, Spain – SOLD OUT
Mar 12 Sala Moby Dick Madrid, Spain – SOLD OUT
Mar 14 Les Etoiles Paris, France – SOLD OUT
Mar 16 Heaven London, UK – SOLD OUT
Mar 17 Garage Glasgow, Scotland – SOLD OUT
Mar 20 Olympia Dublin, Ireland – SOLD OUT
Mar 22 The O2 Forum London, UK – ADDED SHOW
Mar 22 Glavclub Moscow, Russia – ADDED SHOW
Mar 22 Morze St Petersburg, Russia- ADDED SHOW

Canadian 2022 Tour Dates
April 29 Royal Theatre Victoria, BC
April 30 Royal Theatre Victoria, BC
May 02 Northern Alberta Jubilee Aud. Edmonton, AB
May 03 Jack Singer Concert Hall Calgary, AB
May 04 Jack Singer Concert Hall Calgary, AB
May 05 Conexus Convention Hall Regina, SK
May 07 Centennial Concert Hall Winnipeg, MB
May 08 Thunder Bay Community Aud. Thunder Bay, ON
May 10 Centre In The Square Kitchener, ON
May 11 Corona Theatre Montreal, QC
May 13 The Music Hall Oshawa, ON
May 14 London Music Hall London, ON
May 16 Grand Theatre Kingston, ON
May 17 FirstOntario Concert Hall Hamilton, ON
May 19 Massey Hall Toronto, ON
May 20 National Arts Centre Ottawa, ON

Breakout Pop Artist Noelle Shares A Window Into Her Emotional Journey Over The Past Year With “Therapy”

Eric Alper
-
0
Breakout Pop Artist Noelle Shares A Window Into Her Emotional Journey Over The Past Year With “Therapy”

Following a year of uncertainty, burgeoning pop songstress noelle is ready to share her music and songwriting with the world. Highlighting the importance of connection, today’s release of “Therapy,” the first single from noelle’s upcoming debut album, (released via Wax Records / Universal Music Canada) takes listeners on a journey of being there for someone you love through the toughest of times.

“Writing ‘Therapy’ was healing for me, getting all of my feelings out into a song,” said noelle of today’s release. “It’s really heartbreaking watching someone you love go through a hard time, especially when they don’t open up to get the help that they need. ‘Therapy’ is about reassuring someone that you’re always going to be there for them.”

Written by noelle and David Charles Fischer over zoom with esteemed UK producer Phil Cook (Ellie Goulding, Liam Payne, Lewis Capaldi, Little Mix) and recorded in her parents’ basement studio during quarantine, “Therapy” puts noelle’s smooth vocals on display, showcasing her unique R&B approach to pop music. Raw and emotional, “Therapy” is a track that noelle holds close as it encapsulates much of her own experience in the storytelling. With the hope of encouraging those that are struggling, “Therapy” reminds listeners to ask for help from those they love, becoming a reminder that there is always someone willing to listen.

Raised on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in Ontario, noelle’s upbringing exposed her to a vast range of musical genres, from Nat King Cole and Sarah Vaughan to the powwow drum and native wind flute of her Indigenous roots. At just 19 years old, noelle has been singing since she was barely old enough to walk. Initially finding her footing through YouTube, noelle amassed a following of 94.1K subscribers resulting from her viral covers of timeless classics and today’s biggest acts. Expressing her thoughts and emotions at her piano, noelle began writing her own music as a therapeutic form of self-expression. The artists whose words she once personalized through her covers, soon became the major influences behind her own music.

Co-signed to Wax Records and Universal Music Canada, noelle will be releasing more new original music throughout the year, leading up to her debut album in early 2022.

Lady Gaga’s Born This Way The Tenth Anniversary Out Now

Eric Alper
-
0
Lady Gaga’s Born This Way The Tenth Anniversary Out Now

Today, Lady Gaga released her special edition Born This Way The Tenth Anniversary album via Interscope Records that features the 14 original songs from the Born This Way album from 2011 in new packaging, along with six reimagined versions of songs from the album created by artists representing and advocating for the LGBTQIA+ community.

In celebration of the launch, the final two surprise covers are revealed to be The Highwomen (ft. Brittney Spencer & Madeline Edwards) with their reimagined version of “Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)” and Ben Platt with his reimagined version of “Yoü and I,” accompanied by a video that he has shared in honor of covering the classic.

In addition, the Born This Way Foundation is working closely with New York and Youth Pride, sending goods and monetary donations along with notes of kindness to LGBTQIA+ centres across the United States to assist in their Pride celebrations. Lady Gaga and Versace have collaborated for a Pride collection in celebration of 10 years of Born This Way where a portion of sales will be donated to the Born This Way Foundation in continuation of the brand’s allyship with the LGBTQ+ community. Lady Gaga and Versace have also partnered together with Omaze to support the Born This Way Foundation to give a fan the chance to win the exact replica of the limited-edition Atelier Versace Leather jacket Lady Gaga wore on her legendary 2012 Born This Way Ball world tour.

Born This Way The Tenth Anniversary Tracklist:
“Marry the Night”
02. “Born This Way”
03. “Government Hooker”
04. “Judas”
05. “Americano”
06. “Hair”
07. “Scheiße”
08. “Bloody Mary”
09. “Bad Kids”
10. “Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)”
11. “Heavy Metal Lover”
12. “Electric Chapel”
13. “Yoü and I”
14. “The Edge of Glory”

Born This Way Reimagined Tracklist:
01. “Marry the Night” – Kylie Minogue
02. “Judas” – Big Freedia
03. “Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)” – The Highwomen (ft. Brittney Spencer & Madeline Edwards)
04. “Yoü and I” – Ben Platt
05. “The Edge of Glory” – Years & Years
06. “Born This Way (The Country Road Version)” – Orville Peck

Previously Unreleased Johnny Cash Live Album Recorded By Owsley Stanley Gets Released In September

Eric Alper
-
0
Previously Unreleased Johnny Cash Live Album Recorded By Owsley Stanley Gets Released In September

On September 24, the Owsley Stanley Foundation and Renew Records/BMG will release Bear’s Sonic Journals: Johnny Cash, At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968, an historic and never-heard live concert recorded in San Francisco by innovative sound wizard Owsley Stanley. Captured in the heart of Haight-Ashbury, just days before the release of Cash’s iconic At Folsom Prison album (and over six months before the arrival of the equally revered At San Quentin), At The Carousel Ballroom serves as a third essential – and wholly unique – live document from the era, a moment of cultural collision, with Cash leaning into songs about society’s outcasts, while playing a venue operated by The Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead.

The live album, which will be released on CD/2LP, features new essays by Johnny and June Carter Cash’s son John Carter Cash, Owsley Stanley’s son Starfinder Stanley, The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir, and Widespread Panic’s Dave Schools, as well as new art by Susan Archie, and a reproduction of the original Carousel Ballroom concert poster by Steve Catron. The release will also be widely available in all digital formats by Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment.

At The Carousel Ballroom captures Cash at the height of his charismatic powers, in playful and powerful dialogue with his then-new bride June Carter, and backed by his legendary band The Tennessee Three: guitarist Luther Perkins, bassist Marshall Grant and drummer W.S. Holland. His set list that evening diverged from other concerts of the time, as Cash chose to cover two Bob Dylan compositions (“Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright,” and his earliest known recording of “One Too Many Mornings”) and perform songs of the overlooked and underserved such as “The Ballad of Ira Hayes.”

Recorded by Stanley in a verité style, the album startles with its clarity and dimension. Many of the sound reproduction techniques that Stanley pioneered while serving as the in-house engineer at the Carousel are accepted sonic gospel today. When he listened back to the Cash concert, he knew he had captured something special, immediately earmarking it for preservation. This release marks the latest entry in the Owsley Stanley Foundation’s ‘Bear’s Sonic Journals’ series, which has previously included Stanley’s live recordings of The Allman Brothers Band, Tim Buckley, Doc & Merle Watson and many more.

“When you hear this, you feel like you are on the stage with the band,” says Starfinder. John Carter Cash agrees, describing At The Carousel Ballroom as “what I believe to be one of the most intimate and connected shows I have ever heard.”

JOHNNY CASH AT THE CAROUSEL BALLROOM, APRIL 24, 1968 TRACKLIST
1. Cocaine Blues
2. Long Black Veil
3. Orange Blossom Special (CD and Digital only)
4. Going to Memphis
5. The Ballad of Ira Hayes
6. Rock Island Line
7. Guess Things Happen That Way
8. One Too Many Mornings
9. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
10. Give My Love to Rose
11. Green, Green Grass of Home
12. Old Apache Squaw
13. Lorena
14. Forty Shades of Green
15. Bad News
16. Jackson
17. Tall Lover Man
18. June’s Song Introduction
19. Wildwood Flower
20. Foggy Mountain Top
21. This Land Is Your Land
22. Wabash Cannonball
23. Worried Man Blues
24. Long Legged Guitar Pickin’ Man
25. Ring of Fire
26. Big River
27. Don’t Take Your Guns to Town
28. I Walk the Line

Homer Simpson Conducts Conan O’Brien’s TBS Exit Interview

Eric Alper
-
0
Homer Simpson Conducts Conan O’Brien’s TBS Exit Interview

Conan O’Brien has one last order of business before he wraps up his nightly talk show on TBS – an exit interview with Homer Simpson.

My Next Read: “Please Please Tell Me Now: The Duran Duran Story” by Stephen Davis

Eric Alper
-
0
My Next Read: “Please Please Tell Me Now: The Duran Duran Story” by Stephen Davis

Lifelong fans and interested newcomers will love this stunning biography of Duran Duran by the bestselling author of Gold Dust Woman and Hammer of the Gods.

In Please Please Tell Me Now, bestselling rock biographer Stephen Davis tells the story of Duran Duran, the quintessential band of the 1980s. Their pretty boy looks made them the stars of fledgling MTV, but it was their brilliant musicianship that led to a string of number one hits. By the end of the decade, they had sold 60 million albums; today, they’ve sold over 100 million albums—and counting.

Davis traces their roots to the austere 1970s British malaise that spawned both the Sex Pistols and Duran Duran—two seemingly opposite music extremes. Handsome, British, and young, it was Duran Duran that headlined Live Aid, not Bob Dylan or Led Zeppelin. The band moved in the most glamorous circles: Nick Rhodes became close with Andy Warhol, Simon LeBon with Princess Diana, and John Taylor dated quintessential British bad girl Amanda De Cadanet. With timeless hits like “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Girls on Film,” “Rio,” “Save a Prayer,” and the bestselling James Bond theme in the series’ history, “A View to Kill,” Duran Duran has cemented its legacy in the pop pantheon—and with a new album and a worldwide tour on the way, they show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Featuring exclusive interviews with the band and never-before-published photos from personal archives, Please Please Tell Me Now offers a definitive account of one of the last untold sagas in rock and roll history—a treat for diehard fans, new admirers, and music lovers of any age.

Elina Filice Releases an Ode to Queer Youth for Pride Month with “Let’s Get Lost”

Eric Alper
-
0
Elina Filice Releases an Ode to Queer Youth for Pride Month with “Let’s Get Lost”

Singer/songwriter/spoken word artist Elina Filice has released a new single in celebration of Pride Month — “Let’s Get Lost” is available now.

The dance-pop anthem celebrates the coming out experience, and getting lost to find yourself. Elina hopes the song can help those struggling to come to terms with who they are, as well as all of those on the lifelong journey away from shame, and into love and pride.

The song departs slightly from Elina’s usual sound into a world of colourful synth-pop, driven by an irresistible disco groove. She says, “If I’m writing a queer anthem, it’s gonna have to be a little gay.”

Rhythmic guitars, driving synths, and a percussive beat meet powerful lyrics about self-discovery. Elina says, “This song was written while reflecting on my own coming out experience. It’s such a unique and painful time, and those first feelings of queer love are so transformative.

“After dating the wrong gender you’re finally feeling something that feels right to you, things you’ve never felt for another person. At the exact same time you’re realizing who you are. It really is finding yourself through loving someone else, which is why for the queer identity, who we love and who we are are inextricably intertwined.”

The single was recorded in Elina’s home studio, and produced by Viscose.

Elina Filice is gaining attention for songs that defy genre and interactive live performances. Her music is soulful and melodic while influenced by blues and spoken word.

Born to Canadian parents, Elina spent her formative years in Singapore before moving to Canada to attend university. She then relocated to Dublin where she worked extensively in the music industry, and founded Red Vine Records.

Elina is a strong advocate for queer rights and visibility, and regards music as a powerful tool for the queer community. She is fresh off the release of her sophomore EP, Flight Risk, which dropped at the end of May.

It’s a Full “June” as Canadian Folk-Rocker Deanna Drudge is ‘Killing Time’ with New Single + Album

Eric Alper
-
0
It’s a Full “June” as Canadian Folk-Rocker Deanna Drudge is ‘Killing Time’ with New Single + Album

Settling soundly within this month of “June” comes Canadian folk-rock recording artist Deanna Drudge’s new single, video and album, Killing Time — available now.

At eleven tracks strong, the release is woven together with a lifetime of earnest experience left bare between the bars of song. The indie singer/songstress hails originally from Ontario farmlands, but has found herself among the wooded scenery of Squamish, British Columbia — a juxtaposition she says she leans on in her lyrics.

Enlisting the production talent of Kevin Ker, Drudge allowed the heaviness in her heart, brought on by anxiety and depression, to spin itself into the fabric of the record. And between her and Ker, Killing Time is an unmistakably honest offering and insight into a woman’s resolve to give herself license to heal, and ultimately create.

“Sometime during 2018, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue with music,” Drudge confides, but says it was the lockdown of 2020 that changed her perspective on writing. “I knew I needed to create something… Create something mostly for myself with no expectations of how it would turn out and what I would do with it after.”

Penning and arranging the tracks with simply a guitar is a testament to the freedom Drudge permitted herself walking into her first professional project. Her tenure as a recording artist has earned its merit by not pressuring the process; instead, allowing the songs to flow from an honest place, utilizing the time it required to be done right. “The songs evolved from a time when a decision was made to face and beat an almost decade long struggle with anxiety, depression and self-doubt,” Drudge reveals. “Most of the songs stem from a place of introspection; acknowledging the place I had found myself in and the moments throughout the next 2 years of battling toward self-acceptance.”

Leading off with her single “June” — a folk prog-rock charming ode to unrequited interest, and mustering the courage to say how she feels — electric chords and haunting harmonies lay claim to nods of the fantastical pique of 90s female alt-rock. While almost a seemingly Mazzy Starr/Chantal Kreviazuk testimony preached to a choir of Lilith Fair mainstays, Drudge manages to carve herself a new path of indie songwriting.

Though her homage to grunge is palpable, transposing delicate lyrics, affable acoustic pluckings over lo-fi guitar riffs forces her to stand out — even if she sings about being “the quiet girl in the back.”

As much a journal, as it is a laboriously concocted accomplishment years in the making, Killing Time is the LP varying generations will agree on. Those who spent the better parts of their lives wishing and wanting of a new one, and those who are stepping into their lives learning how to maximize the greatness, the vastness and the scariness of it all. Deanna Drudge manages to mingle wondering with wonderment — a captivating cocktail of life and love experiences, fears and conquering, mixed into music and served neat.

1...1,6711,6721,673...3,030Page 1,672 of 3,030

Follow us on Instagram @thatericalper

That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

Popular posts

Popular category

© Copyright - That Eric Alper