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FYI

Single Servings, June 14, 2021

This week’s Single Servings finds country star Brett Kissel getting philosophical, the Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band getting weird, Ruben Young getting ready to explode, and much more!

Single Servings, June 14, 2021

By Jason Schneider

This week’s Single Servings finds country star Brett Kissel getting philosophical, the Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band getting weird, Ruben Young getting ready to explode, and much more!


 

Big Wreck – Middle Of Nowhere (feat. Chad Kroeger)

Release Date: June 9

Label: Warner Music Canada

It sure sounds like somebody is jonesing to get back on the road. As a reminder of what rock shows used to feel like, this new track concocted by two of Canada’s rawk radio mainstays hits all the marks—from a lurching, bluesy main riff, to a larynx-shredding chorus and obligatory wah-wah guitar solo. Feels a little paint-by-numbers, but at this point I don’t think anyone can object to hearing a Marshall amp cranked to 11.

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Martha Wainwright – Love Will Be Reborn

Release Date: June 9

Label: Cooking Vinyl

Her first music in five years finds Wainwright in an optimistic frame of mind, casting a melodic spell in the spirit of her folk-rock forebearers, while emphasizing a contemporary groove. Credit must be given to producer Pierre Marchand for putting all of these elements into a proper balance, which should raise expectations for the full album, also entitled Love Will Be Reborn, due to arrive on Aug. 20.

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Savannah Ré – 24hrs

Release Date: June 8

Label: Universal Music Canada

Winner of this year’s inaugural Juno Award for Traditional R&B/Soul Recording, Toronto’s Savannah Ré builds on that triumph with this track that showcases her wide-ranging vocal technique that plays off of a delicately plucked guitar pattern. A lot of feel-good vibes on this one, and plenty to indicate that more Junos are sure to be coming her way.

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Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band – Nymphea

Release Date: June 8

Label: Flemish Eye/Anti- Records

When two fearlessly adventurous musical entities like Yves Jarvis and Romy Lightman (also of Tasseomancy) join forces, the results are destined to be unclassifiable. That’s certainly the case with this preview of the album Banned, out June 25. Everything about Nymphea seems slightly off-kilter and out of focus, creating a jarring psychedelic effect that still somehow demands repeated listens—perhaps after you’ve taken peyote.

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Brett Kissel – Make A Life, Not A Living

Release Date: June 3

Label: Warner Music Canada/ONErpm

The pride of Flat Lake, Alberta recently released the album What Is Life?, probably a question I doubt many modern country artists ponder too often. But props to Kissel for going a bit deeper than he’s done in the past, particularly on this track that offers some sage advice for those starting to plot their emergence from the pandemic.

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Joe Nolan – Solid Gold

Release Date: June 11

Label: Fallen Tree Records

Edmonton troubadour Nolan made a strong impression with 2020s acoustic excursion Drifters, and he’s set to follow it up this fall with a new collection called Scrapper. First single Solid Gold fills out the instrumentation a bit more, but the intimacy Nolan seems able to effortlessly conjure remains his greatest strength.

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Franky Fade – Vertige

Release Date: June 10

Label: Bonsound

This francophone hip-hop artist delivers many sonic surprises on this first taste of his debut album due later this later. Vertige flows in an almost meditative manner, with Fade’s unobtrusive rapping mixing perfectly within a kaleidoscope of sounds. For those seeking a translation, he says that the song is, “a representation of my fear of loving, and being loved in return.”

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The Hello Darlins – Mountain Time

Release Date: June 11

Label: Independent

Having garnered a ton of international attention for their single releases over the past year, this Calgary-based roots supergroup, that counts the Brothers Landreth and Matt Andersen among its auxiliary members, has finally released its debut album, Go By Feel. Their approach is beautifully captured on the new single Mountain Time, a classic country rocker, highlighted by vocalist Candace Lacina’s powerful performance.

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Steve Marriner – How High

Release Date: June 8

Label: Stony Plain

As one-third of the much-decorated blues band MonkeyJunk, Marriner has long proven himself a master within that genre. But on July 2, he returns as a solo artist with Hope Dies Last, which, judging by How High, promises to be a harder rocking affair. Marriner taps into his inner Jimmy Page on this track, meaning every blues-rock fan should be aware of what he’s up to.

Pre-Save here 

Ruben Young & Buddy – TNT

Release Date: June 11

Label: Set Records/UMG

This collab between Calgary R&B artist Young and L.A. rapper Buddy lives up to its title as a blast of vintage ‘80s funk, with horns provided by members of Busty & The Bass. Released just in time for summer, this is the kind of jam meant for cruising with the top down, and shows why Young is poised to make a major breakthrough.

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Tony Zorzi
Tony Zorzi/Facebook

Tony Zorzi

FYI

Obituaries: Toronto Guitar Veteran Tony Zorzi, Indie Rock Musician Will Cullen Hart

This week we also acknowledge the passing of Alice Brock, a hippie heroine via her association with the classic Arlo Guthrie song "Alice's Restaurant Massacree."

Tony Zorzi, an in-demand guitarist and teacher on the Toronto music scene, died on Nov. 27, at age 69, after a long battle with cancer. Billboard Canada has been informed that he survived five years after a Stage 4 diagnosis.

The JazzinToronto website noted that Zorzi "was a versatile artist who performed with countless Toronto musicians, worked in shows at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre and the O’Keefe Centre for the Performing Arts, and played with such notables as Vera Lynn, Gene Pitney, Bob Hope, and Quebec recording star Diane Tell."

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