Single Servings. March 7, 2022

By Jason Schneider

In this week’s Single Servings, Maylee Todd embraces virtual reality, Young Guv offers another jangly gem, Sauna gets steamy, Cadence Weapon mixes it up, and much more!

Cadence Weapon – On Me (Loraine James Remix)

Release Date: March 3

Label: MNRK Music Group

Cadence Weapon is prepping a deluxe edition of his 2021 Polaris Music Prize-winning album Parallel World for release on March 25. It will include a handful of remixes by producers chosen for their cutting-edge approaches. One is London DJ Loraine James who completely reimagines On Me, just as a great remixer is supposed to do.

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Elle Celeste – Call On Me

Release Date: March 4

Label: Independent

The debut solo single from the former vocalist for Calgary band Copperhead is a mesmerizing ode to those trapped by addiction, blending gospel and techno, with the bridge between them Elle Celeste’s haunting voice. Call On Me is the title track of the full album slated for release in the fall, with more singles scheduled along the way.

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Tanika Charles – Different Morning (feat. DijahSB)

Release Date: March 4

Label: Unique Applause

Toronto Soul/R&B powerhouse Tanika Charles has announced her third studio album Papillon de Nuit: The Night Butterfly will be released April 8, with this first single finding her paired up with rising Toronto rapper DijahSB. In a statement describing the album, Charles says Papillon de Nuit is anchored in growth and maturity, with its inspiration coming from the misunderstood moth, a creature that soars after the sun sets, and often goes unnoticed until the light shines on it.

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Thus Owls – Balconies

Release Date: March 3

Label: For The Living And The Dead

Thus Owls have returned with an expansive, audacious and beautiful double-album, Who Would Hold You If The Sky Betrayed Us?, a saxophone-studded journey by one of Canada's most daring acts. Founded in Stockholm, based in Montreal, Thus Owls is the ongoing creative project of Erika and Simon Angell, augmented by longtime collaborator Samuel Joly on drums and a trio of saxophonists, Claire Devlin, Adam Kinner and Jason Sharp. The stated aim is not just to feature a glossy smear of horns, but to invent a startling musical language—one that reflects the Angells’ roots in jazz and improv.

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Maylee Todd – Grab Your Guts

Release Date: March 3

Label: Stones Throw Records

Visionary Toronto alt-pop artist Maylee Todd’s new album Maloo is being described as “a collection of science fiction lullabies.” The songs grew out of a prototype VR game she was working on before the pandemic, which included the title character. Todd developed the character Maloo in tandem with writing the album and learned 3D modelling and body tracking to bring the character to life. As she puts it: “We participate in the digital landscape and our digital life has real-life implications.”

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Young Guv – Take Up All My Time

Release Date: March 2

Label: Hand Drawn Dracula

Toronto ex-pat Young Guv has quickly become a Single Servings favourite for his paisley-tinged power pop, which will be fully unfurled again on his new album GUV III, out March 11. Its latest single, Take Up All My Time, is another dreamily melodic gem that suggests summer can’t come soon enough.

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Sophia Bel – I Won’t Bite

Release Date: Feb. 28

Label: Bonsound

Montreal alt-pop artist Sophia Bel continues to build anticipation for her debut album Anxious Avoidant, due out April 28, and on I Won’t Bite, she shows off her folkier side. It’s a charming ode to innocent love, of which Bel explains, “I wrote this song in a state of euphoria, with that feeling in the back of my mind that nothing is to be taken for granted. It’s the honeymoon stage with a hint of the terrifying fear of losing someone.”

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Gordie Tentrees – Every Child

Release Date: Feb. 28

Label: Independent

Tireless Yukon troubadour Tentrees is getting back on the road, and to celebrate has created a new video for this track from his latest acclaimed album Mean Old World. Every Child features The Dakhka Kwaan Dancers, who Tentrees credits for helping him navigate the challenges of being a non-Indigenous parent to an Indigenous child.

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Amanda Rheaume – All Sides Of Me

Release Date: March 4

Label: Ishkōdé Records

Singer/songwriter Rheaume’s sixth album, The Spaces In Between, arrives May 27, and the latest preview All Sides Of Me expands upon previously released singles in balancing history and personal experience. The collection overall is described as speaking to the complex nature of identity, belonging, and the continual impacts of the colonial agenda, woven together with the history of the Metis people.

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Sauna – Float

Release Date: March 4

Label: Sauna Records

This still relatively new project comprised of former members of Fake Palms, Weaves and Greys will releases its full-length debut album Dose Yourself on May 20. As a preview, Float hearkens back to that weird ‘80s transitional period when traditional rock and New Wave collided head on, as evidenced by the liberal deployment of vintage synths. While that may trigger bad memories for some, Float is a well-constructed tune nonetheless.

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