Single Servings, May 31, 2021

By Jason Schneider

Each week Single Servings brings you a balanced diet of the freshest Canadian tracks, spanning Electronica to Rock, Folk to R&B, and everything in between. Remember to support the artists by purchasing their music or adding them to your playlists!

Dooms Children – Flower Moon

Release Date: May 26

Label: Dine Alone

Judging from this debut single, the new project from Alexisonfire’s Wade MacNeil promises to be a full-blown psych-rock behemoth. Co-produced by Daniel Romano, Flower Moon builds to a climax of unbridled riffage that feels cathartic rather than overblown. Looking forward to getting more details about the album in the coming weeks. 

Stream here 

Lisa LeBlanc – Bonsoir Moreau (feat. Salebarbes)

Release Date: May 26

Label: Bonsound

It’s been far too long since we’ve heard from acclaimed Acadian singer/songwriter/banjoist,, so this take on a classic Cajun singalong (translation: “Good night bartender”) is a welcome surprise. Recorded remotely with Montreal’s Salebarbes, it captures the live thrills that always make Cajun music so vibrant.

Stream here

Cartel Madras – Dream Girl Concept

Release Date: May 26

Label: Royal Mountain Records

Sometimes self-indulgence isn’t such a bad thing. Case in point, this new track from Calgary hip-hop duo Cartel Madras that finds them experimenting with vaporwave, house and hyper-pop, while adopting multiple personas in the video. Dream Girl Concept is another preview of the final instalment of their Project Goonda trilogy, due out later this year.

Stream here 

Murray McLauchlan – A Thomson Day (For Tom Thomson)

Release Date: May 26

Label: True North Records

In 1975, McLauchlan scored one of his biggest hits with Down By The Henry Moore, referencing one of Toronto’s most well-known public art pieces. This new ode to arguably Canada’s most celebrated painter finds McLauchlan in a pensive mood, a common thread to his upcoming album Hourglass, which will also include songs written for George Floyd and Alan Kurdi.

Pre-Order here 

Marie Davidson & L’Oeil Nu – Renegade Breakdown (Jessy Lanza Remix)

Release Date: May 26

Label: Bonsound

When originally released in Sept. 2020, Marie Davidson & L’Oeil Nu’s Renegade Breakdown album received international praise for taking the Montreal techno artist Davidson’s sound in bold new directions. Now to mark the announcement of tour dates throughout this summer and fall, the album’s title track has been remixed by multi-Polaris Prize shortlister Jessy Lanza, who has a lot of fun manipulating the originals beats and vocals.

Stream here  

The Glorious Sons – Daylight

Release Date: May 19

Label: Black Box Recordings

As they wait to hear whether they’ll be named Group of the Year at this year’s Junos, The Glorious Sons are sharing their first new music since the 2019 LP, A War On Everything. Daylight is a scorcher that finds lead vocalist Brett Emmons in top form. Plus, if you’re a fan of old stock car racing footage, the video is pretty cool.

Stream here 

The Weber Brothers – Toys In The Junkyard

Release Date: May 21

Label: Independent

Those who’ve been following The Weber Brothers know their story well—American teens Sam and Ryan Weber come to Canada in order to join Ronnie Hawkins’s band, and they subsequently start making their own brand of electrifying roots rock. The Webers’s new album Choose Your Own Adventure is their best yet, with strong hints of Beatles-esque psychedelic pop now firmly embedded in their overall sound as well.

Bandcamp

Wolf Castle – Welfman

Release Date: May 3

Label: Forward Music Group

Hailing from Pabineau First Nation in New Brunswick, hip-hop artist Wolf Castle (aka Tristan Grant) continues to lay the groundwork for his new EP Da Vinci’s Inquest this August. Although part of a series of releases originally meant to tell a fictional story, Wolf Castle’s latest work now reflects his own struggles with mental health and strained relationships. Fans of Mac Miller and DaBaby should get it.

Stream here

James Barker Band – Over All Over Again

Release Date: May 18

Label: Sony Music Canada

The pride of Woodville, Ontario returns with another slick and catchy country-pop confection that’s sure to make a lot of summer playlists. Over All Over Again is the story of a couple who can’t seem to quit each other, a notion that seems eerily well-timed with the current Friends reunion hoopla.

Stream here

New Chance – Earth House (Turning)

Release Date: May 26

Label: We Are Time

Toronto's New Chance (aka Victoria Cheong) makes an engaging form of meditative electronic pop, having previously worked with artists including Lido Pimienta, Jennifer Castle and reggae legend Willi Williams. Earth House (Turning) is New Chance’s debut single, released on likewise new Toronto/NYC experimental label We Are Time. With Cheong’s narration this track’s most prominent feature, it’s suitable for both dancing and contemplation.

Bandcamp