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FYI

The Strumbellas: Salvation

The Juno-winning Toronto roots-rockers return with the first single from an upcoming fourth album. It is an upbeat and optimistic song that retains the group's signatures of shifting dynamics and boisterous massed vocals.

By Kerry Doole

The Strumbellas - Salvation" (Underneath A Mountain Records/eOne): This is the first track from an upcoming fourth album from rootsy hitmakers The Strumbellas, and it is currently No. 12 on Canada's alt-rock chart.


Look for it to gain momentum from a charming just-released video clip. Directed by The Young Astronauts, the video was a concept that came from lead singer, Simon Ward, about bringing families together through dance.  Each family choreographed their dance routine to bring the song to life.

In a label press release, Ward notes "Let’s call a spade a spade here; everyone secretly wants to be a dancer, so we wanted to make a music video where people got the chance to be just that. We honestly just thought it would be fun to tell the story of different kinds of families being given 30 minutes to come up with a dance routine to our new single.  Did anyone out dance us?  You be the judge!”

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The clip is a nice complement to an upbeat and optimistic song that retains The Strumbellas signatures of shifting dynamics and boisterous massed vocals.

The band is currently in the studio working on a new album, and reports suggest it will signal a move towards the mainstream from the group's folk-rock roots.

The Strumbellas’ last album, Hope, saw them break big, thanks to the international hit single, "Spirits," winner of the 2017Juno Award for Single of the Year, ahead of Drake, The Weeknd and Shawn Mendes. 

The Strumbellas play the Canadian Winter Games in Red Deer on March 1, then fly to Europe for a round of shows that run March 17-23.

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Publicity: Amanda McCauley, Indoor Recess

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David Wiffen
Courtesy Photo

David Wiffen

FYI

Obituaries: Peers Pay Tribute to Canadian Folk Great David Wiffen

This week we also acknowledge the passing of controversial hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa, U.S. guitar ace Wayne Perkins and Hamilton musician and author Douglas Carter.

David George Wiffen, an Ottawa-based folk singer-songwriter revered by his peers and best known for his classic tune "Driving Wheel," died on April 5, at age 84.

A Globe and Mail obituary reports that "Wiffen was born in 1942, in Redhill, Surrey, a market town south of London. He first arrived in Canada as a 16-year-old with his family when his father, an engineer, was transferred to Toronto. Wiffen returned to England but eventually doubled back to Canada to stay."

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