Single Servings, June 21, 2021

By Jason Schneider

This week’s Single Servings has Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew embracing his inner Eno, Haviah Mighty spitting the truth, METZ getting set to hit the road, and much more!

Zoon – Round The Bend

Release Date: May 13

Label: Paper Bag Records

To mark Zoon’s Bleached Wavves (a personal fave from last year) making the 2021 Polaris Prize long list, here’s the artist also known as Daniel Monkman’s recent take on Beck’s Round The Bend. Monkman builds on the original version’s drone with bowed guitar and additional string players, with the overall results falling somewhere on the dreamy spectrum between Sigur Ros and Neil Young’s Expecting To Fly.

Stream here 

Alex Lifeson – Kabul Blues / Spy House

Release Date: June 15

Rush fans have been on the edge of their seats waiting to see if Geddy or Alex (or both together) will release new music, and it’s Lifeson who’s first out of the gate. Mind you, these two tracks are little more than instrumental experiments with longtime associate Andy Curran on bass, but it’s still great to hear Lifeson trying some new things that are hopefully a taste of more to come. It appears these songs are being shared in conjunction with the launch of Lifeson’s new signature Gibson guitars, and the full versions can be heard on his website.

Website

Ruth B. – Situation

Release Date: June 11

Label: Downtown Records

Ruth B. recently released Moments In Between, the long-awaited follow up to her 2017 debut album Safe Haven, and it makes clear that the Juno-winning artist from Edmonton has vastly matured over the ensuing years. Situation is a prime example, with her voice effortlessly unravelling the song’s melody over a smooth, modern R&B groove.  

Stream here

K.D.A.P. (Kevin Drew) – The Slinfold Loop

Release Date: June 15

Label: Arts & Crafts

Broken Social Scene linchpin Kevin Drew is set to reappear on July 16 under the banner K.D.A.P. with Influences, an all-instrumental creation that fully indulges his electronic and ambient tendencies. First single The Slinfold Loop certainly displays the impact that Eno has had on Drew, while others might detect notes of Aphex Twin or Flying Lotus. But perhaps he best describes it himself by calling it “a reminder that excitement and anxiety elicit the same heart-pounding sensation.”

Pre-order here 

Colin Linden – 4 Cars

Release Date: June 14

Label: Highway 20/Thirty Tigers

Linden is widely known for his production work and as one-third of Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, but it’s always great to hear him on his own when he can fully display his blues chops, learned at the feet of the masters while hanging out in Toronto bars as a kid. 4 Cars features some of his typically tasty slide guitar over a Bo Diddley beat, and should whet a lot of appetites for Linden’s album bLOW, due out in September on Lucinda Williams’ new label.

Pre-order here

Haviah Mighty – Protest (feat. Yizzy)

Release Date: June 11

Label: Foundation Media

In anticipation of a new mixtape called Stock Exchange set to drop in September, Polaris Prize winner Haviah Mighty is sharing Protest, a powerful response to George Floyd’s murder, which also references Canada’s own racist history, specifically Halifax’s Africville. There’s no shortage of righteous anger in everything she does, yet the style and grace Haviah employs in pulling it off makes her arguably one of the most important voice in Canadian music at this moment.

Stream here  

Metz – A Boat To Drown In (Live)

Release Date: June 15

Label: Sub Pop

Itching for live music’s return yet? Toronto post-punk band Metz is gladly pouring more fuel on that fire with this scorching live version of a track from their acclaimed 2020 album Atlas Vending. Filmed at Toronto’s Opera House, as part of the band’s full live streamed show there, this epic version of A Boat To Drown In sees the trio in top shape and ready to hit the road—which they will do this November and December.

Stream (Atlas Vending) here 

Hubert Lenoir – Secret

Release Date: June 17

Label: Terrible Records/Simone Records

Having defied the odds in receiving international attention as a francophone artist, Quebec City native Lenoir is prepping to release Musique Directe, the follow-up to his 2018 debut Darlene. While first single Secret features fellow weirdo Mac DeMarco on drums, its wooziness is in many respects a reflection of the whirlwind that Lenoir’s life has become over the past couple of years due to the sudden fame in his home province.

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Jayli Wolf – Would You Die?

Release Date: June 18

Label: Fontana North

Toronto newcomer Wolf made a big splash a couple of months ago with her previous single Child Of The Government, an eerily timed reflection of her Anishinaabe/Cree family’s experiences during the Sixties Scoop. And along with that, her own life was nearly derailed as a child growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness. It’s all the foundation of her debut EP Wild Whisper, an unflinching cry of independence that’s surprisingly pop-savvy, as shown by the new single Would You Die?

Pre-Save here 

Claire Davis – Heartbreak

Release Date: June 16

Label: Magnephonic Records

As the vocalist for Toronto soul revivalists Yuka, Davis has basically been the Sharon Jones to their Dap-Kings. Now stepping out on her own with a forthcoming EP called Thrive, Davis and her cohorts continue to carry the torch for vintage soul, with Heartbreak setting the tone with its tight arrangement and Davis’s no-nonsense performance.

Stream here