Single Servings, Oct. 4, 2021
On this week’s Single Servings, Kiefer Sutherland brings it all back home, Tanya Tagaq speaks the truth, The Weather Station offers fans a bonus, and much more!
By Jason Schneider
in this week’s Single Servings, Kiefer Sutherland brings it all back home, Tanya Tagaq speaks the truth, The Weather Station offers fans a bonus, and much more!
Shad – Black Averageness
Release Date: Sept. 28
Label: Secret City Records
With his new album TAO, Shad has reaffirmed his place as Canadian hip-hop royalty, tackling some heavy issues with a sense of fun, both lyrically and musically. That’s certainly the case with the new single Black Averageness, of which Shad recently told Exclaim!, “It's a funny song, but it has a message too, about how it's okay to be a human being, especially for Black people. Because a lot of times we get viewed as not exactly human—either these outliers in a good way, like magically gifted athletes or entertainers, or pathologically incapable. It's either end of the spectrum. There's not a lot of freedom to just be regular.”
Pre-Order here
Kiefer Sutherland – Bloor Street
Release Date: Oct. 1
Label: Pheromone Recordings
Back in the pre-pandemic days, those in the know could often find Kiefer Sutherland at west end Toronto bars whenever he was in town, enjoying the work of local singer/songwriters. His ease at being at home fully shines through on this track from his new album due in January. Bloor Street is a genuine love letter to Toronto, set to the easy-going Americana sound Sutherland has been honing with a fair bit of success over the past few years.
Stream/Pre-Order here
Tanya Tagaq – Tongues
Release Date: Sept. 28
Label: Six Shooter Records
Anyone who thought Tanya Tagaq couldn’t push her creative envelope any further than she did on the albums Animism and Retribution should buckle up for her next offering, Tongues, due out in March, 2022. As an early preview, the title track still features her trademark traditional throat singing, but with the added twist of Tagaq delivering her messages in a clear and direct manner, some of which are drawn directly from her book Split Tooth. As the song says coolly and defiantly, “They tried to take our tongues, you can’t take that from us.”
Stream/Purchase here
Amaal – Heaven
Release Date: Sept. 30
Label: Warner Music Canada
The Toronto R&B artist continues to build anticipation for her new EP Milly, out Oct. 28, the follow-up to her well-received 2019 debut release Black Dove. The sultry Heaven shows that she is not only poised to become a star not only in Canada, but likely internationally as well.
Stream/Purchase here
Coeur de Pirate – Tu ne seras jamais là (feat. Alexandra Stréliski)
Release Date: Sept. 30
Label: Bravo Musique
The Montreal singer/songwriter also known as Beatrice Martin is returning Oct. 15 with the album Impossible à aimer, which returns focus to her enchanting voice, rather than the instrumental piano album she released earlier this year. Tu ne seras jamais là is a collaboration between Martin and neo-classical composer Stréliski, the results producing a minimalistic gem that translates as “You will never be there.”
HotKid – Mirror Mirror
Release Date: Oct. 1
Label: Fortune Stellar Records
It’s always great when my old friends HotKid release something new, and their latest album Truth Or Deceiver finds them pushing their traditional rock sound in bold new directions. Frontwoman Shiloh Harrison remains a bona fide guitar goddess, but now she’s incorporated the flash into a more mature songwriting approach, as demonstrated on the slightly industrialized Mirror Mirror.
Stream/Purchase here
Status/Non-Status – Genocidio
Release Date: Sept. 29
Label: You’ve Changed Records/The Grizzlar
The latest offering from 1, 2, 3, 4, 500 Years is another of that album’s raging psych-rock epics, showing off the brutal, and sometimes terrifying visions of group mastermind Adam Sturgeon. As he did with the band’s previous incarnation Whoop-Szo, Sturgeon gets to the core of Indigenous anger on Genocidio in the most visceral way possible.
Stream/Purchase here
The Weather Station – Better Now
Release Date: Sept. 29
Label: Next Door Records
It’s been a banner year for Toronto’s Tamara Lindeman, following the international acclaim, along with a Polaris Prize short-list nomination, earned by the album Ignorance. Now fans can experience it all over again with a deluxe edition out Nov. 19, which complements the original tracks with live and stripped down versions. There are also two new tracks, including Better Now, a break-up ballad that still manages to feel uplifting.
Stream/Purchase here
ModernFolkRevolution – Morning Comes
Release Date: Oct. 1
Label: Independent
Anyone familiar with Canadian indie rock should know the name Lonnie James. Best remembered for stints drumming with Super Friendz, D.O.A., The Nils and many others, he later carved out a modest niche as a traditional folk singer. James’ new project ModernFolkRevolution combines both of those sides of his musical personality, echoing the paisley-tinged folk-rock of both the ‘60s and ‘90s. The self-titled ModernFolkRevolution album is officially out Oct. 22.
The Human Rights – Reggae Strong
Release Date: Oct. 1
Label: Independent
We all need a little reggae in our lives, don’t we? Toronto’s The Human Rights are happy to oblige with their new album Reggae Strong, a solid collection of original songs mixed by multi-Juno Award winner Dubmatix. And hot off the presses, the video for the title track features footage from the band’s triumphant block party in Toronto on the last weekend of September.
