Canadian music – Radio Free Lightning Bug

Charlotte Cornfield Sings “Andrew”

Posted on January 30, 2019January 21, 2019 by Rob Jones

A languorous and contemplative indie-rock love song from Toronto-based, Montreal-bred singer-songwriter Charlotte Cornfield. This is her new single “Andrew”, a harbinger for her soon-to-drop new full-length record The Shape of Your Name, out April 5, 2019.

Have a listen!

The song reflects a sense of quiet helplessness; seeing someone you know take a path that’s ultimately not good for them, wanting to shake some sense into them, but realizing that such an action would be ultimately fruitless.

Charlotte Cornfield has been on the scene in Canada for many years by now, building up her momentum as an artist and a dedicated following along with her. In and out of different bands of various genres, and with a formal education in jazz drumming, she took all of those experiences and influences and poured them into her music. Among those influences, her songwriting reflects a modern take on the Laurel Canyon-style confessional style, taking autobiographical raw materials to make her songs into aural indie films that play in your head as you listen.

She recently signed with Outside Music (The Besnard Lakes, The Hidden Cameras, etc), with the upcoming The Shape of Your Name being her third full-length.

Around the time her first record Two Horses came out in 2011, I had a chance to interview Charlotte Cornfield about her background and her approach to songwriting. You can read that piece right here while you wait for the new album to come out on the Next Door Records label.

Otherwise, you should check out charlottecornfield.com for more music, and for news on the upcoming record.

Happy Listening!

Taylor Janzen Sings “New Mercies”

Posted on January 23, 2019January 11, 2019 by Rob Jones

Emotionally connected and introspective indie pop/rock from Taylor Janzen, a Winnipeg Manitoba native and up-and-coming singer-songwriter who’s starting to make waves outside of Canada, too.

This tune was released toward the end of 2018; an existential call to a god who may or may not be there, and the need to take care of oneself in the light of one’s own spiritual longing either way.

The artist at the centre of this song has been described as a “sad song enthusiast”, and it’s arguable that this song is one of those. But at the same time, there’s certainly hope to be found in the struggles described here; that regardless of the silence we sometimes find in times of trouble, sometimes that silence becomes the space wherein we find our own answers, or maybe just a sense of serenity that puts our struggles into the right perspective.

You can choose a service to add “New Mercies” to your playlists right here.

Read more about Taylor Janzen and about this song at Nylon magazine.

Happy listening!

Joel Willoughby Sings “Last Request”

Posted on September 10, 2018September 9, 2018 by Rob Jones

Here’s some existential folk-pop from singer-songwriter Joel Willoughby; his new single “Last Request”. Listen here!

I first saw Joel Willoughby play at the Biltmore Cabaret a number of years ago, after his song “Hazelnut Moon” had gained some local radio play in Vancouver, BC and the surrounding area which he calls home. I was impressed by his self-deprecating personality, and of course his music which seems to be an amalgam of styles from across the decades, and still seems to be unique at the same time.

This cut is his newest, a reflection on the nature of faith and what drives people to cling to it and to call it into question all at once. Strummed acoustic guitar buoyed up by mandolin, Hammond B3, and a gospel-tinged chorus of backing voices bring it on home with a kind of bluegrass feel to the whole. I’m hoping this is the start of a next big release for him.

You can learn more about Joel Willoughby via these links.

Happy listening!

Colour Film Play “Open Road”

Posted on July 9, 2018July 8, 2018 by Rob Jones

Matthew de Zoete (duh-ZOO-tuh) is a singer-songwriter based in southern Ontario, Canada who puts out music under the name Colour Film, which was also the title of his third record and its title track. (Ed: In another life, I even wrote about it!).

Since 2006, he’s been an active recording artist, songwriter, and live performer, appearing on stages with the best Canadian talent including Great Lake Swimmers, Serena Ryder, Whitehorse, and others. In 2016, he released the EP Super 8, featuring the centrepiece single, “The Money’s on the Dresser”.

Now, he’s released his newest single “Open Road”, featuring Caroline Brooks of folk-pop paragons The Good Lovelies.

Watch the video right here!

The song was inspired by a bike ride with de Zoete’s wife and two young daughters. They had pulled up ahead and a distance away from him at one point during their day out, inspiring de Zoete to think of his family as a kind of road to take him on a good journey.

To keep things authentic, the video (shot by Nathan Fleet) reproduced that ride, taking the same route that inspired him to write the song the day after the trip. This time is was Brooks who handled the bike duties.

With “Open Road” there’s a common thread that’s found in a lot of de Zoete’s music, particularly brought out in the video; Super 8 footage and the kind of gauzy memories of home movies captured on that vintage medium that has been the source of inspiration to de Zoete for many years.

With the wistful folk-pop of the song itself serving as soundtrack, the video seems to replicate that same gauzy and grainy quality of our favourite memories as we commonly experience them; as emotional impressions that we carry with us on our journeys. They are not always clearly defined, yet they shimmer with their own kind effusive beauty that somehow remains constant no matter where our journeys take us.

The song itself evokes the realization that we’re constantly leaving moments behind us, and that those moments ahead of us with the ones we love are all the more precious because of it. “Open Road” is a love song firmly planted in what’s most important to us when the distractions of our lives are set aside in favour of those things that give the journeys we take the most meaning.

It’s also about the people with whom we travel for however long we can, cherishing their company, and intertwining our memories with theirs. This can lead to journeys of other sorts, with their love for us and ours for them becoming a road that takes us to places inside of ourselves we never would have thought to go.

Happy listening!

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Links:

Savvie Sings ” Creature of Habit”

Posted on June 18, 2018June 18, 2018 by Rob Jones

This week’s feature centers on singer-songwriter Savannah Wellman, known professionally as Savvie. This new song, “Creature of Habit”, is something of a return to the spotlight for the Vancouver-based artist, following up 2015’s full length Night Eyes.

More recently, Savvie worked with producer John Raham, with “Creature of Habit” as the very welcome result of their work together.

This song is a reflection of the drive to be what one is. For Savvie, it’s about putting music out there.

Noisy and crunchy rock music with loads of hooks to latch onto in particular is a part of the songwriter’s habit, and providing a tune that may otherwise be habit-forming for you, too.

Have a listen.

Learn more about Savvie at savviemusic.com

Happy listening!