Packed to the brim with emotion and strife, Chris Caulfield’s newest single “Feelings” is hauntingly delicious in all the best ways.

Watch and listen to “Feelings” on YouTube here:

Despite the wave of new musicians crashing on the shores of 2022, Caulfield stands above the noise with introspective lyrics and evocative melodies, using engaging compositions as the foundation for his tightly woven mix of alternative, emo rock, hip-hop, and more.

Playing in bands around the Toronto area exposed Caulfield to the production side of music at a relatively early age — however, nothing was solid yet. He spent a good chunk of his early twenties managing his own businesses and starting a family and, while he may not have taken the plunge into music yet, he was constantly exposed to situations that would eventually fuel his songwriting.

While many romantic relationships have not survived throughout the global pandemic, many have thrived, begging the question of what’s behind love lost and found during this unprecedented time in human history. Vancouver, BC-based rock group Son of James is exploring these two sides of love from a personal perspective with back-to-back singles and videos, “I Need You” and “Have You Been in Love.”

Both “I Need You” and “Have You Been in Love” were borne out of pandemic-inspired introspection and creativity for Son of James’ lead vocalist and songwriter, Shon Wong.

Check out the tunes on YouTube here:
“I Need You”

“Have You Been in Love”

Beach season is soon upon us, and Vancouver-based pop artist Sarah Tolle has a new body-positive anthem titled “Like It Or Not” at the ready. Available now, the song’s message? Acceptance. “Like it or not/This is how I look naked.”

The track begins with that lapel-gripping line, followed by a driving, danceable disco beat. Tolle then takes us on a relatable journey of both liking and loathing her body — and trying to accept the body she inhabits on both good and bad days.

Check out “Like It Or Not” on YouTube here:

The idea came to her by accident, she shares.

From burgeoning rock that rolls into a thrashing metal anthem surging with the fire of enough 80s synth to power 100 suns, Dallas-based dark wavers NITE take the day with the release of their new single, “Good Boy.”

“Good Boy,” the band — aka the twin mastermind duo of Kyle and Myles Mendes — says is an anthem about saying no to addiction and unhealthy relationships.

Check out “Good Boy” on YouTube here:

“Since the instrumentation set up the song to be more grungy, we wanted the lyrics to be playful — almost vindictive,” NITE explains. “Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’” was a reference for how we wanted the chorus to sound; we wanted to repeat a strong and spiteful message.

Holding on to a slice of childhood innocence should never be ill-advised as it can enhance the sweet moments in our lives, and make the inevitable sour times easier to swallow. With that in mind, JUNO Award-nominated Canadian jazz vocalist Mary Lou Sicoly is serving up a deliciously spicy take on romantic naivete with the release of her new single, “Blame It On My Youth” – check it out on YouTube here:

Written by Oscar Levant and Edward Heyman in 1934 and recorded throughout the decades since by the likes of Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole, Connie Francis, Chet Baker, Holly Cole, Aaron Neville, and Jamie Cullum, “Blame It On My Youth” has stood the test of time as a relatable tale of guileless love.

If I expected love when we first kissed
Blame it on my youth
If only just for you I did exist
Blame it on my youth

Encapsulating a personal, edgy, and inside view of her perspective on the world, Alexis Lynn lays it bare on her latest single, “Fall Apart” – check it out on YouTube here:

Unafraid to be vulnerable, raw, or emotive on the latest release, the honeyed pop diva with a story to tell is back with a dreamy, up-tempo dance-floor bop that moves listeners in her catchy hooks, ear-worm melodies, and a message that resonates with us all.

“It’s about being everybody else’s rock, and putting their needs before your own,” the West Coast-based artist explains. “I wrote it at a point in my life where I felt like I was constantly balancing everyone else’s needs, and making sure everyone else was good — disregarding whether or not I was good.

Dramatically different from its predecessor, award-winning electronic artist and producer Jay Slay’s new rendition of Ed Sheeran’s chart-topping hit single, “Shape of You,” hits all the right notes with a sweet after-taste left behind.

Slay’s version of “Shape Of You” features gritty guitar and Latin-flavored percussion elements that lend an air of sensuality to this dancehall-inspired cover song. Featuring Scarlett Darling’s sultry vocals that pay homage to the original version of the song, long, sensual syllables tie into swift and seductive lyrics — captivating the listener and forcing them into a solid groove.

Check out “Shape of You” on YouTube here:

“I wanted to move away from strictly making original music,” Slay shares. “I wanted to expand into making the occasional cover song, having fun creating entirely new instrumentations and harmonization to well-known tunes.

We’ve all known — at one point, in some way — a heartbreaker in a one-horse town… And now, Americana crooner Kelly Pardekooper pays tribute with an infectious mix of sincerity and swagger to the one knockin’ all those local boys down in his new single “Someday Someone,” from his new EP, Autumn – both available now.

“Someday Someone” is a galloping guitar-driven romp along a dusty, dirt-road trail of broken hearts. “A trail of tears to the county line/ Someday, someone/ Is gonna do you like you’ve never been done,” Pardekooper sings with a voice like velvet.

Check out “Someday Someone” on YouTube here:

The narrator isn’t bitter, however, and seems to ultimately regard the heartbreaker’s game-playing as a challenge; the song ends with “Someday someone/ Gonna love you like it’s never been done/ Gonna win you like you’ve never been won.”

Canadian art-rock quartet AUS!Funkt want you to “Set yourself free” with the release of their fiery new single – check it out on YouTube here:

Fresh from their newly landed EP, Human Response, the track offers a straightforward message through its unconventional mash-up of the Toronto-based band’s signature blend of post-punk surf-rock, psychedelia, and electro-funk.

“This song came together pretty quickly, and was one of the first we wrote together as a group,” the band recalls. “Michael Wallace of Preoccupations helped produce this track, and added some percussion and tape-delayed vocal effects.”

Change is hard, letting go is even harder, and often the best way to deal with both is to simply rock. Canadian alt-country band Foreman & Co. know this deep in their bones and it shows on their infectious, head-bopping new single “Sun Still Rises” – check it out YouTube:

Fresh from the Grenville Sur La Rouge, QC-based band’s 2021 nine-track album, Waiting For A Sign, “Sun Still Rises” is a toe-tapping rocker heavy on Americana flavor. It’s got twangy guitars, an easy-rockin’ beat, and it’s full of that push-forward lament that makes country such a great genre for getting through tough times.

“Sun Still rises is the story of letting go, be it a relationship that’s failing, or a band that is collapsing,” the band says.

There are times in life when the past and present collide in such a way as to be surreal, and that’s what Canadian folk-rocker Taze Kozak captures in his new single, “Painted Pistols,” from his new album Paper Airplanes.

“Painted Pistols” evokes a lonely highway long after midnight, the center lines lulling you into near-hypnosis, and the dead of the night taking on its own shape and character.  The Comox Valley, BC-based artist sings with the plain-voiced candor of Johnny Cash over acoustic guitar that alternates between dark and plucky, and the lyrics take us on a journey from gangs fighting in the streets of Los Angeles, to the narrator soaking in a bathtub and drinking whiskey at noon, to a country boy jealous of other men flirting with his wife.

There’s the sense that none of it, and all of it, matters; Kozak describes his state of mind when writing it as: “Feeling strong, weak, helpless, a helper, a father, a loser, a winner, warmth, cold, insight, and outsight.”

There are two kinds of nature: the world around us and the world inside us. After musically addressing our global climate crisis with his most recent single, “Mother Nature,” Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Kalmakoff is turning his attention inward to aspects of human nature with his achingly beautiful interpretation of Jim Cuddy’s “You Be The Leaver”.

Check out “You Be The Leaver” on YouTube here:

An original work by one of the five celebrated Canadian songwriters that Kalmakoff chose to pay homage to on his newest full-length album, Nature, released last November, “You Be The Leaver” is a story of love that faded and two lovers who drifted apart but, to Kalmakoff, it has a bigger scope that opened up some deep self-reflection too.

At any time — but especially now in 2022 — love, support, and inspiration for our fellow human beings can never be in big enough supply. That cup can always use a top-up and, in support of and in tribute to all the amazing Paralympic athletes competing in the 2022 Beijing Paralympic Games, Canadian singer-songwriter Paul DeRosa created powerful new theme songs in both English and French to help propel our competitors toward gold medal glory. “Champion” and “Toucher Les Étoiles” are both available now,

“Champion” on YouTube here:

Both theme songs are part of the coverage for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games on CBC/Radio-Canada, and various streaming platforms, climaxing two years of a creative journey during which the lifelong Toronto musician and songwriter felt a personal renaissance.

Painting a vivid picture of a mysterious figure with profound, drifting thoughts on an open road to nowhere, the psychedelic stylings of Canadian rock trio Of Nature are on full display with the release of their new single, “Midnight Drive” – check it out on YouTube here:

Silky-smooth bass grooves and electrifying guitar riffs transport the listener across a smoky desert highway — the falling sun clear as day in the rearview. The seductive sonic energy on “Midnight Drive” is accompanied by soaring vocals sure to awaken the demons that come out at night.

The twilight enchantment of “Midnight Drive” is greatly enriched by lyrical imagery that tells a story and inspires listeners towards a deeper understanding of our emotions.

The looming questions that plague us all: what do we want for tomorrow? And what happens when today flips over? Canadian rock outfit Neon Bloom seek that same sentiment on their new dark and disco-esque offering, “A Bullet In Tomorrow.”

Check out “A Bullet In Tomorrow” on YouTube here:

An uptempo, electronica-fused rock anthem exploring the macabre uncertainty of what tomorrow may bring, the song arrives from their recent sophomore EP, Still Life. In it, the Toronto-based group lushly score an undeniable truth behind an undeniable groove, and the result is non-fiction prose on possibility — or lack thereof.

“Lyrically, it’s meant to question the type of future we want to live in,” the band explains, adding it was largely inspired by the pandemic, the effects of overconsumption, our treatment of animals and our planet, and the consequences of this behaviour.

Inspired by the romantic hymn composed by Consuelo Velázquez in the 40’s, MC Pipo and Doc Filo create a sultry dance between modern production and a love story as old as time itself with the release of their new single, “Bésame Mucho” – check it out on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/kWC855R1ge0

It all started in 1995 when two young rappers with similar ambitions and a deep-rooted passion for music were introduced to Bolero — a bittersweet yet alluring collection of love songs influenced primarily by Spanish musical styles. The constant struggle these two faced on their journey to become successful rappers is metaphoric for the struggle people go through to find love — and the faith they put into the life they are aiming to create with a significant other.

Years can pass. Time can slip by. But not for you and that one friend. The one who’s there till the end. And with the release of his new single, Mississauga, ON-based folk-roots rocker Matt Zaddy perfectly sums up that relationship in “A Dear Friend” – check it out on YouTube here:

The pandemic threatened to destroy relationships the world over. But Matt Zaddy understands what it means to hold onto those sacred; the ones who we treasure deep inside our hearts. “A Dear Friend” is a song that surmises the importance of keeping our loved ones close — even in distance, isolation, or time apart.

“This song has been very special to me for since the day I wrote it,” Zaddy explains, adding, “I was thinking about how my best friends in my 20s were people I played music with and, when the band we were in together ended, we didn’t see each other nearly as much as any of us would like.

There will be nothing you’d rather do than “Stay” when you take a spin on the latest song from Canadian singer/songwriter Frances Hope and her new single – check it out on YouTube here:

The ethereal, whimsical, pop-injected rock offering lands like a magical soundscape lulling you like a lullaby — pleading with you to remain just where you are, and as you are, as you listen. The track penned by the Edmonton-born, Victoria-based indie songstress is a majestic insight to yearning, needing; imploring of pure human desire that begins as need as it builds to self-sufficiency.

Chin Injeti’s new song “YUH” feels like warm air and blooming fields, almost as if winter is ending and a new wave of spring is preparing to unfurl itself. In other words, exactly as the JUNO and GRAMMY Award-contributing winning producer intended it to be…

Featuring Iman Wamboi for the lead vocals, “YUH” — available now — infuses Injeti’s passion for funk and boogie music into a fresh-feeling classic-in-the-making. “I was trying to elicit the feeling of springtime and endless possibilities,” Injeti shares. “Something that could usher in the feeling of seasons changing; I think we achieved this with Iman Wamboi’s voice and her overall vibe as a creator.”

Check out  Chin Injeti - YUH (feat. Iman Wamboi) [Official Video] on YouTube here:

Rock ‘n’ Roll will certainly never die as long as there are new talented and exciting artists fueling the flames. Enter alt-rock outfit The Boys & I, poised to add some serious combustibility to the Canadian hard rockers club with their new single, “White Hot” – check it out on YouTube:

As the first riff of “White Hot” hits with a wallop, it’s immediately apparent that this Kitchener, Ontario-based four-piece means big rock business. Then, when lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist James Blacktop digs into “You’ve got the passion, you’ve got the fire”, it’s signed, sealed, and delivered, baby.

What’s this song about? What a lot of fast and furious rock songs are about — and rightfully so.