Movies of War

1 of 1 2 of 1 Get the best of Vancouver in your inbox, every Tuesday and Thursday. Sign up for our free newsletter.You can’t catch a bus in Vancouver without tripping over a struggling indie musician trying to figure out how to turn the pain in their soul into 10,000 Spotify streams and a record deal…or even just a level of familiarity that means the Green Auto regulars are excited to see their name on the bill. We all start somewhere.So, we’re collecting jams from local artists both small and not-so-small and giving them a spin each month. SinglesGroove Saloon — “Look At Me”Channeling psychedelia through an avowedly pop-forward lens, Groove Saloon revels in the best bits of the ’80s on its latest release “Look At Me”: falsetto vocals, funky basslines, and cheeky lyrics. With lines like “I’ve been running for you but I’m out of shape”, the single is both heartfelt and knowingly silly, referencing mundane moments like spending too much at a sushi joint or moisturizing your face, as checkpoints in a happy relationship. The accompanying music video is also pleasantly bonkers, featuring a runaway bride whose groom finds comfort with a dancing alien. (V. S. Wells)MARZIA — “Ordinary”Often artists find themselves in need of a more distinctive name. For Surrey-based MARZIA, the opposite is true: her legal name is Marzzhia, which she decided to simplify a little. “Ordinary” is anything but simple though, dripping with R&B cool and soulful vocals. The lyrics ruminate on whether she is enough, her warm vocals gliding over a syncopated bass and hissing percussion. While the final swerve into overt religiosity—“I’ll give it to God/My life is in his hands”—comes out of nowhere, you can’t deny it’s a bold swing. (VW)Hannah Harlacher — “Rattlesnake”The shake-shake of hand percussion mimics the sound of the eponymous rattlesnake in Hannah Harlacher’s easy-breezy tune. The singer’s vocals have a pleasant country lilt, which matches the imagery of long drives, hillsides, and small towns. Centred on the exhortation “we don’t just disappear”, “Rattlesnake” caps off a three-song EP of the same name. The California-born, Vancouver-based Harlacher channels a balmy energy here, reassuring listeners that even as everything ends, it will soon begin again. (VW)Malinowski — “Die for Love”Bedouin Soundclash’s Jay Malinowski is really focused on love in his upcoming album Under a Landslide of Stars. Sure, there’s love in a pretty typical way, like “Deeper Than Blue”, about how much he loves his son. But on his newest drop, passion takes on a much deeper turn. Malinowski dives into the psyche of someone whose devotion has rotted. He employs religious imagery—virgins, the meek, serpents—over an urgent guitar and ominous bass. The result channels a descent into fanatical instability that will make you think twice about promising anyone you’d take a bullet for them. (VW)Chronic Fatigue — “Who’s Next”“Who’s Next” is unabashedly political, nodding to Rage Against the Machine or Refused with its hip-hop-infused beat. The lyrics, delivered with jagged rhythmicality, explicitly name the whirlwind of shit going on south of the border, acting as a rallying cry to stand up in the face of fascism wherever it is. “Who’s next?”, delivered as a gang-vocal refrain, serves triple duty: who is next to be targeted by the alt-right; who is next to get brought into the lyrical beatdown; and who is next to stand up to unchecked power? File under: songs to punch a Nazi to. (VW)Ché Aimee Dorval — “Carnal Needs”If you want something endlessly atmospheric, look no further than Ché Aimee Dorval. “Carnal Needs” uses Dorval’s signature blend of different genres to offer up a song that is hypnotic and textured. It serves as an anthem to being present and grounded, a repudiation of overthinking presented with a mix of hazy electronica and woozy dream-pop. Mixed by Shuta Shinoda but entirely written, produced, and performed by Dorval, the terminally underestimated creator is proving that she can do it all. (VW)The R.E.S.E.A.R.C.H. — “Fast Forward”CanCon mid-aughts rock is trying its best to return to the radio, with artists like Wolf Parade, Feist, and Broken Social Scene once again bubbling back to the top of cultural consciousness. “Fast Forward” might be a new song, but you can feel some throwback elements in its garage-rock sonic palette and scuzzed-up take on art pop. Despite that, musically The R.E.S.E.A.R.C.H. has its eyes on what’s to come, constantly shifting between modes to differentiate the verses, chorus, and bridge to pugnacious effect. (VW)Olivia Penalva — “Distance Makes a Love Story”Olivia Penalva, the 25-year-old singer with roots in Vernon and Kelowna, already has a musical career that spans a decade; her oldest song on Spotify dates back to 2013, though her biggest hits “Love Me” and “Ex’s” have been in the 2020s. On her latest track, the pop chanteuse has a distinctly mature vibe, channeling Maggie Rogers in a track that manages to be both expansive and intimate. Subtle cascades of strings add a sense of grandeur that contrasts with the deliberately abrupt ending—a song that tells the story of living in limbo, and the sudden shift that happens as soon as you decide to act. (VW)AlbumsMike Van Eyes — Ain’t That Loving You, BabyBig bands don’t get as much musical recognition they deserve. Sure, you can place the sound fairly easily—a lounge-act croon, the swoon of an upright bass, the sonorous wail of jazz trumpet—but how often do you really stop to consider the work that goes into sounding that snappy and seamless? Mike Van Eyes’ latest album, Ain’t That Loving You, Baby almost feels like a record that fell out of time: a perfect encapsulation of the kind of swanky, soulful blues that never goes out of style. Van Eyes has been a fixture of the Vancouver music scene for 40 years, and this stands as a testament to his consistency. (VW)Larkk — CindersFor years, Danielle McTaggart played some of Canada’s most iconic venues as half of the Juno-winning duo Dear Rouge. Now, she embarks on a solo career as Larkk, trading in the electronic-powered pop hits of her past for a decidedly stripped-back approach. What hasn’t changed is McTaggart’s versatile voice. Opener “Cinders” and it showcases exactly what makes the record effective, as it starts as a slow ballad accompanied by atmospheric sounds and a steady piano. It builds until it quite literally soars. “Devastation’s Bliss” is a powerful rumination on a past not lived, while cinematic “Cuckoo” builds out a world all its own. There are comparisons to be drawn to artists like Regina Spektor and Feist, sure, but Larkk sees McTaggart forging her own distinct path, one in which each song twists and turns. (Nathan Caddell)Tiger Really — Mayfly DaydreamIt feels like just yesterday that Tiger Really’s debut record Swan Sting was released on legendary emo label Counter Intuitive Records. Now, a scant 16 months later, the band has returned with more of its jazz-tinged rock, trading bombastic hooks for a more introspective storytelling-driven approach. The eight-track Mayfly Daydream has something of a dark folk slant, akin to tales of cryptids or haunted houses, and takes lyrical inspiration from supernatural entities to explore loneliness and isolation in a decidedly Gothic fashion. Guest spots from local musicians Jian Ross and daysormay’s Carson Bassett, as well as Halifax's idialedyournumber, add an extra dimension to the dreamy, mist-drenched tracks on offer here, which will do their best to haunt your hypnagogia. (VW)DOUR — AgoraVancouver rockers DOUR have leaned heavily into a fan’s description of their genre: gloomwave. The band’s most recent offering continues that trend. Agora is a neo-dystopian beast—you don’t really listen to it so much as it washes over you with a cascade of sludge. The band draws heavily from acts like English legends the Cure and New York rockers Television, but it also has its own unrelenting yet toe-tapping rhythm. And the lyricism cuts, too. Consider opener “Neophiliac”, about corporate greed and control; or “Call”, which ruminates on losing loved ones. And then there’s the album closer, the ostensibly upbeat (and irresistible) “Just Enough Rice”, which again dives into the repeated cycle of loss that we’re all getting flushed down. (NC)Gena Perala — Somewhere NewAccording to Gena Perala, she has often been described as “disarming, difficult, or defiant”—the kinds of words meant to diminish women who have a clear sense of who they are and what they want. On Somewhere New, Perala’s sophomore album, the musician demonstrates a clear-eyed sense of purpose. With a childhood straight out of a country ballad—the singer was raised in a travelling carnival family—Somewhere New nods to impermanence and the beauty of fleeting moments. The 16-song collection is suitably sprawling, using pedal steel and strings to spin engrossing alt-country yarns. (VW)Ron Allan — Two Pennies for the FerrymanBassist Ron Allan’s roots in the Vancouver punk scene run impressively deep. He was s a member of the Subhumans, followed by extended stints in Shanghai Dog and the Scramblers. Then Allan seemed to disappear, until unexpectedly re-emerging with his first solo record, Two Pennies for the Ferryman. Supported by a who’s who of local punk luminaries—including Bill Napier-Hemy, Phil Smith, and Gord Nichol—Allan surprises here in the best of ways. The 10 tracks on Two Pennies for the Ferryman aren’t flared with smoking Hiwatts and overdrive-pedal bass. Instead, Allan draws more on Tom Petty–brand heartland rock (“Hat in My Hand”), drama-drenched pop (“Into the Black”), and roadhouse cowpunk (“My Blues Turn Green”). Allan’s not only still here, he’s still got something to say. (Mike Usinger)Golden Age of Wrestling — Sweet Chin MusicOh, to have the boundless creative energy of Jeff Cancade. Their main project, Devours, is a Polaris long-listed lesson in synth-pop excess. But the artist needed a side repository, and so the Golden Age of Wrestling was born. Sweet Chin Music is a romp through all the wonderful things that synths, samples, and pastiche can do: an experimental chocolate box that nods to film soundtracks and chiptune video game scores while never quite settling into any one thing. Banger “ditching you at kfc to have sex with your dad was toxic and i am sorry” is a disconcerting journey over a Billie Eilish beat, while “brontosaurus” is strangely calming in its excess, diffusing syncopated rhythms and a single lowing vocal into an almost choral ode to (presumably) big dinos. (VW)Garret T. Willie — Bill’s CafeThat Garret T. Willie named his second album after his grandfather’s pool hall café in Alert Bay makes a lot of sense. This is the type of music that Papa Willie probably flipped on in the jukebox on opening night. Bill’s Cafe is a throwback in every sense of the word. It’s no surprise that, before Willie’s first writing session, he wandered through the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville. Bill’s Cafe is rambling and rollicking music that would make the Man in Black proud. We can be glad that he adds a particular maple syrup-laden flavour to the proceedings: “Going to Toronto” is a stone-cold Canadiana classic that includes the indelible line, “Gonna stumble down Yonge Street/Come on Toronto, bring my baby back to me.” (NC) Join the discussion Facebook comments not loading? Please check your browser settings to ensure that it is not blocking Facebook from running on straight.com