Back after a brief holiday hiatus. Happy 2021! Let’s kick things off.
1. The Highlands by Matt Holubowski
A friend’s recommendation recently led me to Quebec-born artist Matt Holubowski’s remarkable fourth album Weird Ones, released last year. I’ve queued the collection over and over and am still mesmerized by how his songs paint such a radiant landscape with a deep-woods warmth – and none better than The Highlands.
Part of the allure of this song for me is its similarity to Gregory Alan Isakov (an all-time favourite) – especially at 2:34 as Holubowski wonders “Is it too late to relate to time?” with an orchestra of strings encircling. Both singers have such earthy, poetic voices that capture a real sense of wonder.
Despite the song being a patchwork of parts, there’s such a natural and cathartic flow in its energy. It’s like hearing the singer in real-time experiencing life, coming to certain standstills and revelations along the way, stopping to pause in awe for a moment before continuing onward.
“The Highlands is about being caught in the mouth of the Loch Ness,” Holubowski has described, “and having to choose whether to jump out into the lake, or to be swallowed up by the monster’s mythology, therein becoming a part of it. It’s about how scary it can be to live a fun, exciting, varied, adventurous life. But once you’re in, you’re in, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.”
2. Wildfires by SAULT
The opening track of SAULT’s Untitled (Black Is), released this past Juneteenth, makes clear the album’s power: “When everything else fails, Black endures.”
Not much is known about the mysterious collective despite the ongoing efforts of internet sleuths to uncover their identity. For two years now, their music has been released with little more than a day’s notice, no interviews, no appearances, no accompanying social media presence.
Wildfires is a haunting requiem, confronting police brutality and the violent systems that maintain it with untouchable dignity (“Take off your badge / we all know it was murder”).
3. Favourite Kind Of Girl by Gotts Street Park, Flikka
After obsessively listening to Pip Millett’s music for months, I finally discovered Gotts Street Park thanks to her duet Change My Ways on the band’s recent EP Volume Two. It’s a striking piece of music and enticed me to explore the rest of the collection, from which I’ve since fallen in love with two other standouts: Everything and Favourite Kind Of Girl.
The latter features the airy vocals of Swedish artist Flikka, singing a self-addressed love letter: “I wrote this song when I was in a place of not feeling seen or listened to,” she's said. “I was continuing looking for it in an outside source without result and it made me feel lonely.” The song is filled with memorable lines about embracing your worth and being your own greatest support (“Move yourself through the crowd / Tune in, you’re here to stand out”).
If the lyrics aren’t enough, you might be convinced by the incredibly neat production and soulful groove.
4. Only Fire by Parker Louis
Coming across Parker Louis’ repertoire recently served as a reminder for how much phenomenal music still remains relatively unknown. The Ohio-native and his six-piece band have been on my constant rotation for weeks – especially their tracks Gemini and his COLORS performance of Rise – but Only Fire has an unbeatable appeal. I always catch myself listening very dramatically – eyes closed, full body intensely swaying, belting along to those tremendous chorus harmonies. Happy listening!
Listen on Spotify to all 'Songs of the Week' here.
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