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Rebekah Hawker.jpg
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RGM presents The Maple Leaf #10

October 04, 2019 by Rich Barnard in Alternative Rock, Pop, Acoustic, Folk, singer-songwriter, Americana, Country

The summer may have been hot and hazy, long and lazy but that hasn’t stopped the songsmiths of Canada.  They’ve been beavering away over there, cooking up more musical missives and sending them eastward.  At usual here at RGM, we’ve gathered them all up and sifted through hours of tunes to bring you the very best of the bunch.  So, to ease you into the autumn months we humbly offer to you the tenth instalment of the Maple Leaf Roundup.


Wildlife.jpg

Toronto’s indie stalwarts Wildlife get us off to a rocking start with ‘Wasted’ which is the sonic equivalent of an unsolicited bear hug from a rather muscular Keane.  Slickly produced but brimming with energy, its anthemic charge is made for radio and bodes very well for the band’s new LP, Take The Light With You, due on October 11th.

https://www.facebook.com/wearewildlife/


Blinker.jpg

Moving on from stalwarts now to true veterans, Blinker The Star have been making beautiful and weird music since the mid ‘90s (when I had hair) and ‘Sweet Nothing’ finds them twinkling as brightly as ever.  Frontman Jordon Zadorozny claims he was aiming for a Thompson Twins vibe on the track and the warm louche synths here certainly get him pretty close.  The stellar new album Careful With Your Magic was released on September 20th and can be found at bandcamp.

https://www.facebook.com/blinkerthestar


Sean.jpg

If gentle and intimate acoustic loveliness is your bag then Toronto’s Sean Aston MacTaggart is someone you need to know about.  His upcoming six-song release features just vocal and acoustic guitar and latest single ‘Only Been An Hour’ is held together with nothing more than its own fragility and tenderness.  Sonically, it’s all Nick Drakian boxiness (it was recorded in the stillness of night in an empty house) but MacTaggart’s velveteen alto is sure to have the harbourer of even the hardest hearts hunting for a handkerchief.

https://www.facebook.com/seanastonmactaggart/


Picture credit: Connory Ballantyne

Picture credit: Connory Ballantyne

From Barrie, Ontario, Rebekah Hawker announced her latest EP Careful Women last month with the fantastic ‘Round Of Fools’, a track draped in warm pedal steel, light-touch piano and shuffling acoustic guitar.  Imagine, if you will, Aimee Mann joining a country band but losing neither her cool nor integrity in the process.  The vocals soar and the tune has that undefinable feel of a long-lost classic.  Quality songwriting? Beautifully produced?  Tick and tick - I’m in.

https://www.rebekahhawker.com/


dan moxon.jpg

For some smooth old-school soul, look no further than Dan Moxon who caught our attention with his wonderful single ‘Where You Going To Sleep Tonight’. The song that could easily pass as a fifty-year-old standard from the canon is accompanied by a great video which happens to cement a long-time theory of my own that a visit to Ikea can have a devastating effect on even the strongest of relationships.  The Vancouver-based singer releases his debut LP Lounge Singer on October 4th.

https://www.danmoxonmusic.com/


Actual Goners.jpg

We close with the roots rock of The Actual Goners, who are fronted by a pair of songwriters originally from Vancouver Island now based in Toronto.  Their latest single, ‘Temptation’ sees them shift to a rockier gear, which I have to say is alright by me.  Having been recorded live in the studio, the track fizzes with passion and zeal, coming over like Tom Petty jamming with Spirit Of The West.  Splendid.  We’re looking forward to hearing what they come up with next.

https://www.facebook.com/theactualgoners/

For now, though, we bid farewell to the sweet land of syrup and song.  Thank you for reading and be sure to join us next time when the Maple Leaf Roundup turns (up to) eleven.

The Maple Leaf Roundup is a Rich Barnard production for Red Guitar Music.

More great music from The Maple Leaf
RGM presents The Maple Leaf #29
May 26, 2023
RGM presents The Maple Leaf #29
May 26, 2023

And we’re back! “From whence?” I hear you cry, in your florid way.  Back from Canada, of course.  We swam all the way, on our backs, our music-loving arms filled with a freshly picked bunch of hot new songs, gifted to us from our creative compadres ‘cross the waves.  Imagine that.  And we did it all for you.

May 26, 2023
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #28
Feb 27, 2023
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #28
Feb 27, 2023

My dear, dear, neglected reader.  It’s been an entire year since I last brought you news of the finest Canadian sounds around; a lapse for which I can offer no worthy excuse.  There will no doubt have been truckloads of tunes that have passed us by as a result, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned about the musicians of Canada, it is that their riches flow ever in abundance.  Just for you, I’ve scooped a few prize catches from 2023’s already quickening stream.  These are songs I believe deserve to be held awhile in the light; to be marvelled at; to not go unsung into that digital ocean.  So, boil the kettle, read on and get ready to make some new Canadian acquaintances. 

Feb 27, 2023
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #27
Mar 7, 2022
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #27
Mar 7, 2022

Hello, dearest readers, and welcome one and all to the first Maple Leaf roundup of 2022, where we bring you a smorgasbord of new music from Canada. It’s a big old place, you know, and it’s bursting with musical brilliance. Here are eight of our favourite finds. We hope you find something to enjoy in amongst the pile.

Mar 7, 2022
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #26
Dec 9, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #26
Dec 9, 2021

The leaves have been falling for weeks and weeks, and I’m ashamed to say that I’ve been rather neglectful with the broom. Still, it’s never too late for a bit of a tidy up. What follows is a selection of the most golden and honeyed Canadian musical beauties to have drifted our way in the last couple of months. Sorry it’s taken us so long.

Dec 9, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #25
Sep 8, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #25
Sep 8, 2021

Hello again, dear readers. The Canadian musical harvest has been as rich as ever this year and we’re here to share with you the best of a bumper crop. Take a seat with us at the Maple Leaf table and sample some of the lesser-known fare from over there in the Great White North. We do listen to music from all territories but, clearly, Ontario has had the best weather this year....

Sep 8, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #24
Jul 22, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #24
Jul 22, 2021

At the risk of repeating myself, I must say that there is an astonishing wealth of Canadian talent out there right now. I use the word ‘wealth’ there, in the Besos and Musk sense. Seriously though, Canada, it is a bit embarrassing. Unlike the uber-rich, here at RGM we believe that there’s more than enough gold to go round, so we make a point of sharing with you a regular selection of tunes that may not otherwise have reached your ears. I use the word ‘regular’ there, loosely of course (our Canadian office is woefully understaffed at present) but we do our best to see that these musicians do not go untrumpeted. We’re certain you’ll find something to dig here and, when you do, we hope you’ll tell your pals.

Jul 22, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #23
May 14, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #23
May 14, 2021

Welcome back to The Maple Leaf, RGM’s roundup of the freshest and finest tunage from Canada. By way of atoning for a longer absence than usual, we’re offering you a special double-helping of new music across the genres. Everyone is welcome here at RGM and we like to think we can spot a keeper, however it’s dressed. We hope you enjoy what you hear and that you’re inspired to take a deeper dive into some of this edition’s featured artists.

May 14, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #22
Mar 24, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #22
Mar 24, 2021

Spring is springing and the birds are singing. As, indeed, are the singers and songwriters of Canada. In this, the latest edition of the Maple Leaf, we take you on a short walk across this blossoming landscape, and invite you to enjoy some of the bright new shoots that have been emerging along the way.

Mar 24, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #21
Mar 1, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #21
Mar 1, 2021

Joni Mitchell, Daniel Lanois, Alanis Morissette… Justin Bieber. Canada’s rich and varied musical heritage clearly has a trickle-down effect, as music of a consistently high calibre pours in abundance from its shores. Here at RGM, we shine a light on the best new Canadian music we can find, not just in the hope we’ll unearth the next Sarah McLachlan but also because we believe there’s something in the water over there that makes the music extra special. We hope you find something here, in the latest Maple Leaf roundup, to love as much as we do.

Mar 1, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #20
Feb 8, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #20
Feb 8, 2021

Okay Canada, go easy on me. I somehow find myself in February 2021 trying to pick five chunks of hot new music for this feature, having amassed a ruthlessly edited shortlist of around 35. How did this happen, Canada? I can only account for the disappearance of an entire January by weeping before a hand-drawn graph of an alarming home-learning curve. You’ve made me choose, Canada, and it’s been hard. Nevertheless, here I am again, your most loyal of servants, educating the RGM readership on the subject of your latest and loveliest musical works of wonder.

Feb 8, 2021
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #19
Dec 14, 2020
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #19
Dec 14, 2020

As it’s the season for giving, we’ve put together a special bumper edition of The Maple Leaf Roundup, bringing you not five but ten - yes, ten! - new tracks from our copaines Canadiens. Think of it as an early Christmas gift - a mellifluous mixtape of must-hears you might not have otherwise met.

Dec 14, 2020
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #18
Nov 5, 2020
RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #18
Nov 5, 2020

Crazies keep on crazying, Covid keeps on cavorting but, through it all, Canada keeps on calling. We get so much Canadian music in the RGM inbox it sometimes feels as if we’re being stalked by an entire nation. We are blessed with more than we can reasonably manage but, in our relentless quest for gems, we make sure we listen to everything and, in this, the eighteenth instalment of The Maple Leaf roundup, we share five of our finest finds.

Nov 5, 2020
October 04, 2019 /Rich Barnard
Wildlife, Maple Leaf, Blinker The Star, Sean Aston MacTaggart, Rebekah Hawker, Dan Moxon, The Actual Goners
Alternative Rock, Pop, Acoustic, Folk, singer-songwriter, Americana, Country
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