Welcome back to Locally Sourced, our playlist for exclusively the best Ontario (and Canada) has to offer. As we bring more contributors onto the team, it’s been so fun to hear about their loyalty to their local scenes as well. Will we have more Locally Sourced spinoffs in the future? Only time will tell… but for now, I’ve got ten songs from home that I’m sending out to the rest of the planet. I hope you all love our music the way I do. If you want to keep up to date and see the playlist updates before they go live here… you can follow the playlist on Spotify.
Are you a musician in Ontario/Canada? Want to be included in Locally Sourced #13? Email us.
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Kylie V – Solace
I’ve loved every single Kylie V has put out so far from their upcoming album, Big Blue. The album will finally be here on Sunday, but until then… “Solace” might be my favourite single so far. With little splashes of Regina Spektor’s soundscaping mixed with equal parts of Stars’ ability to make the room you’re in feel 10x bigger… it’s a really majestic track from what I’m sure will be an equally majestic record. Also, there’s a purring cat involved, so make sure you stick around right until the end of the track.
Favourite Daughter – Long Distance
This specific style of folky indie rock feels like it’s on a definite upswing again, and it feels perfect for our new “safe at home” lifestyle. It’s fun enough to brighten my day without making me wish I could dance or jump around somewhere (preferably with other people). Favourite Daughter mixes vulnerable lyrics with upbeat guitar riffs and creates something that delivers the exact right amount of feelings for the moment. I fear if I experience extreme emotions right now, I’ll implode like a dying star, but this toes the line at a safe distance.
TOVI – Across The Border
This TOVI track fills a very specific electronic hole in my heart. Not EDM, but the electronic music that was the wave when I was in high school. MSTRKRFT, Dragonette, Death From Above 1979… this track brings me back to the songs that helped me start expanding my horizons. It’s dark and moody, not unwelcome on something like the Tron or Blade Runner soundtracks. Even the lyrics are a little mysterious and menacing despite the soft, airy tone of Rebecca Emms’ vocals. This song alone can create its own universe and it steals me away right into it.
Dream Babe – Glow
I can’t make myself stop thinking about this song. The verses are beautiful but there’s something about that chorus that just sets my brain on fire. Dream Babe is made up of two Vancouver musicians — Nashlyn Lloyd and Louis Wu — coming together for what they expected to just be a side project between tours. The pandemic changed the whole “between tours” thing a bit, and this turned into a full thing. It’s weird where you find the silver linings but this is definitely one of them (both for me and hopefully for them as well). It’s jazzy and funky and a little psychedelic. It’s not one to be missed.
Leisure Club – Hard To Find
Leisure Club feels like the perfect Frankenstein experiment combining Hollerado and Tokyo Police Club. The doctor was Hollerado, Leisure Club is Hollerado’s monster. Two classic Canadian indie bands with a dash of surf rock and some groovy bass lines makes for a new hometown classic. “Hard To Find” is half of their new EP, I Want You in the Dark. Don’t make the mistake of skipping the other half.
Animal Boy – Liar Liar
I know it’s just the tone of inflection in the spoken word lines, but… this song makes me want to do the Time Warp (again). Animal Boy are checking all the surf rock boxes, despite being from Guelph — which is decidedly not coastal. This song tears through you like a freight train, and it doesn’t let you go until the final notes ring out. Even the calmer moments are met with an underlying sense of dread and impending doom. “Watch out but don’t watch me” is the line I assume everyone will use for Instagram comments now that we’ve collectively decided we don’t wish to be perceived anymore.
Dana Dentata – Do U Like Me Now?
Dana Dentata is like… I keep seeing TikToks about sounds that can scratch all the parts of your brain. This song makes my brain feel like it’s all being activated and taking part in the experience. The video is a definite must for your first listen of the track, but after that… it’s exclusively for main character moments, screaming in your best friends’ faces in the middle of a dance floor in a dark room when we’re allowed back out to the bars & venues. This song makes me feel so powerful. Too powerful, I think. Dangerously powerful. Maybe it’s for the best that I’m forced to stay home for a little longer.
Softcult – Another Bish
I was all ready to write about “Uzumaki” because it was the first song that really made me feel something in a while, but it’s GONE. Y’all just can’t ever have nice things, huh. Luckily, softcult wasn’t joking around with this new project and “Another Bish” hits the same marks. It belongs equally in a coming-of-age movie and your fave underrated indie playlist. Whether you followed the Arn-Horns here from Courage My Love or you’re a new fan, it’s hard to imagine there’s anyone who won’t fall in love with this song.
PONY – Chokecherry
I’m literally counting down the days until PONY‘s album is out, but until April is here… “Chokecherry” is such a fun addition to an already stacked collection of singles. With a video that’s a result of watching too much Are You Afraid Of The Dark? as a kid, and a track with the same 90s angst and bite, you’ll find this track welcomes you to feel your most bitter, beleaguered feelings. Just uh… maybe skip the cake.
Calm Canopy – Fiction
I already loved this song, and then I realized Calm Canopy is the experimental indie rock/pop solo project of Mike Papaloni. We’ve been Mike fans since Locally Sourced #3, so it was very exciting to see him pop back up again. “Fiction” is thoughtful and introspective, everything I picture in the ideal acoustic song. Maybe “I know it’s worth the wait if the garden sprouts late” will be my mantra through the rest of this pandemic. Maybe I’ll just listen to this song to keep me calm and collected. Either way, this song is beautiful and perfectly suited for bringing yourself back down to earth.
BEDHEAD – Disconnected
BEDHEAD is gearing up for the release of her debut EP this year, and her new single “Disconnected” has me fully on board and ready for it. The track explores the feeling that often comes with depression, of the world spinning without you while you’re stuck in your own mind, and the video has the same feeling of being suspended in time. Just being slightly removed from reality and not wanting to plug back in yet. It’s a beautiful alt pop track that seems to envelope you like a safety blanket.
