Take Me Away by Eclecticus

Toronto band Eclecticus is a rock duo made up of music and life partners – this seems to be an unintentional theme for this show – Gar Reid and Tiina Lemay. The duo just released their fourth album Take Me Away which has a rich rock acoustic flavor with solid vocals, driving acoustic rhythm, dramatic drums, and haunting keys.

This album was created during the social isolation period, reflecting the current environment. When you listen to the record, the band hopes you will feel like you are in the room with Gar and Tiina. Heartfelt and soulful, this album was written to get you in the gut.

Lemay said this about the new album “I think many would find they are inspired to write during this time, considering the historical circumstances we are living in right now. Although the opposite may ring true too. For us, this was a very creative time and we used it to write an album that we really enjoy and we hope listeners do too.”

The title track on the album is the latest release by Eclecticus, Take Me Away is a beautiful track this is what Reid said about the track. 

“When we originally wrote the title single, Take Me Away, it had a faster tempo. However, we felt that making it more laid back would allow the vocals to shine and the interplay of the guitars, drums/percussion, and keyboards to be heard. ”

This is the beautiful new track by Eclecticus, Take Me Away. 

For more information on Electicus visit: http://eclecticusband.com

Spells by Backxwash

The Polaris Music Prize is an annual $50,000 award given to one Canadian artist or musical group for outstanding work in Canadian music in the past year. The award is given based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The preliminary jury is made up of hundreds of music journalists across the country. Jurors select what they consider the five best Canadian albums released in the previous year. The ballots are tabulated with each number one pick awarded five points, a number two pick awarded four points and so on. A long list of 40 titles is classified, released in mid-June and promoted to the public. The long list is then sent back to the jury. The jurors then re-submit five top picks from this long list.

These ballots are re-tabulated and the top ten titles form the Polaris short list. This list is released in early July and promoted to the public.A smaller group of 11 jury members (“The Grand Jury”) who convene in Toronto at the Polaris Music Prize gala in late September decide the ultimate winner.

Short list finalists this year featured Jesse Rayes, Dan Snaith, and Caribu – the 2020 Award ultimately went to Montreal artist Backxwash. Backxwash, is a Zambian-Canadian rapper based in Montreal, Quebec. Her musical style blends hip hop with heavy metal and post-rock, including Black Sabbath samples and instrumental interludes influenced by Canadian indie staple Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It, is Backxwash’s first full-length album, Backxwash also has a couple of EPS available that are well worth a listen. God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It is available on Bandcamp. We got a chance to catch up with Backxwash right after the artist won the Polaris Music Prize.

For more information on Backxwash visit: http://backxwash.bandcamp.com

For more information on the Polaris Music Prize visit: http://polarismusicprize.ca

Those Dreams by Julie Neff

Julie Neff is a singer and songwriter based in Toronto, Canada and she musically tempts her listeners with a smooth acoustic sound layered with rich, compelling vocals. Neff has just released her second single this year Those Dreams. 

According to Neff’s website she is “Inspired by musicians like Leslie Feist, Florence Welch and Nina Simone” Neff brings unflinching honesty to lyrics, and I think that’s true with this song more than ever. The singer also noted in an interview that she finds writing her music to be a cathartic experience, that helps her deal with the ups and downs of this weird thing called life. I’m paraphrasing a bit there. 

Those Dreams is the perfect track to accompany a rainy night or a less than acceptable kind of day. If possible enjoy this song with a dirty martini and sunglasses at night while you try to keep to yourself at an old mahogany bar. I don’t think we should or even can go to bars right now… just drink at home with headphones. 

The track also feature vocals by Toronto hip-hop artist 3-Card, a talented musician/artist in his own right. 3-Card has appeared on a number of singles as a featured artist, he also had three full-length albums under his belt, that are well worth a listen. 

For more information on Julie Neff visit: http://julieneff.ca

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