Medicine Singers, distraction4ever, Dawn to Dawn, PACKS & More - Also Cool's Playlist Refresh

Summertime is in full swing, and we’ve got music for almost every occasion. This edition includes friends like Paul Jacobs, distraction4ever, and new finds like Medicine Singers and Dawn to Dawn.

Whether you’re lounging at the park with a picnic and wine, camping in a nearby forest, or headed out to the club, our Playlist Refresh has something for you.

Listen to our accompanying playlist below

Paul Jacobs returns with his latest EP 185 On The Corner via Bonsound, delivering a mellowed out iteration of neo-psych sound he’s known for. A visual artist through and through, Paul’s lyrics illustrate his world, painting vivid imagery that captures his feelings during a period of instability, reflecting on his emotional growth.

In line with his DIY ethos, Paul wrote, recorded and produced the four songs by himself. Two of the tracks, After Dark and The Tree Outside My House, were previously released as singles earlier this year. You can watch the music video for “Hold On” below.

Whether you’ve been to one of their rowdy loft parties, or have seen them running Shift Radio, you’ve probably come across the Mile End’s latest post-punk duo distraction4ever. After releasing three singles this year, Beau Geste and Splitshift have joined forces once again to create their upcoming album Please Don’t Think About Tomorrow.

Inspired by Russian new-wave vocals (think Molchat Doma), analog synths, fast drums, and distorted vocals, distraction4ever feels like you’re running around the city on a Montreal summer night. The album will explore themes of addiction, escaping reality, anxious downward spirals, nihilism and pessimism while maintaining a connection to an overall 'joie de vivre.’

distraction4ever will celebrate the release of their debut album with a show at the Brasserie Beaubien on August 5th, 2022 at 9:00pm. Event on RA here.

One of our favourite artists at Also Cool, PACKS (Madeline Link), returns with her latest EP WOAH (Firetalk). Although her latest album was dubbed "reluctantly anthemic slacker rock" by The FADER, PACKS retreats to a more stripped down sound with this EP, through thoughtful lyrics that process grief, joy, and confusion.

"These songs began when I got back in November from our small US tour with Wombo," Link says of the EP. "I had lost my voice completely and it had a nice scratchiness to it as it was coming back. Someone suggested I record a whole album of songs while my voice was like that. father’s truck was first. It came from a fever dream I had in a dander-steeped basement in Boston. Sure enough, my voice recovered and I spent the rest of the winter recording. All of the songs were recorded in Ottawa and Montreal as I dealt with the repetitive, gory horrors of desire and simultaneously dreamt some beautiful dreams."

Watch the album film for WOAH below.

Mothland welcome another excellent band to their roster with the self-titled debut album of Medicine Singers (Stones Tapes, Joyful Noise Recording).

Medicine Singers bridge multiple dimensions of sound, while expanding on years of collaboration following a spontaneous 2017 performance by Eastern Algonquin powwow group Eastern Medicine Singers and Monotonix guitarist Yonatan Gat. Rounded out by contributions from Ryan Olson of Gayngs, rising jazz trumpet star Jaimie Branch, Thor Harris and Christopher Pravdica of Swans, no wave icon Ikue Mori of DNA, and ambient music pioneer Laraaji. Medicine Singers’ debut album creates a genre-smashing kaleidoscope of sound firmly rooted in the intense physical power of the powwow drum.

Through their connection to their ancestral music, Medicine Singers created a daring and ambitious record that celebrates tradition, while boldly breaking away from its restrictions, or in the words of Medicine Singers’ leader Daryl Black Eagle Jamieson: “These two cultures can work together, and blend together. We created something that needs to be out there in the world, to show people how we can work together and make something beautiful.”

Dawn to Dawn emerges with a new release, and debut album announcement. Their music sits halfway between spectral dream-pop and abstract dance-oriented soundscapes. Consisting of Tess Roby, Adam Ohr & Patrick Lee, the Montreal trio formed in 2018, and made their debut with singles “Meridian” “A Colour Named By You” and “Care.”

Dawn to Dawn says of “Stereo”: “This song captures the sound of summer: sweltering nights, afterparties and playful romance. It was written deep in the 2020 winter lockdown, as we imagined the parties of summer's past. A breaky, forward moving 909 beat carries airy synths that glide beneath Tess’ airy vocals. Weightless and captivating, Stereo is an anthem for years to come.”

Stay tuned for their debut album Postcards From The Sun To The Moon, out on October 6th on Tess Roby’s recently launched SSURROUNDSS label. 

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Das Beat via Bandcamp

Berlin duo Das Beat pair sweet and salty on their latest offering “Intensity.” Out on Arbutus Records, the single is an anticipated follow-up to their 2021 EP Identïat and familiarly romances with their signature melancholy pulse.

The glassy embellishments and motored rhythms hoist singer Eddie Rabenberger’s seducing vocals, making for an arresting performance from Das Beat. You can see it for yourself in Montreal on August 20th when they take the stage at Système on their first North American tour. 

Toronto garage rock outfit Bitch Stick are stirring up excitement with the release of their second single “I Want More.” With classic danciness and a laid-back delivery, Bitch Stick bring forward refreshing sincerity and are a group to watch out for.

Encapsulating sweaty dive gig energy, “I Want More” sums up the excitement of live music’s resurgence this summer. Whether or not you missed their set at Ottawa’s Side By Side Weekend, you too will be wanting more. 

Up and coming Montreal electro-pop pair Mayfly tease their first full-length with their new single “Passenger Seat.” Comprised of singer-songwriters Charlie and Emma, the self-produced world of Mayfly fully embodies their independent artistic direction.

As two young women in the music industry, Mayfly aim to inspire others like them to “own their place.” Such is evident with “Passenger Seat,” which boasts glittery escapism and the promise of looking out for one another. 

Our Playlist Refresh series is available in full on Spotify, refreshed every other week.

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Sounds from Mothland Volume I: Montreal's Music Scene, Refreshed

Via Mothland

As we settle into Montreal winter, music is, once again, one of the only things keeping us going. Lucky for us, Mothland has released Sounds From Mothland: Volume I, a compilation of bangers that provides the optimism needed to get through the season. 

The record features various artists and genres, including Yoo Doo Right, Paul Jacobs, VICTIME, Gladys Lazer (ex-Yonatan Gat trio), Spaceface (mem. of Flaming Lips), Red Mass, and more. It’s a roundup of everything your Spotify playlist has been missing, from disco tracks like Marcheé Pt. 3, to beautiful sparkling melodies by Gladys Lazer, and even krautrock post-punk tunes from Atsuko Chiba.

The compilation came out of a period of uncertainty about what the future might hold for Mothland, with each song touching on significant themes relatable to all of us contemplating our existences and missing our music scene.

"We found ourselves with more questions than answers," says Mothland, "But like the caterpillar-turned-moth we worship, we had to evolve and take flight into the night, trusting a distant light to guide us.

Guided by this light, we started putting together a compilation that would feature inspirational artists and dear friends we've had the pleasure of working with over the years. Because these are truly strange times, it meant the artists would have to further step out of their comfort zone, sharing budding ideas, and creating something new and spontaneous." 

And take flight they did. The compilation offers a fresh look at Montreal-favourites and a welcome introduction to all-new songs, all while supporting Montreal's music community. 

Mothland quotes their inspiration for the project coming from, "Legendary releases like This Mortal Coil's three albums via 4AD, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin by The Wu-Tang Clan, Brian Eno's No New York, and Subterranean Pop's classic Sub Pop cassettezines."

"We aimed for a gritty, community-oriented project. Much like homemade mixtapes consisting four-track demos punks would share amongst friends in an era when mistakes were kept on recordings, Sounds From Mothland Volume I is raw because rock & roll isn't supposed to be perfect. Living in the digital age, we also thought the physical cassette itself was a great way to showcase music as an art piece, the sum of many incredible creators."

Via Mothland

The bands were also able to weigh in on the compilation's significance and the inspiration behind their featured tracks.

Yoo Doo Right: "This track was our response to Mothland's request for an irregular/b-side/demo that would put us outside of our usual comfort zones. With the thought of making a disco song, "Marche Pt. 3" is what came out of it. We immediately knew we wanted to collaborate with Jasmine Trails on this track, adding her breathy, enchanted approach to the song. All in all, we wrote, recorded and finished the track in a couple of weeks."

Spaceface: "For "Chemical Sea (Wash Me Away)", we revisited one of the tunes on our first EP that I wrote when I was 16. The intention for this redo was to give the weight of the lyrics more emphasis. While the original Spaceface version had a great rhythm, we felt the vibe made the content sound as if it were aggrandizing drug use to solve your problems. And while drugs are fun and can be used to expand your worldview, the lyrics from the chorus are meant to point towards a sense of hopelessness amidst chaos and loss while the verses offer small tokens of hope and light in dark times, which felt strangely appropriate in these times. The line "don't drown yourself in worry... even the brightest minds are in the dark" is meant to comfort while accepting the truth, which is often a little bleak. 

Vinyl Williams played bass over a mix of drum machine and standard drum kit. The song also features a blend of three pedal steel takes from three players: Ray Suen, Paul Taylor and Yohei Shikano. It was mixed and produced by Jake Ingalls & Omar Yakar, and engineered by Calvin Lauber."

Paul Jacobs: "I wanted to record some beats in 7/4 and track some bass on top. Figured I'd add some guitar since I have one. 

Then I thought, a shaker would really get this going. Next thing you know I'm singing on the dang thing. After that point, why not add some synth? It's a song about appreciating the moments of creative inspiration and acknowledging the fact that it comes and goes." 

"To us, Mothland exists to whoever needs it. It's a conceptual place where to be free, where to forget our troubled existence, and where to hide when need be. For this project, we've simply captured some of its beautiful and frightening sounds, hoping to share them with the rest of the world." -- Mothland

The compilation is dedicated in loving memory of Claire Vincent Larocque.

Listen to Sounds from Mothland: Volume I on Spotify below, or buy it as a limited edition cassette from the Mothland website.