By Ben Boddez
The Swiss collective translate smooth beats and influences as diverse as their cultural backgrounds into catchy hooks and sociopolitical messaging.
Vancouver indie-pop songwriter Jenny Banai has been thinking a lot lately about a song she released back in 2020, dropping two new versions of “Gold” over the past three weeks. Her latest release, accompanied by a video titled “Gold (Solo Gal),” is its most stripped-down version yet, removing the harmonies, drumbeat and bass line of the original to place the focus squarely on Banai’s striking singing voice and poetic lyricism.
Filmed against a wall of guitars and a rustic wooden backdrop at Abbotsford’s Five Acres Flower Farm and plugged into a vintage amplifier, Banai opens the video with a smirk and nod to the camera before coasting through nearly five minutes of one of the most impressive vocal performances you’ll hear all year. Scrunching her eyes shut as her guitar rings out and echoes around the room, Banai delivers a series of jazzy inflections and vocal runs with ease.
Although the lyrics concern Banai’s own personal journey, the repeated mantra longing for “peace and truth” certainly makes it feel like the track was aptly chosen for a re-release. “Every time I ponder this song, I am humbled in a new way,” she says. “I wrote it about my own repentance and longing for wholeness. Maybe I’m releasing it again, because I believe that it is possible for that longing to be fulfilled.”
By Ben Boddez
The Swiss collective translate smooth beats and influences as diverse as their cultural backgrounds into catchy hooks and sociopolitical messaging.
By Ozioma Nwabuikwu
On The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We, we find the cherished songwriter grappling with the seduction of love and hope.
By Stephan Boissonneault
Frontman John Baizley talks about the new album’s expressionist vibe and being done with colours.