Hi! You’re here! Thank you.

It’s been a couple weeks! How have you been? I have some things to share, but not as many as I expected to. This part of August is always slow.

First: the air conditioning is fixed, hallelujah. Just yesterday, and just in time for another heatwave.

Over the last couple weeks, I was at a wedding, then a cottage where mice and work and rotten blueberries made it a lot less restful than I was hoping, and finally at Riverfest in Elora Ontario to see Bully where we almost got rained out (the next day actually did get rained out).

Bully’s set was great, all business. She had 50 minutes and probably 48 of those minutes were music, and the crowd seemed to warm to her a lot – it grew from a few dozen to several hundred by the end. Can’t wait to see her in a headlining spot.

Enough small talk, here’s the goods:

Short stories owned the week. There are two posts to check out: fiction and creative nonfiction. The one that’s haunted me most is On Shame.

Also, find and read Loved and Missed. It’s an instant all-timer.

Here is this week’s playlist for Apple Music and Spotify

New Singles from Blog Faves

• Hank released DYLM, slow burn indie rock
• Rêverie released blood on your lips – their fourth killer single of the year. Can’t wait for this EP.
• Test Plan released their second heavy alt-rock single It’s Not Enough, comes with an excellent video
• Thermal released their latest grungy and melodic single Smile at You
• Soot Sprite and Muttering (who’s new to me) released a fantastic indie/shoegaze collaboration called Burn the Leaves
• Burr Oak continued their concept EP reveal with Annabelle – listen to this in context with their other singles, there’s a narrative there that I can’t wait to hear the rest of

Singles from from new artists (to me)

• Newcastle’s Rye recently released a single titled I Feel Everything. It’s cinematic indie pop that I can’t get enough of
• Travel Plans and Kendra Morris released chill trip hop single called Fade Out, real Morcheeba vibes
• Roni Jean from California released She’s Lost Again, kind of low-key funky dance pop
• German post-punk band Tylee and the Gang released Oh Boy – a moody and intense indie-rock song
• colby! released Gone to Bed, an addictive bit of indie pop

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From the blog

A song from each of these artists is on the playlists: Apple Music and Spotify

Short things

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Book reviews

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