Vancouver music release roundup - spring edition

This is the debut album release for Manitoba-born (and now Vancouver-based) harpist/vocalist Janelle Nadeau. It's so beautiful… but how can it not be? Janelle is playing the most beautiful instrument ever devised, and she's beautiful, and her voice (even if it descends into some commercial clichés at times) is so beautiful. Even the band is beautiful! There's a heavy influence of Celtic sensibilities and maybe, like Loreena McKennitt, Jennelle will eventually overcome her beauty (which is clearly crippling her artistically) and dive down a little deeper in her next album. To her credit, "Shenandoah" is very original with gorgeous playing (both by her and cellist, Doug Gorkoff), but I'm recommending you listen to "Logan Water" to take in a little bit of talented flutist Jeff Pelletier too. -JH

A lot of bands make some music videos, some bands make a lot of music videos, but not many bands make feature-length movies. We Are The City is a band that’s just as interested in presenting their vision on film as they are on record. Their sophomore album Violent came out in 2013, but the companion film of the same name (directed by drummer Andrew Huculiak) was released in 2014 and ran the film festival circuit, garnering critical acclaim. Now the band is re-issuing their record with two new b-sides in accordance with debuts on American and German labels, and preparing for European and US tours.

Again, We Are The City breathe new life into Violent’s legacy with an engrossing new video series. -NL

Greg Bevis’s drum loops inside his Holy Oker project are much like his own drumming as a member of Bear Mountain: warm and comfortable, like a rhythmic blanket. Much of the production on Volcura is cut from the same cloth. Delicate vocal melodies float on updrafts from subtle bass drum quarter notes and discreet bass tones. Contrast the ambient warmth with Bevis’s shivery lyrics: “The ghost of your past isn’t harmful / You’re panicking fast, but it’s hopeful.” -NL