Paramore's Hayley Williams kicked off a two-night stint at Toronto's Massey Hall on March 31 as part of her first-ever solo tour behind Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, and it was really something special. On the first night of the tour in Atlanta, GA, she notably surprised the crowd with '68's Josh Scogin during "Parachute," so I'd been anticipating something similar might happen in Toronto — and lo and behold, it did, but not until Night 2 (I'm not bitter): Dallas Green showed up at yesterday's (April 1) show.
The Alexisonfire and City and Colour mastermind crashed the stage in time for the song's bridge breakdown, screaming along with Williams before flexing his aerated falsetto, singing the "You watched me fall" counter-melody of the final chorus.
This was undeniably a really huge moment for elder emos, especially those of us cool enough to have spent Friday nights in high school rotating between watching City and Colour's Live and Paramore's The Final Riot! concert films.
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Though plenty of zillennials were waiting for the moment Miley Cyrus would embrace her past as Hannah Montana, the show's 20th anniversary special fell kind of flat. The Alex Cooper-hosted, not-quite-variety-hour, not-quite-reunion left out some key players, while delivering the most PR-friendly version it could possibly pump out.
Despite this, Cyrus doesn't seem done with the celebrations, as she just released an original song from the special as a single.
"Younger You" was performed near the end of the special, following the HM classics "The Best of Both Worlds," "This Is the Life" and early Cyrus hit "The Climb," and it's a slightly ham-fisted time capsule letter to herself. If Hannah Montana fans were still young girls looking for a teeny bop idol, it might work. Instead, it's exactly the kind of thing that would cap off an underwhelming TV special.
To be clear, there's nothing inherently wrong with "Younger You;" it's just fine, if a little cloying. Maybe it's okay not to feel the same magic 20 years later with new content, perhaps a nostalgia watch of childhood favourites is enough. Listen to the song below.
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Exclaim! Class of 2026 graduate Meagan Aversa has teamed up with Grey Estates' Pavel Soltys (Grizzly Coast) on Both Sides, a four-track EP that caters to their respective strengths.
With two collaborative tracks and a song by Aversa and Soltys each, Both Sides balances moody indie rock with an affinity for folk storytelling. Produced by Jon Savard, the joint effort is the result of mutual respect and friendship.
"I've been very lucky to get to make songs with people who aren't only my friends but also musicians whom I've been inspired by since before we started collaborating," Aversa said via press notes.
Listen to Both Sides below.
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Today, Chinese-Canadian singer-songwriter PIAO has returned with her highly anticipated new single "if i am me, then who are you?," which marks her first release through BMG and serves as a teaser for her newest project, which is set to arrive later this year.
"'if i am me, then who are you?' captures the tension between who I feel like versus who I appear to be," the artist shared in a release. "Standing face to face with someone who is ultimately myself. Looking at a mirror but not recognizing yourself... not because you look different, but because they seem stronger than you feel. Times where I question how one can feel so divided while ultimately being singular."
She continued, "It's about the weirdness of being both at once and how one's consciousness chooses to either see a reflection as truth or a lie."
The music video for "if i am me, then who are you?" perfectly captures the track's surreal, hyperpop energy. Check it out below.
PIAO will join Tommy Genesis at the Great Hall on May 6 as a part of Toronto's Departure Festival. Tickets are on sale now.
Victory Pool labelhead Jesse Northey returns with a new track built around an age-old question we've all asked ourselves: "Do I Belong?" — a quietly affecting new single that leans into vulnerability without losing its melodic ease. Grounded in gentle piano and soft, textured instrumentation, the track feels intimate from the first note.
Described by Northey as "a song of ego, a song of love, a song of reflection, and a song of belonging," the single circles big, open-ended questions: "Are you the one for me? Am I God? Will you still like me if I change?" Rather than offering answers, Northey lets the uncertainty sit, giving the song its emotional weight.
Recorded in his home studio and mixed by Jesse Turnbull, "Do I Belong?" balances warmth with restraint, layering in subtle touches like congas and a '70s-leaning guitar lick from Michael Rault. The result feels like what Northey's aiming for — something open-hearted in an increasingly closed-off world.
The accompanying video matches that tone, reimagining Northey as a hippie preacher in a playful nod to his childhood church experiences, capturing the song's spiritual curiosity without taking itself too seriously. Check it out below.
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Emerging alternative pop singer-songwriter Bella Kay is continuing her ascension with the release of a new 3-pack a couple minutes out.
couple of minutes out arrived last month, and includes breakout hit "iloveitiloveitiloveit" — one of the fastest climbing alternative hits of 2026, that has more than 15 million streams worldwide and continues to blow up. The 3-pack also shares new fan favourites "wonder wander" and "steady." It is available to listen to on all platforms now.
Celebrating the immediate, viral success of "iloveitiloveitiloveit," Kay will be heading out on tour this year for both supporting and headlining dates. She'll join Ricky Montgomery's tour at the end of March, and will then open for Maisie Peters in Montreal (April 16) and Toronto (April 17) next month.
After a headlining European tour in May, she'll return to North America to play a set at Toronto's All Things Go festival on June 6. Kay will continue the headlining dates in the US throughout June, and she'll also perform at Lollapalooza at the end of July.
Watch Kay perform "iloveitiloveitiloveit" live, and find her tour dates, below.
Bella Kay 2026 Tour Dates:
03/26 Saint Louis, MO - The Pageant +
03/28 New York, NY - Brooklyn Steel +
04/01 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern +
04/14 Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club *
04/16 Montreal, QC - Theatre Beanfield *
04/17 Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre *
04/19 Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre *
04/22 Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre*
05/06 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso - Kleine Zaal
05/08 Paris, France - Les Etoiles
05/10 Dublin, Ireland - Academy Green Room
05/12 London, UK - 02 Academy Islington
05/15 Brighton, UK - The Great Escape
05/17 Manchester, UK - Manchester Academy 3
05/19 Berlin, Germany - Prachtwerk
05/20 Cologne, Germany - Helios 37
06/04 Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
06/06 Toronto, ON - All Things Go
06/10 New York, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
06/13 Austin, TX - Brushy Street Commons
06/16 Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy
07/30-08/02 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
+ with Ricky Montgomery
* with Masie Peters
Triple J's beloved series Like a Version is known for bringing together the best, most unexpected musical fusions, from Olivia Dean and Clairo to Djo and Haim. Last month, Lucy Dacus added her own touch to the series during her Australian tour, delivering a soulful, intimate cover of Scarborough's very own alt-R&B sensation Daniel Caesar.
The track she chose, "Who Knows," has been making waves. After Caesar's standout performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the song now receives a beautifully stripped-down reinterpretation by Dacus, further captivating listeners.
Originally featured on Caesar's 2025 album Son of Spergy, a record packed with creative collaborations, "Who Knows" was co-written with a team including Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. The track blends breezy acoustic folk and soul, and Dacus's version pares it down even more, turning it into a quiet, reflective performance that feels unmistakably her own — the six-piece band curating a subtly heart-wrenching performance, delivered with gentle restraint.
In her accompanying interview, Dacus called "Who Knows" a "perfect song," and explained why it resonated with her: "It's my favourite kind of love song because it's uncertain. That's another reason I wanted to play it — it feels thematically connected to what I wanted to do on Forever Is a Feeling."
Watch Dacus's cover below, along with Caesar's Tonight Show performance.
Toronto's Kali Horse released their EP 2099 last year, and now, they've shared a music video for its track "In Blue."
The video was shot in two long takes on a Toronto rooftop in the dead of winter. It oscillates between the duo's Des Das Gupta and Sam Maloney, with an appropriate blue haze surrounding them.
"'In Blue" is where your heart drops into your stomach, a butterfly effect with razor wings," the band say of the song in a press release. "There is a nagging knowing that that part of you might need to take a turn in the driver's seat. Glitching between a scratching breath, a metallic sweat, the need for touch, and self-desolation."
The video comes right before the band's SXSW performance at Swan Dive, presented by Exclaim! and Project Nowhere. It also comes ahead of their JUNOFest stint in Hamilton on March 28.
Watch the video for "In Blue" below. Warning to those who are photosensitive: the following video uses strobe effects.
Charlotte Cornfield is entering a new chapter with her sixth album, Hurts Like Hell, out today via Next Door Records in Canada and Merge Records everywhere else.
What makes this album particularly special is that it's her first since the birth of her daughter in 2023 — a moment that reshaped both her life and her approach to songwriting. Hurts Like Hell reflects that shift, exploring themes of growth, renewal and the messy perseverance of love through awkwardness, doubt and change.
It also marks one of Cornfield's most collaborative records to date. The album features contributions from artists like Feist and Buck Meek, with additional support from a full band including El Kempner of Palehound. The sessions leaned into a more organic process, with musicians recording together live in the room and allowing instinct to guide the performances — the kind of easy trust between singer and bandmates that you can hear in every note.
The result is one of Cornfield's most open-hearted records yet — a project shaped by community, reflection and the evolving perspective that comes with a major life change. It's vulnerable yet stripped back and simple, in all the best kinds of ways.
The music video for Cornfield's Feist collab is wholesome and quietly charming, with the pair's warm folk vocals giving the song a comforting, homespun feel. Check it out below, where you can also hear the album in full.
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Toronto hip-hop artist Lex Leosis has returned with her long-awaited sophomore album, don't get hurt. The new record blends elements of jazz, funk, pop and hip-hop while showcasing a collaborative lineup of Canadian and US artists.
The album's focus track, "betterthanu," features acclaimed Haisla rap duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids alongside producer Obvi, delivering a confident and energetic highlight from the project.
Much of the album came together during a one-week writing camp that brought together a powerhouse group of writers and producers, including callmestevieray, Harry Jay and Obvi, along with industry heavyweights Tee-WaTT (Aminé, Logic), Wyatt Woodley (Bryson Tiller, Blxst), and more. The project was later polished with the JUNO Award–winning mixing engineer Jamie Kuse.
Throughout the record, she opens up about identity, vulnerability and the experience of embracing the parts of herself that once felt difficult to accept. Leosis shared in a recent press release, "This album was a love-letter to myself, a way of using music to work through a lot of things I needed in order for me to shed insecurities and doubts and replace them with joy and freedom."
Standing six feet tall, with a deep voice and unmistakable presence, the artist has often felt pressure to shrink herself to fit expectations. don't get hurt reflects a shift away from that mindset, documenting a process of reclaiming space, setting boundaries and embracing individuality.
To mark the album's release, Leosis will take the new material on the road with four shows across Ontario and Quebec. Check out the album below, where you'll also find her tour itinerary.
Lex Leosis 2026 Tour Dates:
05/07 Toronto, ON - Departure Festival, Division 88
06/12 Toronto, ON - NXNE
07/18 Sudbury, ON - Fierte Sudbury
07/24 Baie-St-Paul, QC - Le Festif!
Ahead of a continent-spanning tour kicking off next week — including a jaunt all across Ontario and a stop in Montreal — Stratford-hailing indie folk singer-songwriter (and Exclaim! Class of 2022 grad) Cat Clyde has released Mud Blood Bone today courtesy of Concord Records, marking her debut for the label and fourth LP in her catalogue overall.
Produced by Drew Vandenberg and written nomadically from her 1973 Boler trailer on a farm in Ontario, on a narrow boat in England, and between festivals, the record is described in press notes as "a trudge through the swamp and into vast, cleansing waters that finds Clyde at a critical point of personal evolution — equal parts despair, invocation, discovery and celebration." The resulting desert-hued effort is steeped equally in sharp vulnerability and spunky familiarity, as the artist explores her relationships to Indigeneity and love.
"Constantly being on the move, having to navigate new environments, it forces me to be present, and to confront my own feelings," Clyde shared. "You can't hide behind comforts. You have to know exactly who you are, and what you want."
Clyde will continue her nomadic ways with her upcoming tour, beginning at Mariposa, CA's Grove House on Tuesday (March 17), and traversing through the US to perform dates in San Francisco, Boise, Nashville, Philadelphia, Brooklyn and more, either co-headlining with Goodnight, Texas or with support from Boy Golden (with whom she recently collaborated on Best of Our Possible Lives track "Cowboy Dreams").
That leg precedes her return to Canadian soil in May for a lone Quebec date at Montreal's Bar Le Ritz and seven dates across Ontario (including stops in Ottawa, Kingston, St. Catharines, Guelph, Windsor, London and Toronto), leading up to a performance at Winnipeg Folk Festival in July.
Revisit focus single "My Love," listen to Mud Blood Bone and see Clyde's 2026 North American tour schedule in full below.
Cat Clyde 2026 Tour Dates:
03/17 Mariposa, CA - Grove House
03/19 Pioneertown, CA - Pappy & Harriet's*
03/20 Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room*
03/21 Morro Bay, CA - The Siren*
03/22 San Francisco, CA - The Chapel*
03/24 Sisters, OR - The Belfry
03/26 Boise, ID - Treefort Music Fest
03/27 Salt Lake City, UT - State Room
03/28 Fort Collins, CO - The Armory
03/29 Boulder, CO - eTown Music Hall
04/01 Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck^
04/02 Columbia, MO - Rose Music Hall^
04/03 St. Louis, MO - Old Rock House^
04/04 Nashville, TN - Row One^
04/06 Louisville, KY - The Monarch^
04/08 Indianapolis, IN - HiFi^
04/09 Chicago, IL - Schuba's^
04/10 Davenport, IA - Raccoon Motel^
04/11 St Paul, MN - Turf Club^
05/14 Washington, D.C. - Union Stage^
05/15 Philadelphia, PA - 118 N^
05/16 Amagansett, NY - The Stephen Talk House^
05/17 Brooklyn, NY - Baby's All Right^
05/19 Cambridge, MA - Club Passim^
05/20 Manchester, VT - Billsville^
05/22 Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz
05/23 Ottawa, ON - Club Saw
05/24 Kingston, ON - Broom Factory
05/25 St. Catharines, ON - Warehouse
05/27 Guelph, ON - Sonic Hall
05/28 Windsor, ON - Meteor
05/29 London, ON - Rum Runners
05/30 Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
06/19–21 Mount Solon, VA - Red Wing Roots
07/09–12 St. Clements, MB - Winnipeg Folk Festival
* co-headlining with Goodnight, Texas
^ support from Boy Golden
Canadian comedy guy Dan Levy is taking a turn into crime thrillers with his latest series, as Big Mistakes premieres on Netflix on April 9.
Levy created the series and co-wrote it with Rachel Sennott. He stars as a priest who gets sucked into a necklace heist alongside his similarly timid sister (Taylor Ortega).
The series also features Laurie Metcalf, Jack Innanen, Boran Kuzum and Abby Quinn. Check out the trailer below; it features lots of wisecracks while also taking a much more intense approach than Levy's usual comforting comedy.
This follows Levy's previous Netflix project Good Grief.
One of the best films we saw at TIFF 2026, Chandler Levack's music journalism comedy Mile End Kicks, has gotten a trailer ahead of its theatrical release.
Mile End Kicks comes out April 17 through Elevation Pictures. It stars Barbie Ferreira as a 23-year-old who moves to Montreal in 2011 with plans to write a 33 1/3 book about Alanis Morrisette's Jagged Little Pill. The supporting cast includes Devon Bostick, Stanley Simons and Juliette Gariépy.
Watch the trailer below.
Another movie about Saturday Night Live is on the way. Following last year's Saturday Night, show founder Lorne Michaels is being examined in a forthcoming documentary.
Lorne arrives in theatres on April 17 via Focus Features. It's directed by documentarian Morgan Neville, whose credits include 20 Feet from Stardom and the new Paul McCartney film.
A synopsis calls it "an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes glimpse at the man who built the inimitable empire of comedy, shaping television and culture for generations. The documentary features exclusive footage, archival treasures, and candid interviews with the show's most iconic cast members and writers."
As well as Michaels himself, Lorne features interviews with Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney, Andy Samberg, Conan O'Brien, Chris Rock and more. See the trailer below.
Ahead of performing a pair of shows in Ottawa and Montreal this weekend, and fresh off another recent single, Teagan Johnston (f.k.a. Little Coyote) has shared "My Luck," which shares a special connection with Canada's own natural world wonder.
"It's a song I wrote when I was at a time in my life where I didn't really feel very inspired and really lacked a connection in believing in things working out," shared Johnston. "I find when you're in times of feeling down on your luck you usually tend to attract people who also feel unlucky and this song is about the interesting kind of environment those relationships can create."
She added, "I was on a bit of a break from writing and then I heard Beyoncé's song, 'Texas Hold 'Em.' I was really struck by the storytelling of such a mainstream pop song and that inspired me to want to share my stories again. I first started writing 'My Luck' while I was visiting Niagara Falls and as soon as I did, I knew I would also want to film the music video for it there."
She continued:
I feel a deep connection to Niagara Falls and I feel as though it encapsulates the themes of "My Luck" perfectly. Niagara Falls is simultaneously a place that in some ways feels it has given up but then also is trying harder than anywhere. It is gritty, dirty darkness while also being shiny and bright and over the top. At the same time as that it is one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. The juxtaposition of the gambling, drinking and shiny lights with the unbelievable force of nature of the falls smack in the middle of it creates a type of energy I will never tire of. I wanted to show my love for Niagara Falls in all its magic; sadness, darkness, joy and beauty included.
The track (engineered and mixed by Devon Lougheed at Taurus Recording) arrives alongside a self-directed music video shot in Niagara Falls, indeed. It was filmed by Toronto photographer Dzesika Devic with styling and makeup by Jessica Lahey and Johnston. Watch that below.
I guess this is growing up: Hilary Duff has released her new album, luck... or something, and it features a prominent twist on blink-182's coming-of-age pop-punk anthem "Dammit."
The song, titled "Growing Up," is half cover, half new song, with a guitar riff closely based on "Dammit" minus the distortion. The verse is entirely different, but then the chorus is nearly identical to blink-182's original, with the lyrics tweaked to reflect fading friendships rather than a breakup. Mark Hoppus's hook, "I guess this is growing up," is preserved wholesale.
Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and original blink drummer Scott Raynor all get writing credits on the song, along with Duff and her collaborators Matthew Koma and Brian Phillips. Hear it below.
It's a huge day for Gen X dads who have a vague understanding of global politics, or people who just love a good Catholic pun. Just in time for smudged carbon to get into your eyes this Ash Wednesday, U2 have surprise-released a new EP called Days of Ash.
The new project (out today via Interscope) consists of five songs and a poem — one track of which, "Yours Eternally," features Ed Sheeran and Ukrainian musician-turned-soldier Taras Topolia. A short documentary film to accompany the track is apparently coming on February 24, to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The EP comes ahead of a new U2 album, which is supposedly coming later this year (whether or not it will be forced onto our phones is yet to be revealed). "The songs on Days of Ash are very different in mood and theme to the ones we're going to put on our album later in the year," Bono said in a press release. "These EP tracks couldn't wait; these songs were impatient to be out in the world."
Listen to Days of Ash below.
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Toronto-based rock outfit MADLANDS have shared the music video for their first official single "Witching Hour," offering an exciting preview for upcoming new music.
According to press notes, the track captures a "state of emotional suspension — where fear outweighs intimacy, desire blurs into fantasy, and time is allowed to pass without resolution." The band blends '90s alternative music with a moody, gothic atmosphere as the song slowly unfolds.
Setting the tone for the new album, "Witching Hour's" lyrics explore the subconscious impulse to hide one's true life behind "curated surfaces, distorted mirrors and imagined expectations." The track reflects a "world frozen in self-observation, where bodies, identities and emotions become trapped in their own reflections."
""Witching Hour" is the sound of self-reckoning at 3 AM. The video leans into a black-and-white, gothic starkness that makes everything feel exposed," lead singer Brent Wirth explained of the track. "When the seduction of colour is stripped away, we're left only with contrast: light versus shadow, facade versus truth. The act of breaking a mirror serves as an exorcism of the narcissistic mythology our reflection can trick us into believing. What's left after the ritual may not be flattering, but at least it's real."
Check out the music video, and find it on your streamer of choice, below.
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Today is a very big day for Vancouver electronic songwriter Jeff Cancade, whose glambient project the Golden Age of Wrestling released a new album called Sweet Chin Music, and who also just dropped a single called "ketsbetch" via the synthpop "gaylien" persona Devours.
The song is a macrodose of CanCon references. Not only is the title a play on Vancouver's Kits Beach, but the lyrics name-drop Bill Welychka, Electric Circus, Jacksoul, B4-4, Love Inc. and more — plus, of course, the Tragically Hip. All this plays out over a wildly eclectic tapestry of helium-sucking synthpop wizardry.
Hear the new song below via the artist's own surviving the game label — and fans can be sure to also check out Sweet Chin Music.
It's been almost a year since Car Seat Headrest announced their 13th studio album The Scholars, and now they're celebrating the LP with a new concert film Live at the Bitter End.
Recorded at New York City's historic venue, the Bitter End, during a journalist-only preview of the record last year, the acoustic live session features five songs from the second half of The Scholars alongside introductions by vocalist Will Toledo. The set included "Equals" — a track that had not been played live during their 2025 tour — "Gethsemane," the Toledo and Ethan Ives duet "Reality," "Planet Desperation" and "True / False Lover."
It's a cool film that captures the very first performance of The Scholars nicely, offering an acoustic take on many of the songs performed live on KEXP last October. You can check it out below.
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Fittingly, Canadian songwriting icon Sarah McLachlan is the latest artist to play a Tiny Desk Concert after Geese showed their downy side at the NPR offices earlier this week, given how many people associate her hit "Angel" with montages of sad animals.
While it would've been a blatant outrage to omit that song, backed by Hamilton husband-wife duo and longtime collaborators Whitehorse, McLachlan also performed Lilith Fair documentary namesake "Building a Mystery," "Adia" and a couple of tracks from her latest album, Better Broken — all while fighting her brain's intense desire to instead pay attention to all of the colourful treasures and ephemera that line the shelves in the famously cluttered background of the series.
"I cannot look at this stuff when I'm playing, I'm so ADD," the artist told the audience while sitting at the piano. "I look up, and I'm just like, 'Oh, shiny things!' So distracting."
It's hard to find comfort in some places, but may you find some in relatability here. Watch McLachlan's performance below.
More than 50 musicians and vocalists have come together for "Flags," the towering new single from War Child's upcoming compilation HELP(2) — and the lineup reads like a festival bill in itself.
At the center are Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C., and Kae Tempest, who trade verses over a richly layered instrumental backdrop. The track is bolstered by guitar from Johnny Marr, atmospheric textures from Adrian Utley of Portishead, and contributions from Dave Okumu and Seye Adelekan, as well as Albarn's Gorillaz bandmate Femi Koleoso.
"Flags" is elevated by a 43-piece choir featuring Marr, Jarvis Cocker, Carl Barat of the Libertines, Rosa Walton of Let's Eat Grandma, Declan McKenna, Marika Hackman, English Teacher, and Black Country, New Road, among others — turning the song into something closer to a communal statement than your normal everyday single.
The visualizer, directed by Jonathan Glazer (who spearheads all HELP(2) visuals), matches the song's collaborative spirit. Albarn noted that children were invited to film inside the studio, a decision he described as both inspiring and directly tied to the project's broader purpose: involving young people in conversations that affect them.
Tempest described the writing process as fluid and reciprocal: "Me and Grian wrote our verses, responding to each other. We all worked together on Damon's lyrics. Damon had the melody but kept the lyrics free so we could find them all together. It was a true collaboration."
"Flags" follows the compilation's lead single, "Opening Night," which marked a bold return from Arctic Monkeys. The album will also feature contributions from Big Thief, Cameron Winter, Arooj Aftab, Beck, Olivia Rodrigo, King Krule, Depeche Mode and many more.
If "Flags" proves anything, it's that this isn't just another charity single — it's a cross-generational coalition. Over 50 artists. One track. And a reminder of what can happen when some of the most distinctive voices in modern music decide to speak together.
HELP(2) is scheduled for release on March 6. You can listen to "Flags" below, accompanied by its visualizer.
Hollywood absolutely loves dramatic instrumental covers! It feels like every film trailer or TV show has moody orchestral music playing quietly in the background, and then suddenly I catch a snippet of the melody and it's Radiohead's "Creep," or something like that.
Now, RHCP bassist Flea has gotten in on the trend with a slightly predictable but quite lovely cover of Frank Ocean's "Thinkin Bout You." He's assembled a crack jazz band for his upcoming solo album Honora, but Flea himself seems to be leading this one — initially with a bass interpreting the verse melody, and then with his trumpet taking over in the choruses.
Behind him, the chords are being held down by lush strings, adding to the rendition's cinematic flair.
Flea wrote on Instagram, "This song, and the entire album from which it comes, Channel Orange, touched my heart, I listened to that album over and over for months. It lives in me always and I'm honored to play it; an homage to its sentiment, lyricism, timeless melody, and of course to Frank himself who is one of my favourite living singers."
Hear it below.
Geese pretty much tore the house down during their recent Saturday Night Live appearance — but, in stark contrast to that performance's noise-rock energy, the group have now shown their soft side by making their inevitable debut at NPR's Tiny Desk Concert.
Instead of screaming about bombs in their cars, Geese performed the sweet, meditative Getting Killed cuts "Husbands" and "Half Real." Sandwiched between those two balladeer tunes, they stripped down the riffy "Cobra," which was slower and sweeter in this setting (and speaking of riffs, Cameron Winter did a pretty funny joke about NPR staffers).
It's not a full-blown acoustic performance, but it's a prettier side of Geese. Check out the beautiful below.
Speaking of Geese — didja hear that bands are back?
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Michelle Branch has delivered a hit of joy for those of us who owe our personalities to late '90s/early aughts pop rock. In honour of Natalie Imbruglia's birthday, the singer-songwriter shared a cover of "Torn" on TikTok.
The simple yet sweet rendition is just a video Branch recorded on her phone of her playing the song on an acoustic guitar. Predictably, some of the comments under the video read, "I'm the happiest 35-year-old in the world right now," and plenty of women bonding over "Torn" being their karaoke song.
The cover isn't totally unprecedented, as Branch and Imbruglia are playing a show together in Mexico City next week on February 13 and 14. "Teenage me would be FREAKING out. Had to cover 'Torn' to really get in the spirit," Michelle wrote in the video's caption.
Listen to Branch cover "Torn" below.
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