Northern Lights – The Treble
Released: April 22
When I came across Winnipeg band The Treble while researching for this article, I was actually a bit surprised that I’d never heard of them before. Not that there’s anything about their music I particularly like–it’s just that there’s not anything I find really offensive, either. Simply put, they’re another band jumping on the Mumford & Sons bandwagon, singing poppy love songs with old-timey instrumentation. Though I don’t personally find The Treble very exciting, it’s maybe worth your time to give them a listen–you might want to bank this one away in case you need a soundtrack for a family dinner or something.
Here’s “Boston” from Northern Lights:
You can find The Treble on Facebook and Manitoba Music.
Here’s To You, Here’s To Me – Claire Morrison
Released: April 26
You might recognize Claire Morrison from her work with Daniel Péloquin-Hopfner in Fire & Smoke, a stripped-down folk/bluegrass duo based out of Winnipeg. With Here’s To You, Here’s To Me, Morrison has complimented her songwriting talent with ornate backing arrangements and layers of elegant harmonies. If Morrison continues to make music at the calilber of Here’s To You, Here’s To Me, I have little doubt that we’ll be hearing her name a lot more often throughout the coming years.
Here’s “Falling In (Part I)” from Here’s To You, Here’s To Me:
You can find Claire Morrison on Facebook and Manitoba Music.
Tease – Jason Petric
Released: April 27
I was going to write about how all the singles from Jason Petric’s Tease are just clichéd country lyrics over clichéd country arrangements, but then I remembered that’s also about 95 per cent of what’s playing on country music radio nowadays. According to his website, Petric once opened for Doc Walker and sells out Winnipeg venues on a regular basis, so who the hell am I to say that Tease is a lousy album?
Here’s “I Love It” from Tease:
You can find Jason Petric on his official website, Facebook, and Manitoba Music.
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Mark Schram grew up on a ranch in southwestern Manitoba and now writes out of Winnipeg. If you would like to offer him a job or ask him about how to pull a calf, you can contact him at markcschram@gmail.com.