Monthly Listening: Aug 2025

[adevyish]

Polaris noms are out and I realized I’d forgot to rec several Canadian songs I listened to this year, oops! So here’s your regular songs and some extra.

• Carly Rae Jepsen / More
  • New song from the E•mo•tion vault! It’s fun but I can see why it wasn’t released at the time.
• mekakushe / Rendezvous ★
  • A nice (several singles later) follow-up to “Kimi wa Snorkel”.
• Foi / Fuzzy Boy
  • A break-up song that’s possibly about a cat.
• yureru wa yurei / echoes of fading girl
  • End of summer break yearning.
• People In The Box / Mean Street (Art-School cover) ★
  • One thing I appreciate about the Japanese music industry is the inevitable cover album to celebrate some band’s 25th anniversary. Like, it sounds like a money grab, but there’s always some incredible covers from some band or artist you’d never expect. What I like about this cover is it’s a reinterpretation of the original via the same era, but a different lens.
• Sokabe Keiichi / Suteki na Yoru (CW: flashing)
  • Sunny Day Service gets a bit midlife crisis.
• Sawao to Shiori / Let the music play ★
  • Yamanaka Sawao (formerly of the pillows) and Sekine Shiori (currently of Base Ball Bear) have teamed up for a bit of exploratory post-punk.
• The Do Do Do’s / Natsu
  • Sometimes you just need a low-budget pop-punk song about summer.

Bonus: CanCon Catch Up

• Bibi Club / Le feu ★ (CW: motion sickness)
  • Indie pop with a twangy ’00s feel.
• Bodywash / Kind of Light
  • Dream pop with moments on the verge of waking up.
• blesse / météore ★ (CW: flashing, motion sickness)
  • Swirly grungy pop for when you gotta scream.