Here at Team GDW, we are always swamped with requests for album and single reviews, and it seems that we are now encountering a rising surge in the popularity of music videos. We ran this Video Vault feature on a pair of occasions last year, before making videos a part of our weekly Wednesday social-media-only posts. Sharing a music video each week did ease the backlog of requests, but here we are once again, totally inundated with so many new releases, and not enough Wednesdays in a given month to get to them all. We debuted this feature on this very day last year, so here today, consider this a Valentine’s Day anniversary piece of sorts – and enjoy four cracking tunes you don’t want to miss.
Yves Jarvis, “Prism Through Which I Perceive”
For the naysayers who claim to never have time to stop and watch a music video, surely you can spare 65 seconds to enjoy this colorful, psychedelic ‘short’ video from Montreal’s Yves Jarvis, animated by his record co. label-mate, Chad Van Gaalen. As genre-defying as ever, Jarvis calls this latest song a “mandatory prism sentence…I calibrate and blitz forthwith.” If you are curious for more, Jarvis is about to hit the road to support Andy Shauf’s North American tour.
Ian Lake, “Easier”
Some of you may recognize Ian as Bolton from the Netflix show “Locke and Key,” but hey, did you happen to know that he has quite the passion for music too? For Lake, “Easier” is his self-help song, one about forgiveness, or at least, for mainly forgiving yourself for not being at your best. This fabulous music video was filmed in Ian’s Toronto apartment, and presents a story of a future version of himself attempting to encourage the version of himself that’s struggling to get up and face the day.
Mo Kenney, “With You”
They say time flies when you’re having fun, and for Nova Scotia’s Mo Kenney, it’s hard to believe that a decade has passed since the release of her breakthrough self-titled debut album. Although she’s previously leaned on the guidance of good friend Joel Plaskett, “With You” sees Kenney branching out on her first true solo adventure – writing, recording and producing this song sans Plaskett. “This is a track about my own messy, true-to-life experience with loss, miscommunications, and moments of quiet connection.”
Mitch Jean, “How I Love You”
Franco-Ontarian country artist Mitch Jean has always been a fan of power ballads, and teams up here with producer Steve Foley to create this heartwarming love song that he dedicates to his wife, and the total connection between how she is and how he feels about her. Combining studio footage in Ottawa with footage of he and his wife simply sharing fun times, the video perfectly captures the message that Mitch seeks to share – and is arranged and edited so well here by videographer Jeff Watkins.
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
