Author Archives: Syggy Santos

Apollo Ghosts: A Double Album Called Pink Tiger

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Apollo Ghosts is an indie rock band based in Vancouver, and in 2022, and if you remembered them from 2012, they’re back and still releasing new songs. In that seven year absence between 2012 and 2019, they were making music under different band names like COOL TV and Adrian Teacher & The Subs. 

Their ”Pink Tiger” album is actually a double album that splits a softer sound and a sound that’s more upbeat and electric.

Pink Tiger

Their first halt, “Pink, ”is softer than their usual sound since it was written at home during the pandemic, and they recorded the second half with a more upbeat energy when things began opening up again. 

The lead singer, Adrian Teacher thought of releasing “Pink Tiger” as a double album, but the soft and upbeat sides were connected, and it made more sense to be in the same album. The first half is more fitting to put on during an early Sunday breakfast while the upbeat half is when you’re doing errands.

For the songs, “Morning Voices” and “Dirty Spoons”, the band tried to use midi programming for instruments like synths, strings, and arpeggiators, which is why they bring out a cinematic quality in those songs.

As Adrian was making the album, he had a growing concern regarding the hearing loss he experienced with one ear, and it did affect his music making and his teaching. He even went to doctors to get surgery, but it didn’t work.

I’m someone who loves listening to music at higher volumes, testing my audio equipment and pushing them to their limit to correct little things like distortion and clipping. I also just like to have headphones on full blast to fully appreciate the songs I listen to. I’m still young, and my last hearing test in high school had good results, but there’s this lingering fear that my habits will suddenly lead to hearing loss. 

It’s really disorienting and annoying to only hear through one ear, and I get upset that I have to avoid listening to music until my ear stops swelling. Not only that, but your hearing range will compress as you age. I hope my analytical ears don’t chase subtle intricacies and nuances for too long that it ultimately ruins my hearing.

Luckily, Adrian’s hearing eventually returned months later. The band members are still healthy and playing, so you can expect to find new releases in the coming years.

The Jins: A Spark Of Fame

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There’s an indie grunge trio band from Vancouver called The Jins, and they grew massively through Tik Tok when their song, “She Said”, from their EP, “Death Wish”, went viral and brought many new fans. It’s wholesome to see the side where Tik Tok can sometimes give exposure to someone deserving.

Death Wish

Their front man, Ben Larsen, made content on Tik Tok after the release of their “Death Wish” EP, and without much happening over the months, he came close to removing Tik Tok entirely after posting their guitar collection until likes and comments came flooding in.

With their sudden spark of fame, people also point out the similarities in appearance and musical talent between him and Kurt Cobain from Nirvana. That definitely helped with the exposure for The Jins, but one of their main influences included Nirvana along with many names like Green day and Blink 182. 

It’s a good thing that their band had that kind of reach where there’s an opportunity for their band to be appreciated by new followers and maybe help them with their issues in life.

Their early music was all self-recorded before their primary focus of playing in shows. It’s something they find way more interesting and addicting than recording music. Even for Vancouver’s diverse music scene, The Jins call themselves misfits because they don’t quite fit in one specific genre.

While other grunge bands try to replicate an older sound, The Jins have a cleaner production with months of practice before recording anything in the studio. They acknowledge that the band with the lo-fi sound are self-produced while The Jins had lots of help from Dave Genn, their producer, a former member of the Matthew Good Band, and a current member of the 54-40 rock band. 

Their album, “It’s A Life” explores growing past adolescence. Ben elaborates that the album is about the point in your life that he doesn’t see many people addressing in their moments growing up like when your grandparents or your dog dies. 

Ben did his best to be open and convey his frustrations when he’s trying to figure out the things that were happening around him. Just because they got exposure from Tik Tok doesn’t mean they don’t face struggles finding gigs or a direction. Since writing the record, he feels that he’s grown and is much happier than before. The album title resonates with the band as it represents their older selves.

JESSIA: Empowerment and Authenticity

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Jessia is a new pop artist from BC that quickly emerged after her hit, “I’m Not Pretty”, and she’s now in full control of her career after becoming an independent artist.

She grew up in Vancouver, where she wrote songs since she was ten. She calls her first song rough, but she continued to practice her creative writing for herself, which is therapeutic for her. When you listen to her lyrics, it feels like you’re reading out of her diary.

She then spent five years in Edmonton studying vocal performance and spent time during the pandemic focusing on her priorities, and she concluded on becoming a songwriter and a musician.

She has a song about empowerment called “I’m Not Gonna Cry”, that gets listeners to push through moments where they feel like having a breakdown. In moments of high pressure, there’s different ways of handling them like putting up a fake smile, or you push through in the case of this song.

I’m Not Gonna Cry

What makes Jessia resonate so well with her fans is through her openness. She’s so used to being open in her songwriting that she looks for honesty when she listens to other singers. She can easily tell when someone isn’t fully expressing their voice and their story, so she wants authenticity from singers. If she ever feels like something she creates doesn’t feel like her, she wouldn’t post it. 

Social media is pretty important to her because it allows her to connect with her fans and help them feel seen and loved the same way they help her get seen and loved. 

For her EP, “Okay With Every Part”, Jessia had many fans support her work when she became an independent artist. In that EP, she’s worked through her recent struggles, and the songs are reflecting back once she got through her frustrations. She didn’t want her songs to have a projection of anger because the point was to look back on those experiences and say that she got through all of it.

This can also apply to people who are studying or working to become who they want to be, but for anyone thinking of becoming an independent artist, Jessica suggests to stop calling yourself “aspiring”. She says you’re an artist as soon as you write songs or play an instrument, and that gives an element of confidence in yourself that others would believe.

Dear Rouge: Goons Gone

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Dear Rouge has been around for 13 years, and their latest album, “Lonesome High”, expresses something I didn’t know I needed in their song, “Goon”.

The album was made during Danielle’s pregnancy, which didn’t affect her performance at all, and she played strongly until she was seven months pregnant.

The first song, “Goon”, is about the people in our lives we want to forget, but they still keep reappearing in uncomfortable ways.

Goon / Lonesome High

I wish that the song would let me forget a “Goon” that keeps reappearing in my life. A name and a face I really want to forget and never see for the rest of my life because of how paranoid she made me feel whenever she creepily approached me and popped up unannounced. 

Some bad memories are essential to someone’s growth, and then there’s bad memories that are just unnecessarily taking space in your head that are better erased. I really wish I never had this one interaction with her where she probably developed the wrong idea. While there’s no memory gun I know of, at least there’s a song I can dance to whenever this  unpleasant memory pops in my head uninvited. 

The story behind that song was when Danielle went on a trip in Europe with a friend of hers. They were exploring Paris and ended up at a pub where these two guys would not leave them alone. Those guys lingered long enough to make Danielle and her friend super uncomfortable, so Danielle snapped at them, telling them to go away, and that’s where she got the idea. 

For “Goon”, Dear Rouge collaborated with the producer, Gus Van Go, and he worked with big artists like Hollerado, The Arkells, The Sam Roberts Band, and Metric. They say that Gus sees the person first and brings out the best in them. The sound for “Goon” was inspired by the sound of old bands like the B-53’s and Sonic Youth.

Sometimes, I wish I just did the same. I don’t even care if it would cause a scene because I just had enough. The song’s energy would describe the relief I would have felt.

We all probably have our Goon moments too, but at least some of us can be aware if our presence is unwanted. I applaud Dear Rouge though, for making a song out of an unpleasant memory that I would consider having no use in our heads.

Said The Whale: A Mark of Maturity

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Said the Whale is one of the first artists I discovered when I first moved to Canada. “Loveless’ and “Camilo The Magician” are still some of my top songs ever in terms of how well it resonated with me as I grew up, with “Honey Lungs” coming in as a close third. I think “Honey Lungs” is my most played Said the Whale song in terms of its pure enjoyability, especially with good headphones. 

I didn’t know it was based on the death of George Floyd, and all of the harsh conversations that took place surrounding it. I remember they pulled out of the Surrey Canada Day festival along with bands like Mother Mother and The Beaches because the city hardly did anything to combat ongoing racism.

Honey Lungs

It’s hard to say if we’ve progressed that much since 2020. Every day, I just keep seeing names I know getting exposed for heinous crimes or devolving to greed, and online conversations continue to get more and more aggressive.

When writing the bridge to “Honey Lungs”, one of the lead vocalists, Tyler Bancroft, tried to find a bridge that fits this kind of song, so he turned to his notes app. In it, he found a quote he remembered writing as he watched his son on a hard day: “You can find the joy in every agonizing moment of existence on this planet”.

“Honey Lungs” is meant to be a hopeful song about empathy and kindness, and it’s something to apply in conversations online, where everyone can get really defensive.

Spencer Shoening played the drums in such an impactful and satisfying way as it wrapped around my head. That intro is something that continues to put a smile on my face whenever I replay it. 

I occasionally find them performing live in Vancouver, and I was at their show where they played with their songs with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at the Orpheum.

Their “Dandelion” album is one of their proudest works, with influences from all their previous albums, and it’s something they don’t get tired of listening to compared to some of their other records. 

They included a song called February 15, which was written by their keyboardist, Jacelyn Brown. That song was initially meant for her husband’s birthday, but after showing it to the band, they got accompanying strings from the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for the final recording.

It’s the deepest and most emotional album they’ve made, and it marks the band’s growth and maturity.

The Zolas: Music The World Should Appreciate

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The Zolas have been around since 2008, and their most streamed song since 2013 is still their song, “Strange Girl”, and Zachary Gray says it wasn’t even a hit to the radio or the fans. He says it just ended up in people’s playlists, and the way it’s recorded is something the band doesn’t really play. 

Strange Girl

There is this cool guitar riff in the song, though, and it turns out it’s based on a song from the Hollerado band called “Juliette”. I actually listen to Hollerado, and The Zolas have toured with them many times.

A song that The Zolas loves to play at the end of every set even if it isn’t successful is “Escape Artist”. Those who were familiar with older songs from The Zolas would DM the band, sharing how much the song means to them. It’s strongly relatable to people who feel like there’s two of them, or when they don’t want to be themselves.

They also got to tour with Hotel Mira in the States, and Zach mentions that the band has been desperately trying to get a tour in the states for a while and maybe Europe, just anywhere besides Canada. 

He has advice for any new musicians from Canada, and that’s not to play in Canada especially if you know your potential. Doing well in Canada means your band is only known there, and you’re stuck there. Becoming big in other places as a Canadian band will eventually circle back to gaining a Canadian audience as well as rising in other Countries.

“Ancient Mars” and “Swooner” had a four year gap between them with the only song released in that gap was their “Invisible” single. They felt that would be something that would do well on Canadian radio, and that single led to the success of “Swooner”.

Zach is another big artist from Vancouver that helped write a song from Carly Rae Jepsen besides Josh Ramsay from Marianas Trench. He knew her in Vancouver when she dated his best friend, and he happened to pitch her the song, which she liked.

There are some things that Zach wants to pursue outside of his band, but there’s a part of him that really wants the world to know how good his music is, and that keeps him on the path of making music.

Vox Rea: Embracing Differences

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There’s an indie pop duo band from Vancouver called Vox Rea, which was formerly known as The Katherines. 

Their previous self-titled album tackled the existential topics like angst and fear, and in their 2025 album, “Art Oracles”, it’s about the need to make difficult choices and spending more time doing than thinking. 

Art Oracles

“Grass” and “Captain” were songs that both explore the feeling of being dissatisfied with yourself and indecisiveness leading to a life that’s being wasted away.

Their single “One Kiss” had a more fun approach as opposed to their usual style, where the duo wanted to have a lighter feel without the need to listen to it alone in the dark. It wasn’t really to completely shift the band’s sound, but more to have a little fun in stepping out of the band’s usual sound for a bit.

The process of making “Art Oracles” was different from the last record, and they recorded at their parent’s place and just let the ideas flow. The band has a balance between living in Vancouver and Vancouver Island. When they’re not on tour, they stay in Vancouver Island, which has been their creative space, and when things start to get  busy, they’re back in Vancouver.

Another song with a different energy is “Julia”, which is more upbeat and one of the favourite songs by the duo to play live. It was initially supposed to be a folk song until they went to record it, and the sound changed completely. That new sound is what inspired the energy and the atmosphere of their following album, “Art Oracles”. After “Julia”, the band wanted to try a more upbeat approach at their shows. That way, they can play songs that feel like a celebration rather than a focus on sadness.

For a band that’s composed of sisters, they still have their fair share of disagreements with each other. Their creative vision almost always aligns, and it’s the personal things they struggled with. Though, they did start couple’s therapy earlier this year, and it helped resolve some situations where there’s a bit of tension.

In the creation of this album, they’re continually growing different, and their differences grow more apparent, but they learned to embrace that rather than get frustrated by them. Since the two know each other so well as sisters, they humble each other to the point where they’ll continue performing with full authenticity.

Five Alarm Funk: Shifting Sounds And Shifting Crowds

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There is a band from Vancouver called Five Alarm Funk, and they’re an instrumental dance band that really brings music to life and makes it exciting.

In Five Alarm Funk’s “Big Smoke” album, they actually had Leo P. from Too Many Zoos play with them in their song, “Wake The Funk Up”. You might be familiar with Leo P. because of his incredible performance of Moanin’ in 2017 which is originally from Charles Mingus. I remember downloading that viral performance in amazement because I never heard a baritone saxophone played like Leo P. plays it.

Big Smoke

Even without Leo’s name in the title, I still would have recognized it’s him by the way Leo plays the bari sax. Dave Grohl once said in a Hot Ones interview that you know you’re a talented musician when people can identify your playing style.

Upon that discovery, Five Alarm Funk definitely delivers the same kind of energy that gets the crowd going. You should expect a lot of fun at their concerts, and they create these personas with costumes and props like the Diaper man, Gary Shider from Parliament Funkadelic.

The most visually interesting thing I’ve seen at a concert so far was some naked guy on a couch at The 1975 concert in 2023, and it turns out that was a dummy replica of Matty Healy and not some guy high on spice.

I remember interviewing Kenan Sungur from Babyface Brass, and their ensemble ranges from 4-13 members. Five Alarm Funk also has a range of members, but it’s currently an eight-member band.

Five Alarm Funk continues to be an instrumental band without a lead singer. Instead, they’d have the crowd engage in chants. It’s a unique choice that definitely led to their success.

This is another band that likes to change up their sound from album to album. Their unique song format along with shifting genres adds to the excitement of what they’ll play next. For a band like this, it’s hard to go wrong with any flavour like rock, metal, or Latin. 

A band like this really enhances the fun vibes in their shows, and while they’ve been performing in BC and Alberta for their first five years, they’ve been touring across the country and the United States.

They actually recently played in Vernon, so keep an eye out for a show of theirs that could happen in Vancouver next.

Danielle Ryan: Exercising Patience

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I’m generally not that into country, but I think it’s the male side of country music that I’m annoyed with. I always hear it on the radio, and I predict the same mention of whiskey, girls, and pickup trucks. When it’s not just about those three things, it’s actually pretty enjoyable. It could partly be the fact that a female voice for this genre feels refreshing.

Danielle Ryan from Pitt Meadows is helping change my impression of country music. While I don’t listen to Taylor Swift, she has been a big influence in shaping Danielle Ryan’s sound.

She’s been songwriting since she was twelve, which I consider extremely impressive. I mostly remember playing the most basic songs on the recorder in music class when I was twelve. 

I was listening to her songs, and “Middle of Madness” stood out to me. I just had to download it. It turns out some of her songs in her EP were written when she was sixteen and seventeen. She’s really worked on all of her skills since she says her singing was okay at first. Her talent really stemmed from her songwriting, and covering songs is not something she wants to do. 

Middle Of Madness

She considered the timing when she released her music. She really wanted to clearly articulate her message and represent herself in a way that leaves a lasting impression. With all the factors like the pandemic pushing back her releases her patience was definitely rewarded because it feels like her songs were released at the right time. 

She has advice that really applies to anyone, and that’s to be honest and ask questions. Danielle is a great example of an artist working hard, persevering, being patient, and working smart to reach their goals. Also, be smart with your questions and who you ask. You want to ask something that could be missing in your work or something that can be critical to your growth, and you shouldn’t be afraid to ask honest people. If you know who to ask, it’s likely to pay off.

She’s grateful to be working with people she can trust, and in the music industry, you definitely need people who can support you through everything and not leave you to bleed out when life happens.

She’s now going beyond her initial dream of releasing a song when she was twelve to being one of the most exciting new artists in Canadian country music.

Old Soul Rebel: An Emotional Lift

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There’s a band from Vancouver called Old Soul Rebel that brings their mix of soul and rock to the music scene. The duo, Chelsea D.E. Johnson and Lola Whyte met each other at a community house in East Van, and from their backgrounds, they had this compatibility in their music. Johnson is black while Whyte is a mix of Cree, Ojibwe, Blood Nation, and Italian.

Their differences were made clear to each other the more people they met that they couldn’t relate to. They both come from marginalized communities, and the effect of intergenerational trauma struck Lola since her grandma came from a residential school, and as someone who explored that topic in high school, its effect is on such a large scale that I can’t comprehend their pain. That experience drives Lola to continually help others and not hurt.

Old Soul Rebel

Paired with their identity of being queer, their experience as outsiders and their hardships brought them closer, and the core of the band is about taking pride in yourself and building a community through it.

Johnson’s musical talents stem from their theatre background, where singing and acting share similar fundamentals, and Whyte has a cabaret dancing background, and singing is where their passions lined up.

Johnson had lots of experience, being in a lot of bands, but things really clicked with Lola. 

The band also competed in CTV’s The Launch, which is a reality music competition where five emerging musicians are guided by a mentor from the Canadian music industry to have a debut released commercially. The band really expressed their talent and their authenticity in the show. They ended up in second place, but following that was the death of Lola’s father. From her background, things happen like death, but the two are still spiritually connected even after his passing. With that concept, her relationship with her dad has deepened.

Through that experience, the band has grown to develop a responsibility to their audience. While Johnson says that music is a very therapeutic experience when they perform, they want to make sure the audience gets that same emotional lift.

Lola also ties in with the theme of healing as a medical worker, providing dental care to those facing barriers like access and affordability.

Each of their shows provides a safe space where the audience can enjoy the love Old Soul Rebel gives to them.