Fresh Four | April 2025

In the first-ever edition of our local Fresh Songs segment, we're branching out both in terms of 'genre' and looking at individual singles instead of just albums.

Elisa Thorn: "My Moon"

Harpist Elisa Thorn has often led trios with bass and drums, with James Meger, Jeff Gammon, and Justin Devries among her past band members. Dan Gaucher, whom she's played with in Cat Toren's Human Kind among other bands, joins her and Meger on the lead single from an upcoming album. The distorted harp solo is the climax, with Thorn's friends supplying reels of them dancing to the solo to gather amusement and hype for the album. The lyrics are closely whispered and speak to the duality of the sun and moon in self-reflection, but the hook is mostly wordless. It's indie rock or art pop where you could forget there's a harp and mentally substitute guitar if you're unattentive. Gaucher largely avoids cymbals, leaving lots of space for the harp. (Streaming)

Steph Wall: "Gusher"

Steph Wall is declaring a new phase of her artistic persona. On this first single from a forthcoming EP called TANG!, Wall sings and sort of raps over a wonderful, loping, latin-influenced groove. The song is a co-write with producer Jordan Astra and Nashville songwriter Sarah Jones; Stephen Nikleva and Wynston Minckler reprise their guitar and bass roles from Wall's regular band. Wound up with indirectness, her suggestive lyrics are as inviting as the beat. The naturalistic percussion has a human touch that some similar songs lack: it enters back gradually in the chorus instead of being flipped on-and-off in the digital audio workstation. Wall's instincts as a keen aurally-trained musician shine across all aspects of the track. She has a big show coming up at the Fox Cabaret on Thursday. (Streaming)

SIESKI & Connor Roff: "Untethered"

SIESKI has performed often at Guilt & Co, the 2nd Floor Gastown, and similar downtown venues for years, drawing crossover appeal from young jazz people while having musicians like Dom Hallberg, Kria Wall (as a bassist), and Kate Johnson in her band. She plays keys, and her partner on this release Connor Roff plays guitar. SIESKI's previous single, "Coffee", has little in common with this song other than being made at the DIY-favourite Helm Studios with Josh Eastman. Emilio Suarez's cello takes the drumless soft folk arrangement to lush heights. Amid the overall themes of queer expression and of holding agency through uncertain breakups, the plucked cello in the bridge grounds the song in vindication.  (Streaming)

Teighan Couch: "A Gal in Calico"

I've had a ferry-crossing collaboration with Teighan Couch for a couple years, backing up the VIU-trained vocalist both in Nanaimo and Vancouver, so I asked for and was granted a listen to "A Gal in Calico" pre-release. She sings and scats the standard with her trio of Nick Peck on piano, Ken Lister on bass, and Hans Verhoeven on drums. The single drops on April 28, Couch's birthday, and precedes a full album that she'll release with them. (Another single, an original, is available already from this group.) The intro is a lift from Ahmad Jamal while the head out has some changeups. The vocal production is dry, as if you're hearing her in a house concert setting or an especially small bar, smaller than the Black Rabbit in Nanaimo's Old City that I've seen her fill. (Pre-save)