From the moment the first entries started trickling in on our Searchlight competition to find Canada's next great musical act, the producers were impressed. From coast to coast, north to south, unique and impressive sounds started to populate the polls. Naturally, in a competition like this, not every great band has made it through.
However, that doesn't mean the bands that are no longer competing don't have big things ahead of them. The producers from CBC Music have gathered songs that didn't move on to the next round, but that moved us. Check out some songs that were too good, acts that were too interesting — and stories that were too fun — for us not to share.
Play Nuela Charles ft. Darren Frank, "Unfortunate Love"
Andrea Warner: I had no idea that Edmonton was secretly harbouring the future queen of Canadian soul. I would have put all my money on Nuela Charles to take this Searchlight competition. In some ways, I feel like her home turf just doesn’t understand what they have in their midst. In Toronto or Montreal, Charles would already be a star. Edmonton, get excited about this amazing woman before she leaves you for a place that recognizes her worth. And, finger snap.
Fort York, "When She Was Dead"
Judith Lynch: One of these days, hopefully not long from now, Fork York will release one of those slow burning records that you never see coming but you lie to all of your friends about when you first heard about it. My first thought when I heard this band was "Wow. These guys just need a producer." They have the songs, the musical chops and the beginnings of a sound. With a steady hand and a little more time this band will smoke. Be truthful. Tell your friends that you first heard them on Searchlight.
Robyn and Ryleigh, "You M-Make Me Stutter"
Mike Miner: I had listened to a lot of acts before I came across this one. It's a straight-ahead country pop song, but if you listen to the lyrics it's a really sweet story about young love and captures all of that energy and happiness. Also, the production is really polished and puts the harmonies and lyrics in a great setting. My first thought was, "Wow, put this on the radio right now and you'd have a hit."
Dana Sipos, "Numi Numi"
Miner: This is just a pretty song. Sipos uses her voice and the spare instrumentation to transport you up to the shores of Great Slave Lake and leaving you with nothing but a broken heart and this lovely song to console yourself with. It's worth the trip.
Pistol George Warren, "Be Your Dog"
Miner: This is a weird, funky number from my hometown, Sudbury. What I like is trying to imagine this crowd performing. Somehow, this big collective crams its way onto the stage at the Townehouse Tavern, say, and blows the roof off the place with this rambunctious and silly song with vocals that honk along with the horn section. I bet it would look like a dress rehearsal at the Muppet Show.
Predator/Prey, "A Skulk of Foxes"
Miner: With one band member stationed in Inuvik to pursue his career in marine biology and the rest in Ontario, this band soldiers on. So what does a band do when they can't play shows or even practice? They build video games so people can interact with the music in another way. The game, they say, is based on actual animal relationships in the wild, and all the song titles reference biology. Way to mash everything you love into one offering.
PLAYHannah Epperson, "Murder of Crows"
Brad Frenette: When you can play the violin and sing like Epperson, you don't need a band, just a loop pedal. With these sparse tools, this Vancouver musician creates ethereal sounds and complete songs that lead the listener into a world of her own creation.
PLAY The Blue Stones, "Rolling With The Punches"
Frenette: A band from my hometown of Windsor, Ont., this bluesy two piece will bring to mind another bluesy two piece from just across the Detroit River. Less lo-fi than the White Stripes, the Blue Stones (Justin Tessier and Tarek Jafar) are as radio-ready as anyone in this competition and if they keep writing songs like "Rolling With The Punches," they will soon roll out of southwestern Ontario and onto a stage near you, wherever you are.
PLAYKat McLevey, "Winter Shows Me"
Frenette: McLevey remains in the Searchlight competition as she is a member of the St. John's collective City on the Coast. From my desk, in another city on another coast, McLevey's solo entry, "Winter Shows Me," was a gem in the regional semifinal round. A simple and earnest song, sung playfully and backed by strong arrangements and productions.
asdfJennah Barry, "The Coast"
Holly Gordon: From Nova Scotia’s south shore hails Jennah Barry, a young songwriter with a raw honesty and talent that don’t often come together. Formerly of pop orchestra the O’Darling, Barry holds strong and steady on her own. Her Searchlight entry, “The Coast,” begins minimally, building into a catchy force that won’t leave your head for days. “Little too honest/ Running with the whales/ The scariest part is, ya hardly know we’re there,” she sings. Barry’s vulnerable but strong voice is the tether in a song that shows just how talented a songwriter she is — and it won’t be long before the rest of Canada knows it, too.
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Patrick Lehman "Stop Pretending"
Jesse Kinos-Goodin: Montreal's Patrick Lehman easily stands up to any of today's popular male soul revivalists from the U.S., from Mayer Hawthorne to Aloe Blacc to Allen Stone, so I was baffled when he didn't make it through. His vocals are sharp, the lyrics surrounding a troubled love are on point for the genre, and the band sounds like they would feel right at home on Menahan Street. When that sax kicks in, if you're not nodding your head then you have no soul. Do yourself a favour and catch up on his two independent releases, because I suspect it's not the last we've heard from Lehman.
Max Keenlyside, "Charlottetown Rambler"
Li Robbins: It takes nerve to be young and choose a career in ragtime music these days. Actually, it's taken nerve to make that choice anytime since the mid-twentieth century. But that's what P.E.I.'s Max Keenlyside did. at the tender age of 10 he started playing (and composing) ragtime and stride piano pieces. (Think: Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller.) It's sweet and sprightly music, and Keenlyside has a deft touch. On his Searchlight song, "Charlottetown Rambler," Keenlyside does a neat trick, opening the song with a vintage 78 record flourish. Pretty catchy. (Plus, it's hard resist a guy who wrote the processional music for his own high school graduation.)
Do you have a favourite Searchlight find? Let us know in the comment section.
Related:
Vote for Canada's next great musical act in Searchlight
Searchlight: Grant Lawrence’s hits and misses from the first two rounds
Searchlight surprises: interesting artists from the 1st round