Staff Selections: We pick ’em; you play ’em and (hopefully) pay the artists for ’em.
Staff Selections feature hand-picked recommendations by a member (or members) of the DOMINIONATED team that they feel is worth your listening time.
Today’s recommendations come from DOMINIONATED team member Laura Stanley (left). She suggests four selections for you to spin and add to your collection.
Avalon Tassonyi, Sprigs & Brush
Avalon Tassonyi’s third album, Sprigs & Brush, is one of my favourite releases from the first half of 2024. It’s a timeless folk record that’s a sublime mix of traditional ballads and originals. But it’s also the shade of an oak tree on a hot day, a surprise visit from a friend, the smell of lilacs, the truth finally spoken.
Conor Nickerson, Aves
Like many, my interest in birds first developed during pandemic lockdown periods. My continued soft spot for birds has become so known in my circle of friends that one of them sent me this recently. Needless to say, Conor Nickerson’s new bird-inspired instrumental album, Aves, makes my heart soar. Each of the seven tracks is named after and inspired by a bird (“Northern Cardinal”, “Downy Woodpecker”, “Blue Jay,” etc.), and samples of their calls can be heard nestled within Nickerson’s graceful, bouncy, and/or playful (mirroring the temperament of the bird in focus) electronica melodies. Bird nerds and fans of Mort Garson, Castle If, and the Stardew Valley soundtrack alike rejoice.
Fanclubwallet, Our Bodies Paint Traffic Lines
Once the solo project of Ottawa’s Hannah Judge, Fanclubwallet has gained more members since Judge began releasing her deliciously catchy bedroom-pop songs in 2020. Co-made by Judge, Eric Graham, Michael Watson, and Nat Reid, Our Bodies Paint Traffic Lines is the first Fanclubwallet release as a full band. While Judge’s intimate and relatable confessions continue to be the heart of Fanclubwallet, the poppy sound of this EP is fuller and bolder—like the band coloured in their songs using fancy art markers.
“pink power ranger” by Houseguest
The cover art of “pink power ranger,” a song by the new Vancouver band Houseguest, made me think about how I used to sit at my desk in elementary school and stab my pencil into a pink eraser trying to draw the “Cool S.” The aching emo-washed indie-rock of “pink power ranger” only compounded this wave of nostalgia. As Houseguest look back on their own childhood and the uncomfortable itch of being in a body that doesn’t feel right, the only thing left unsaid is: “It’s morphin’ time!”
