Hello Shark • The River • 2026

fatherdaughterrecords.com/collections/hello-shark 

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #199 • Jacob Brodovsky

Jacob Brodovsky joins If It Be Your Will to talk about Tell the Kids We Tried, the strange business of making art, and the increasingly ambitious project of keeping it together. We get into songwriting, fatherhood, community, climate dread, and why Canadian indie music seems uniquely qualified to make existential crises sound charming. There’s melancholy, wit, guitars, and just enough optimism to keep the whole thing from collapsing. A smart, funny conversation with one of Canada’s quietly great songwriters—and proof that “we tried” can be both a shrug and a pretty decent philosophy.

http://www.jacobbrodovsky.com/

In some cases, songwriters discover their writing is premonition only after living through the experiences their past-self penned. In 2025, Jacob Brodovsky lived through a loss of community that, at the time, he didn’t realize he’d foretold while writing his sophomore LP, Tell The Kids We Tried.

The award-winning indie-folk songwriter, based in Treaty 1 Territory, began recording with a group of trusted friends and heroes. He brought a batch of songs to producers Gavin Gardiner and Champagne James Robinson (Moonriivr), only to quickly discard many of them in favour of brand new songs stemming from a “Song Every Week” songwriting challenge that the Winnipeg music community takes part in every Winter. killbeatmusic

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #198 • Gvth Dvddy

Two records in two years, and GVTH DVDDY are clearly not slowing down. Their latest self-titled album pushes the sound even further into the dark—massive guitars, strange textures, raw emotion, and songs that hit with the weight of lived experience. On this episode, we go back to Kevin Robinson’s years in Viva Voce, trace the path that led to GVTH DVDDY, and get into what happens when a band keeps pushing forward instead of looking backward. Heavy, hypnotic, epic, and completely human—this is GVTH DVDDY at full volume.

http://gvthdvddy.com/

 

Starter Car • Know What to Say • 2026

 

‘Bandmates Wanted’ posters may be old school, but when songwriter Oisean Burnett moved to London from Glasgow in 2024 the homemade approach was what worked. Fast forward to now and Starter Car have established themselves as darlings of the South London music scene with their unique brand of country-influenced indie. This year sees the release of their debut album, Afterlight, a hooky collection reflecting on life’s beauty and struggles. Recorded and produced by Joe Futák (lilo, Piglet, Baggio), the album’s sound grew organically through the core band plus collaboration with fellow scenesters, including vocals from Christie Gardner (lilo), fiddle from Sophia Bartlett (Tugboat Captain) and banjo from Michael Rhea (Symbol Soup).

https://shop.tapeterecords.com/starter-car-afterlight-4574

Icarus Phoenix • "The Oligarchy” • 2026

 While everyone was watching a liar get elected 

I was making love to the person I care for most 

And rather than engaging in powerless worry 

I wrote the next three words you'll hate. I didn't vote.

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #197 • Johanna Samuels

Johanna Samuels makes songs that can turn a tiny memory into something that suddenly feels enormous. On this episode, we get into Sorry, Kid, revisiting old songs, getting older, the weirdness of memory, and how the places and people in our lives keep finding their way into our music. Johanna is thoughtful, funny, and refreshingly honest about the messy process of making sense of the past while still moving forward. A great conversation with a songwriter who knows how to make the personal feel universal—and a lot of fun along the way.

https://www.johannasamuels.com/