Check out all the new music of the week with Your First Listen! Hosted by SONiC Music Director Brandy Taylor, get the scoop from your favourite artists on their latest work and discover new songs from upcoming artists. Your First Listen airs Sundays at 8pm and Tuesdays at 11pm.


1. Foo Fighters – “The Line”

After releasing their ninth studio album late last year, the Foo Fighters dove into a massive world tour. They’ll be at Rogers Place in September to show off some shiny new tunes, including this one. Dave Grohl explained the title of the song by saying, “[there’s] a search for hope in this day and age where you feel as if you’re fighting for your life with every passing moment, and everything is on the line”. Critics are calling “The Line” the strongest song off of Concrete and Gold, but what say you?


2. AJR – “Burn The House Down”

Brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan had a massive hit with “Sober Up”. It spent 29 weeks on the Billboard charts, climbing all the way up to #1. Now they’re back with their new one, “Burn The House Down”. It was used as the theme song for the sequel to Super Size Me, Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken, directed by Morgan Spurlock. The band watched the film and wrote the song afterwards saying, “We were blown away after watching the film, and we immediately connected with Morgan’s passion as an underdog trying to shed light on this corrupt giant… We wanted to create a song that captured that passion. If enough underdogs band together, real change can happen, and we wanted to help inspire that change in ‘Burn the House Down’.”. The band calls “Burn The House Down” the “AJR-version of a political song”.


3. Modern Space – “Flip For It”

After touring with Arkells, Modern Space returned to the studio and began work on their upcoming EP, due out later this year. Front man Sean Graham credits his father’s poetry for inspiring him to write his own music. After stumbling upon boxes of poems written by his father in university, Sean began writing his own lyrics. See Modern Space rip into “Flip For It” at SONiC Field Day!


Every week, it’s Your First Listen to the the newest alternative music. Hosted by SONiC Music Director, Brandy Taylor, Your First Listen airs twice a week, Sundays at 8pm and Tuesday at 11pm. 

Filed under: 3 Songs of the Week, AJR, Foo Fighters, modern space, New Music, SONiC Field Day, YFL, your first listen