Western Jaguar Archive
Western Freeway
A List of Grievances
Western Jaguar continues the (frankly staggering) tradition of Canadian songwriting excellence, adding another track to a stunning series of indie pop / rock releases this year.
“Little Self Indulgent” came out toward the end of 2024, an upbeat jam that raised eyebrows for us. Follow-on single “Pity Party” continued the high energy, melodic brilliance before the mid-tempo bop “Flower Box” made us sit up and notice that something really special was underway out there in British Columbia.
Now they’re dropping “Holding By A Thread” - a simply gorgeous pop ballad dripping with reverb, flawlessly produced, and filling out a stylistic picture that (we hope) is an appetizer for a lot more music coming in the rest of the year.
From the first line - “I’m the reason your last stick of Nicorette is missing out of your tie-dye sundress” - you’ll be transfixed. So many perfect lines, so well delivered, so well served by the arrangement.
Granted, we’re suckers for the seemingly definitional Canadian ability to draw incredible beauty out of disarmingly simple ideas, but Western Jaguar is one of our favorite acts right now, and we think there are great things in store.
Western Jaguar
Kaleidoscope
Jeffrey Trainor (British Columbia) makes shimmering, confident pop music under the moniker of Western Jaguar. We’ve been enjoying the drip of singles all year, and now the payoff has come in the form of Kaleidoscope, a tour de force of indie pop/rock that contains some of the finest songwriting, the most skillful playing, the most tasteful arranging, and the most immaculate vibes of anything we’ve covered in 2025.
This album packs a staggering number of great hooks and should-be hits into a tight package, with a couple of bonus tracks included in the Bandcamp version.
“Holding On By A Thread” is undeniably the highlight of this record, and that’s not an easy bar to have cleared. It opens with a soft electronic groove under gentle synths, setting the stage for a text that is instantly unforgettable. I’m the reason your last stick of Nicorette is missing out of your tie-died sundress is such a phenomenal opening line. You’re plunged into an intimate conversation with the narrator as he paints you a melancholy picture, capped off with the hook I can’t get ahead, I’m holding by a thread.
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