Happy Victoria Day Long Weekend Monday for those of you who live in Commonwealth countries. And happy plain old Monday for those of you who don’t.

This installment of the Monday Music Video has a lot going on so buckle up. Our destination today is the new Bacxwash video for “I Lie Here Buried With My Rings and My Dresses” but we’re going to come up on it in steps, ease you in to it from the most mainstream sounding to some serious heavy stuff.

You may have missed it during the pandemic, but Backxwash won the 2020 Polaris Prize, Canada’s $30,000 music award which is given annually to the best album released by a Canadian – whether a professional or self-released. She won for her album “God Has Nothing To Do With This So Leave Him Out Of It.”

Backxwash is Montreal-based Zimbabwean/Canadian Ashanti Mutinta. And she is a force. https://backxwash.bandcamp.com/. The featured image for this post is taken from her bandcamp page.

Baxwash is joined on “I Lie Here…” by Ada Rook of Black Dresses. Black Dresses are Toronto-based musicians Ada Rook and Devi McCallion https://blackdresses.bandcamp.com/

It is no coincidence that I am sharing these tracks on Victoria Day. There are so many, many different ways in which we need to decolonize ourselves. And as this pandemic has dragged on and on, the inability of many of the currently dominant social structures to provide safety, let alone equity, have been starkly illustrated again and again – at the cost of lives.

Set everything aside for a few minutes, and listen to these young women. You need to hear them.

And, these songs are total bangers. Your call to action today is to go to their bandcamp pages and buy some of their stuff. Put your money where your ears are.