Andreya Casablanca – See More glass
Berlin, Germany
As her first LP since Gurr’s been on pause, Andreya Casablanca leaves a creative blueprint that means serious business. Mixing her grinding guitars with a lot of quirky indie pop production that captures a raw creative spark, there’s a special magic to what Casablanca pulls out of the ether on this record. “Once You Laugh” swaps from its glamorous piano intro to an acid-burned loop that instantly centres the song through Casablanca’s daily laments, and slowly infectious chants, which can feel like getting dropped in all her own personal mantras at once. Bringing us closest to her band work, “Trapped in Space” is a grimy, shredder with Casablanca’s wails to the place between something real and nothing, and how bad it can hurt. Parts Pixies and Cranberries, “Dreamin’” has reeks of sadness and longing, with Casablanca painting such a vivid picture of her particular pain that it’s almost hard to hear. There’s a colder approach to “Lose Somebody” as Casablanca seems lost in a dark well, trying to fight every notion of self-hate to stay in the game.
Jamie Fine – Like I Do (Single)
Ottawa
Opening with an admission of the way she can test her loved ones, Jamie Fine highlights how triumphantly she outshines her struggles on “Like I Do.” This range of human experience shines through in the big swing from acoustic to dense pop in the track’s chorus, as the production explodes from a guitar to a massive sweep of synths and drums. This massive shift is a wonderous tidal wave moment that changes the whole dynamic of the song and sets it in a more galactic range of possibilities. And the beauty in Fine’s lines about how much her love embraces her “flaws,” only makes the song all the more satisfying, as a truer, and deep care shines in the track.
The Free Label – Songs for Sienna
Toronto
A raw live force to behold, The Free Label is one of those bands that can actually create new ideas within the spirit that artists Chromeo and even Bruno Mars are simply trying to emulate. Groovy, smoky and funky without ever being overstated, this album is like the perfect drink, goes down smooth and gives you a little kick. Between all the harmonies, airy synths, and the bumping bass, “Blue Suede” starts the record of in a 70s haze, always finding a bit of fun from a horn or new riff to bump it up a notch. The deep love in the bones of “Change Your Mind,” is like hearing an entire song in the blinding glow of romance, with they keys shining and harmonic vocals bouncing like a stone across the water. The whole band leans in and out of the bass on “Champagne Toast,” providing a lot of fun moments where you can feel the unison and more unique voices of the band knowing exactly when to stand out, and when to rise together. There’s a little Jackson 5 and Prince flying through “On the Floor (Let It Slide),” as the band picks up the pace and lets some more angular hooks give them a little edge.
Laila Biali – Wintersongs
Vancouver
Bringing you into a sonic world of winter beauty, Laila Biali’s vocal and instrumental arrangements will leave you dazzled. The sweeping piano runs and vocal drips of “Drifting Down Ice” tumble in waves like falling snow, but always seem to have a calming warmth at their core. There’s a more classic Christmas traditional tone to “Rocky Mountain Lullaby” with flutes and soft strings painting a picture of a welcoming chalet, while Biali centres you around all the wonder outdoors. The rush and percussive slaps of “Keep on Moving” is a welcome shift of pace, with Biali going on the attack, building a mounting sense of urgency, and turning a more wholesome track lyrically into a two-minute epic that acoustically feels more akin to a fight for survival. The atypical swing of strings and unusual rhythms let “Dance of the Pines” stand as a ferocious track of the record, never relenting in its charge at the listener, with every instrument having a textural or at least visual quality to its performance.
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
Quakertown, PA
Taking a distinct lighthearted guitar pop approach with her latest album, Sabrina Carpenter takes a little twang to dig into love and sex. Rather than trying to break a mold of some kind, Carpenter makes her intense romantic highs the centre of the record, as she lets the songs stack and build arrangements to create a unique experience from matching her energy, and being sold by her performances more often than not. With a Sheryl Crow country-tinged pop, “Taste” is glistening with sun-baked guitars, and bitter crooning that often seems to dip in a twisted sense of lust towards her ex’s new partner more than the ex themselves. There’s equally instant magic to the layers of hooks and small rhythmic chars of “Please Please Please,” with Carpenter’s borderline cartoonish approach to her vocals and lyrics really painting a picture in an otherwise simple track. With a sultry, smoky 70s sheen over its quiet grooves, “Bed Chem” is unrelenting sexual desire, and Carpenter’s own multiple, personality-rich vocal lines carry the song much more than the somewhat familiar production. The glossy feel of “Juno,” brings you into a heavenly swirl of how sweet love can feel, exuding ecstasy over and over, with a romantic smirk.