Alvvays strikes gold again and blows their previous work out of the water

 Alvvays – Blue Rev (Toronto/Charlottetown, PEI) It’s a rare feat for an indie band to essentially strike gold so consistently, but Alvvays have seemingly managed to emerge from another long break with their best music in ages, and a production scale that blows their previous work out of the water

 “Re-Tilt” highlights the amazing work Confidence Man puts into their music

 Melody’s Echo Chamber – Unfold (Aix-en-Provence, France) After Melody Prochet seemingly took a six-year break from the studio following her debut, it was fair to think she had simply stepped away for a while. But with an EP’s worth of dreamy “lost” material much closer to her first album, Prochet

“Blink Twice” finds the Arkells roaring out new tunes filled with vibrant life

 Arkells – Blink Twice (Hamilton, Ontario) Nothing seems to be able to slow down pace or fury of the Arkells, as every few years finds them roaring out with new tunes filled with vibrant life. While maybe not their most distinct album sonically, Arkells are clearly trying to assert a

Bywater Call’s latest single is monumental in sound and production.

 The Beths  – Expert in a Dying Field (Auckland, New Zealand) Mixing a rustic charm with a lot of shoegaze elements reminiscent of Veronica Falls, The Beths continue to make brilliant indie rock with a 90s charm. With so many addictive hooks and production details layered into their effervescent sound,

Exploring the pain of starting over Stella Donnelly’s “Flood” is less venom & more ache

 Stella Donnelly – Flood (Perth, Australia) After one of the most contrastingly sunny-sounding yet biting records in recent memory, Stella Donnelly ups the scale of her writing on this latest record. Digging into a fully realized sound and exploring the pains of honesty and starting over, this record is less

Keeping twang dark is Bastards and the Buzzards’ specialty.

 Muse – Will of the People (Teignmouth, U.K.) In recent years, Muse has drifted between over-the-top jock rock and playing up their dystopian themes for the pure protest energy, but feeling more akin to pastiche than their earnest past. With the production a little thin and the mood a little

Phoebe Green has ear-tinglingly crisp sound work and catchy ideas.

 Hot Chip – Freakout/Release (London, U.K.) As a fun wild card of the dance and electronic world, Hot Chip always tweak their ratios of grime, funk and heavy bounce to make something fresh. Maintaining a sense of frantic energy and grit in their bones after all this time, Hot Chip

Lykee Li’s new album “Eyeye” is drenched in malaise

 Lykke Li– Eyeye (Ystad, Sweden) The pains of love (romantic or among friends and family) can utterly devastate some, resulting in albums from artists that feel like a naked reveal of a human desperately trying to come to terms with feelings. More subdued than ever, Li is using her range

The true underrated queens of harmony, Lucius are awesome to listen to

      Orville Peck – Bronco (Johannesburg, South Africa/Toronto) Ever since taking the country genre in a mystifying new direction, Orville Peck has remained an enigma within the genre. His newest release blurs the lines between serious and pastiche-driven revival, and it’s in that place that Peck is able to

Toronto’s Metric meshes energy from across their career into their most finessed acoustics

 Superorganism – World Wide Pop (London, U.K./South Korea/New Zealand/Japan/Australia) A few years on from their top-notch debut, Superorganism is leaning into their weirdness and pop centre more than ever, creating songs that are even more acoustically wild but actually very familiar at the core. Though a little less consistent, and

The latest record from 070 Shake asserts their superstar status.

 Regina Spektor – Home, Before and After (Moscow, Russia/New York City) While Regina Spektor has played with marvellously complex structures in the past, her expansive sound on her latest record all starts with the core of her voice and her magical piano. A mix of everything you want out of

Alexisonfire’s latest record is like a good friend shaking you by the shoulders to wake up.

 Gwenno – Tresor (Cardiff, Wales) Few manage to conjure a mood of mystical wonder in their music quite like the playful arrangements that Welsh artist Gwenno does. Through the mix of her Cornish singing, the sublime instrumental choices and the otherworldly feeling, this music taps into something truly special. “An

Sinead O’Brien’s refreshing mixes feel unusual in all the best ways

 Perfume Genius – Ugly Season (Des Moines, IA) From record to record, Michael Hadreas’s music has maintained a beauty in its ability to mesmerize through the serene and haunting all in one moment. As a truly dark, unrelenting dive into demons and harsher truths, this isn’t a Perfume Genius record

Kate Bollinger’s perfectly crafted EP pulls stories from rusted twangy places.

 Kate Bollinger – Look at It in the Light (Charlottesville/Richmond, VA) Carving her stories out of a rusted and twangy place, Kate Bollinger’s latest EP finds its voice immediately. Perfectly crafted to not only soar in the modern indie climate, but to feel utterly of its own world, Bollinger makes

Harry Styles is fully earning his superstar status with his latest album.

 The Linda Lindas – Growing Up (Los Angeles) Take the best bands your peers formed in high school, give them a sublime pop production, and up the writing power a couple dozen notches and you might just scratch the surface of what the Linda Lindas are offering beyond the novelty

The Latest From Florence Welch Feels Utterly Refreshing

 Florence + the Machine – Dance Fever (London, U.K.) The grandiosity and rich beauty that Florence Welch brings to her music has been missing in our landscape as of late, and her latest return feels utterly refreshing. Though this is more of a mix of her best sounds than a

True fun in their sound makes Sunflower Bean tracks magical

 Sunflower Bean – Headful of Sugar (New York City) Currently adrift between tones of new Arctic Monkeys and the classic Fleetwood Mac, Sunflower Bean are beautifully making their own vision of a rich 70s sound. While the alternating influences that drive the album mean that it might not always feel

Adrian House’s latest single will make you grin even on the greyest day

 Arcade Fire – We (Montreal) Over the years Arcade Fire has always shown a powerful knack for writing and unpredictable ambition in their vision. In a record that sees the band evolving every song into a powerful, multi-part story, Arcade Fire may still not be at their catchiest, but they’re

Walt Disco drops you into a smoky, electronica cloud to dance your pains away

 Pup – The Unraveling of Puptheband (Toronto) Pup has noticeably honed their punk and pop with every album, constantly satisfying both ends of their fandom with their sharp sensibilities on both ends. With The Unraveling of Puptheband, they truly have it finessed to an art, as they elevate it once again

J Morris & co. lament the struggle to make your passion your life.

    Wet Leg  – Wet Leg (Isle of Wight, U.K.) After a string of the some of the most hyped singles in recent years, Wet Leg’s full record is finally here. Full of unpredictable production choices, great riffs and a refreshingly explicit lyrical choices, this is a band that feels

Ibibio Sound Machine pushes their electronic sounds into aggressive new territory

    Jack White – Fear of the Dawn (Nashville TN, Detroit, MI) After years of mutating his own brand of garage and country-influenced rock, Jack White has decidedly turned his sharp riffing knife on experimentation. While he balances this with a lot of classic touches from across his various bands,

Confidence Man will make you dance like an idiot from the first listen

 Aldous Harding – Warm Chris (Lyttelton, New Zealand/Cardiff, Wales) With every album Aldous Harding takes on a wondrous and often quirky jaunt along the line of wistful folk-pop and complex orchestral arrangements. Subdued tonally, this record finds Harding adding so many little melodic details that you discover something new on

Big Thief’s subtle craft and sublime voice work does it every time

 Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (Brooklyn, NY) Few artists can truly mystify our minds in the acoustic music world these days, but the subtle craft and sublime voice work in Big Thief does it every time. With their range as musicians not only showing

Charli XCX’s amazingly produced album is instantly memorable

     Charli XCX – Crash (Cambridge, U.K.) Between her heights of pop and experimental phases, Charli XCX has clearly taken every turn as a lesson to refine her writing. Now with an arsenal of amazing production and tones behind her, and the sharpest two-minute pop bangers she’s dropped in ages,

Montreal’s Basia Bulat releases a lookback record with wings

 Basia Bulat – The Garden (Montreal) As a true legend of the Montreal music scene, it's great to see Basia Bulat giving her own work a reflective take. Often adding unexpected new twists on the original tracks, this is a lookback record with wings. "The Garden" is a stirring dance