The Prairie Joggers — ‘The Prairie Joggers,’ 4/5
The Prairie Joggers make simple songs with complicated hearts. The Winnipeg duo’s chipper, dust-blown sound is reliant on dense lyricism and memorable melodies rather than…
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Ada Lea — ‘Woman, Here,’ 3.5/5
Ada Lea’s debut record, 2019’s What We Say in Private, was a prickly and elastic rock composition, built from bent folk guitars and an itching…
Sarah Harmer — ‘Are You Gone,’ 4/5
The world looks much different than it did the last time Sarah Harmer released a record. Ten years on from Oh Little Fire, Harmer returns…
Juniper Bush — ‘Healing Through a Sonic Figure,’ 4/5
The corrosive pink that colours Juniper Bush’s press photo is an accurate foretelling of the music the band creates. The acidic shade has a deep…
Basia Bulat — ‘Are You in Love?,’ 4.5/5
To hear Basia Bulat sing is to be reassured — each note feels like a friend’s hand on your knee, understanding and encouraging. Her music…
Cantor Dust — ‘Too Many Stars,’ 3.5/5
As life on Earth grows endlessly louder and hotter, it’s hardly a surprise that the vast quietude of the cosmos seems to beckon. There’s a…
William Prince — ‘Reliever,’ 4.5/5
There are few joys more nourishing than finding music that embraces you with sadness rather than letting you wallow — music that is rich with…
Plain as Ghosts — ‘Sleepless Shadow,’ 3.5/5
How one understands Plain as Ghosts will depend largely on how they contextualize its brand of thunderously precise rock. If well versed in the unfortunate…
Andy Shauf — ‘The Neon Skyline,’ 4/5
There is a formula to what Andy Shauf does. His music is detailed and incisive, lighter than air, filled with a sprightly mix of guitar,…
Sam Singer — ‘Don’t Mistake Me for a Lovebird,’ 4/5
Though electronic music and programmed sounds can have every bit as much humanity as live instrumentation, there may always remain that pervasive belief that real…