"Andre" by Small Sins

(okay, this came out before last week, but this is a new feature & I wanted to spotlight it, and I call the shots around here!)

It's been just over a decade since the last Small Sins album, and since then Thomas D'Arcy has been more than a little busy producing and collaborating with the likes of Hawksley Workman and members of July Talk. But now the catchy synth and intimate vocals that I loved are back, as heard on the new single "Andre", the first tease of the brand new album, Volume II, due out on Feb 12th. - Kirk

"We Are The Underworld" by Strippers Union

Another band we haven't heard of in quite some time, with members who have been busy nonetheless. Strippers Union was a collaboration between The Tragically Hip's Rob Baker and Craig Northey of Odds, and they're back with not one but TWO albums of new material. The Undertaking is a double album with the first half being released February 5th, with the second arriving a month later on March 12.
"We Are The Underworld" is the first taste of the album, and sounds a lot like what you would expect the collaboration of the two Canadian powerhouse bands. - Kirk

"Wanna Feel Good" by Miesha and The Spanks

Hot off their 2018 album Girls Girls Girls, Miesha and The Spanks are already back with a brand new EP called Singles on April 16th. The grungy, fuzzy rocker "Wanna Feel Good" is the first of what was meant to be a loose collection of radio singles, but found their way onto an EP produced by the award winning Leeroy Stagger. - Kirk

"TV God" by Art D'Ecco

Vancouver's "androgynous neo-glam art-rocker" Art d'Ecco released the lead single off brand new album In Standard Definition, due out April 23. The press release promises the album will be "like channels on an old television set" and that every song "presents an episodic look into the world of entertainment, our obsession with celebrity and the power it holds over us."
I love a good concept album, and if the first single is any indication, it's gonna be a doozy. - Kirk

"Bus" by Begonia

A b-side off her last album Fear, "Bus" comes out along with the announcement of Begonia's upcoming live album, appropriately titled the Fear Tour Live Album.
The live album is out at the end of this week, January 29. You can get a tease of it by watching "The Other Side" here. If you’ve never seen Begonia live, this record and these videos will have to do for now, coming as close as possible to capturing her powerful performance. - Kirk

"High School" by Nice Horse

It's not often you'll see a country song here, but I've long said Nice Horse sneaks in with the few other country acts I like. And their new single "High School" reaffirms that sentiment, with a nostalgic look back at the "glory days" (that hits even if you don't have a particular fondness for those days or wish to re-live them). - Kirk