Sloan - Based on the Best Seller
All four members, Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland, Jay Ferguson and Andrew Scott have such distinct voices, not just as singers but as songwriters. Their compositions are instantly recognizable, and Based on the Best Seller almost plays like a latter-day greatest hits album because of it.
Rec Centre - Squash
Overall, in many ways, Squash takes everything that Rec Centre had built up to in Maxed Out (2023) and takes it to the next level with its gentle thematic focus and its creative ways of playing on this long term creative collaboration with Jay Arner. Honestly, this album can appeal to a wide audience from indie rock darlings who want gentle rock music all the way over to engineering music heads who will find lots to dig into throughout some of the more ambitious cuts of the album.
KERUB - APHANTASIA
"With this snapshot of what you can find in the deconstructive worlds that KERUB fleshes out, I encourage people to give APHANTASIA a shot since it is their most accessible yet ambitious release yet. This is a producer that you will see expanding their already prolific catalogue and getting more deeply involved in other people’s work”
Debby Friday - The Starr of The Queen of Life
With The Starr of The Queen of Life, Debby Friday’s has fleshed out a depth of creative maturity and personal insight that allow her to embody the starr that she ultimately is. Not only is this the best Canadian release in 2025 so far for me, but it may be a contender for such a title at an international level.
Fortunato Durutti Marinetti - Bitter Sweet, Sweet Bitter
Between the smoky upright bass, the tasteful brass flourishes, and Marinetti’s tender baroque pop soliloquies, Bitter Sweet, Sweet Bitter is an album worth not just listening to, but experiencing.
Eliza Niemi - Progress Bakery
Simone Atenea Medina Polo reviews the latest record from Toronto’s Eliza Niemi: Progress Bakery is an incredible sophomore album that shows off the breadth of what Eliza Niemi can do.
Sled Island Edition: Chinese Medicine - The Trans Agenda
Chinese Medicine contains multitudes on The Trans Agenda. It is both a collection of stories and a statement of a band on the rise that leaves no doubt that they are one of the most vital punk bands active today.
Sister Ray - Believer
Believer is an album with an air of hope looking-on into another world, an elsewhere, another life, a past life, or even a future life.