Hot Garbage – Precious Dream (January 19 via Mothland)

The psychedelic post-punk band’s full-length debut project, 2021’s RIDE – produced alongside Holy Fuck’s Graham Walsh, who returns once again for their latest – was once called “the kind of album you throw on loud when you want to get lost and laugh into the void.” It’s a faithful description that has us excited for whatever the Toronto natives do to follow it up. 

 

90 Day Men – We Blame Chicago Box Set (January 19 via Numero Group)

Anyone who is a fan of the Illinois prog-rock band is about to get more than they ever hoped for with their upcoming compilation, titled after the city where they made their name. With five LPs – the band’s first three albums now remastered, another compiling their EPs and loose singles, and a fifth with unreleased tracks from a 2001 John Peel Session – as well as a 68-page written piece containing an oral history of their work, it’s all that a longtime listener could ask for.

 

The Smile – Wall of Eyes (January 26 via XL)

While we continue to wait patiently for the next instalment in the storied Radiohead oeuvre, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood’s side project The Smile is proving to be more than a one-album wonder by hitting the studio and dropping a sophomore project only two years after their debut. Already having teamed up with Paul Thomas Anderson to direct the video for title track “Wall of Eyes,” dedicated fans will know that the band have already been performing most of the unreleased material on tour. 

 

Echoes Of… – Euphemisms (January 26 via Aakuluk Music)

Populated by members hailing from Nunavut and the Northwest Territories–even stretching as far as Greenland–Echoes Of… is a band dedicated to bringing the stories and culture of life in the north to listeners all over the country. Fronted by Andrew Morrison, who formerly combined Inuit throat singing with indie rock in his band The Jerry Cans, the group dropped three singles in 2023 to preview their upcoming debut–including one that has both a Winter and Summer version to highlight the shifting seasons in their remote communities.

 

Dinosaur Jr. – What Do We Do Now (February 2 via Sub Pop)

The title sounds like a sheepish question the legendary Massachusetts alt-rock band might ask among themselves after having already proven all that they possibly could in their field, but the answer is as simple as continuing to shred through the same mindbending guitar solos that they always have. Racking up quite a few famous fans – the music video for lead single “Can’t Believe We’re Here” features Fred Armisen, David Cross and IDLES, among others – it’s not too late for any newcomers to join in, as Dinosaur Jr. isn’t nearly done yet.

 

Eve Parker Finley – In The End (February 9)

The Montreal-based multi-instrumentalist and comedian has been making waves locally (and on TikTok) for some time, and yet the release of her sophomore album, In The End, feels like it’s just the beginning. Eve Parker Finley mesmerized us with her latest single, “The Mirror,” a symphonic exploration of profound self-discovery. This captivating composition invites listeners on a soul-stirring symphonic journey, showcasing the seamless blend of orchestral grandeur and introspective lyrics. Eve’s evocative music creates a sanctuary within the hearts of her audience, reflecting their deepest thoughts and emotions. We can’t wait to take this new sonic journey with her.

 

IDLES – Tangk (February 16 via Partisan Records)

After unexpectedly linking up with underground hip-hop all-star producer Kenny Beats for their 2020 and 2021 efforts, Bristol-based punk rockers IDLES have not only risen to the top of their own genre, but have quickly been attracting the ears of open-minded music listeners from all spheres of influence after showing an admirable willingness to leap over boundaries. Now with their first Coachella performance in the rearview and a single featuring LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and Nancy Whang already out in the wild, it’s clear they have no signs of diverting from what they’ve already been doing best: diverting from anything you’d expect of them. 

 

Mother Mother – Grief Chapter (February 16 via Warner Music)

Already previewed by three 2023 singles that prove the Vancouver indie-rock titans aren’t slowing down anytime soon, Mother Mother is returning with their ninth studio album after frontman Ryan Guldemond took a brief break to work on his first solo material (under the name GLDMTH). Based on its title and first tastes, it appears that the album will be lyrically dealing with themes of death, mourning and being able to fully live in the moment as the inevitable looms on the horizon.

 

Allie X – Girl With No Face (February 23 via Twin Music)

After showing up on international best-of lists across the world with her early 2020 project Cape God and scoring collaborations with Mitski, Troye Sivan and a guest spot on Canada’s Drag Race, the nation’s leading dark pop powerhouse is finally returning with new material. Equipped with an eerie title befitting her off-kilter lyricism, Allie X has described this one as “a Disney princess produced by Kraftwerk.” Soon, we’ll find out what in the world that means. 

 

Corb Lund – El Viejo (February 23 via New West)

Now gearing up for his twelfth studio album and preparing to close out his second decade of bringing his alt-country sound to audiences from coast to coast, Corb Lund and his Hurtin’ Albertans are hitting the road again in support of El Viejo, an apparently more stripped-back release than usual. Lund has mentioned that the decision to go fully acoustic made sense to appropriately pay tribute to the late Ian Tyson, a friend and mentor of his who passed away in 2022.  

 

Erick the Architect – I’ve Never Been Here Before (February 23 via Architect Recording Company)

Placing himself firmly on the radar of hip-hop fans worldwide after dropping great verses on every collaboration he released over the past year–guesting on albums from acts like Jungle and Sirens of Lesbos while rhyming with Joey Bada$$ and Channel Tres on his own material–the Flatbush Zombies alumnus has been gearing up for his first-ever solo album. Clearly in fine form as of late, fans of his group should be tuning in to hear him carrying on the spirit of the East Coast hip-hop scene.

 

Tyla – Tyla (March 1 via Epic)

After captivating the world with her viral “Water” challenge on TikTok–and then sticking around after people realized just how much of a breath of fresh air the full Afrobeats-inflected pop-soul tune was–the 21-year-old rising star from South Africa says that her dream is to be the first global pop star to be born on the African continent. This month, she smartly dropped a taste of three more tracks from her upcoming self-titled project and announced a tour that’s already sold out. Just from watching interviews, it’s clear that there’s an undeniable star quality to her–and her music sounds just as good.

 

David Vertesi – Fictionalized (February 2023/TBA)

A man completely intertwined with Canada’s indie-rock scene, David Vertesi has racked up three solo albums to go along with his work playing and producing alongside acts like Hey Ocean, Said the Whale, Hannah Georgas, and Haley Blais over the last 15 years. With his latest said to be full of personal stories of Vertesi watching the last couple tumultuous years push longtime relationships of his friends to the brink and back, it’s set to be previewed by “Mind Reader,” a single that finds Vertesi dueting with Jill Barber, in early January and also features guests like Sam Lynch and Jordan Klassen.

 

Julia Holter – Something in the Room She Moves (March 22 via Domino)

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter and composer Julia Holter is set to captivate once again with the announcement of her sixth studio album Something in the Room She Moves. Ethereal and dream like, Holter’s past work has often explored memory but this album finds her embracing the present. And while the album’s name is borrowed, if only slightly from the Beatles’ line “Something in the Way She Moves,” judging by the artistic album art and her two singles released so far — “Sun Girl” and “Spinning” —  fans are going to get exactly what they’ve been craving since Holter last graced us with Aviary, her previous solo studio full-length offering in 2018.

 

Dua Lipa – Third Studio Album (TBA via Warner)

With how much influence she’s had on the pop culture sphere since its release, it’s hard to believe that by the time dance-pop royalty Dua Lipa drops her next album – said to be arriving in early 2024 – it will have been four full years since the disco revival instant classic Future Nostalgia gave us something to dance about in the early-pandemic days. With exciting collaborators like Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and hyperpop titan Danny L Harle on board, a great lead single in “Houdini” and a tease that the album will sound like “1970s-era psychedelia,” we can’t wait to hear how one of our most forward-thinking megastars changes things up next.