As 2013 disappears in the rearview, we're starting to look forward with our last year-end list, just over 2014's horizon, to see what's coming our way from some of Canada's best and brightest.
Whether fully recorded and just around the corner or a well-kept secret, here are 20 albums by Canadian artists coming out this year that we just can't wait to hear.
Top 20 Most Anticipated Canadian Albums of 2014:
20. Mounties
Thrash Rock Legacy
(Light Organ Records)
Release Date: March 4
Canadian indie rock super-trio Mounties (composed of Hot Hot Heat's Steve Bays, Limblifter's Ryan Dahle and Hawksley Workman) officially announced a spring release for their hook-laden debut LP, Thrash Rock Legacy. The album was apparently created by editing pieces from a number of free-form jam sessions, so expect this one to be pretty jammy. (Matthew Ritchie)
19. The Pack A.D.
Do Not Engage
(Nettwerk Records)
Release Date: January 28
Garage-y Vancouver duo the Pack A.D. signed with Nettwerk Music Group earlier this spring for their fifth studio album, Do Not Engage, and are apparently already passing the smell test from some of the group's toughest critics. "Let's put it this way, I don't hate this album yet," drummer Maya Miller said, "and I usually hate them fairly quickly." (Matthew Ritchie)
18. King Reign
Title TBA
(Label TBA)
Release Date: TBA
King Reign just released Reign Music Vol. 2, the follow-up to Vol. 1, in 2010, but the main event is coming out in 2014. Though still untitled, this should be the one to finally put the former Sony artist on the map. (Stephen Carlick)
17. Sinoia Caves
Beyond the Black Rainbow OST
(Jagjaguwar/Death Waltz Recording Co.)
Release Date: TBA
Horror soundtrack collectors and analog audiophiles have been waiting patiently for the release of Black Mountain keyboardist Jeremy Schmidt's (a.k.a. Sinoia Caves) synth-based accompaniment to Panos Cosmatos's 2010 Canadian science fiction thriller, Beyond the Black Rainbow. All signs point to a release on Death Waltz sometime in the new year, with Jagjaguwar getting in on the action as well for the North American release. Get ready for some seriously cosmic mind melting. (Matthew Ritchie)
16. Slakah the Beatchild
Soul Movement Vol. 2
(Label TBA)
Release Date: March 28
Soul Movement Vol. 2 was supposed to be out in 2013, but patience is a virtue, right? He's released a few bonus tracks to satiate fans before he starts shipping his album out in March. (Stephen Carlick)
15. Trust
Joyland
(Arts & Crafts)
Release Date: March 4
Although he's apparently parted ways with co-founder Maya Postepski (of Austra fame), Robert Alfons's shadowy electro-pop act Trust is continuing on, with his new LP, Joyland due out on Arts & Crafts in early March. (Matthew Ritchie)
14. Rural Alberta Advantage
Title TBA
(Paper Bag Records)
Release Date: TBA
There's no news on an album title or release date for this folksy trio's follow-up to 2011's Departing, but apparently fans can catch the group road test new tracks on their upcoming North American mini tour. (Matthew Ritchie)
13. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra
Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything
(Constellation)
Release Date: January 21
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra's follow-up to 2010's Kollaps Tradixionales finds the group pared to five and the tracklist to six, but the titles, track lengths and songs themselves remain epic as ever. (Stephen Carlick)
12. Tanika Charles
Title TBA
(Label TBA)
Release Date: TBA
"Alright, so many of you know that I'm in the process of working on my first full length album, right?" Charles recently posted on Facebook about collaborating with Slakah the Beatchild. It's one of many social media teases she's issued, meaning that despite a lack of details, this one is almost certainly primed for 2014 release. (Stephen Carlick)
11. The Hidden Cameras
Age
(Evil Evil/Outside Music)
Release Date: January 21
Canadian chamber pop collective the Hidden Cameras teased their new single, "Gay Goth Scene," over the summer. A few months later, the band shed light on their eighth studio album, Age, detailing the record's tracklisting and album length (most tunes clock in well over the four-minute mark). (Matthew Ritchie) 10. Tokyo Police Club
Title TBA
(Dine Alone Records)
Release Date: TBA
Canadian indie rock champions Tokyo Police Club recently wowed us with a lyric video for "Argentina (Parts I, II, and III)," the first taste of their upcoming third full-length album. If the nearly nine-minute long clip is any indication, it should be pretty epic. (Matthew Ritchie)
9. White Lung
Title TBA
(Label TBA)
Release Date: TBA
This one's a bit hush hush, so we can't tell you much yet, but the Vancouver punks are sitting on big news about the release of their third LP in 2014. And you thought kickass single "Blow It South"/"Down With You" was just a one-off. (Stephen Carlick)
8. Rich Kidd
Title TBA
(Black Box)
Release Date: TBA
Rich Kidd had been prolific in 2013, releasing a handful of mixtapes, but his official full-length never materialized. Kidd hasn't officially announced anything, but we do know that Jay Z's engineer, Young Guru, will be recording and mixing the project, which should — according to his manager — be out sometime this summer. (Stephen Carlick)
7. Dan Mangan
Title TBA
(Arts & Crafts)
Release Date: TBA
Last we heard from Dan Mangan, he was working on the score to the Simon Pegg film Hector and the Search for Happiness alongside violinist Jesse Zubot. Apparently the instrumental project helped inspire a "Radiohead-y Peter Gabriel vibe" in the singer-songwriter's newest batch of tunes. "I'm working on a new record and I'm demoing all of these new songs that are very much different from anything I've ever done before," he told Exclaim! back in October. (Matthew Ritchie)
6. Badbadnotgood
BBNG3
(Independent)
Release Date: TBA
Not much is known about Toronto three-piece Badbadnotgood's follow-up to the excellent BBNG2, but if dramatic first single "Hedron" and their incredible recent performances are anything to go on, expect original songs amongst the cover tunes on their forthcoming third album. (Stephen Carlick)
5. Timber Timbre
Hot Dreams
(Arts & Crafts)
Release Date: April 1
The band have been quiet lately, but folk-noir progenitors Timber Timbre will end the silence with an album that includes Tasseomancy's Romy Lightman on backing vocals, Fiver/the Highest Order's Simone Schmidt writing words and Colin Stetson playing what a press release calls "atypically velvet saxophone." (Stephen Carlick)
4. Owen Pallett
In Conflict
(Domino)
Release Date: TBA
True to his typically cerebral style, Owen Pallett has revealed his new album is inspired by spectralism, "which is basically about retuning instruments to follow natural harmonic order. I was so happy with this slightly more pop method of composition — of harmonic choices being a little less obtuse and a little more whimsical — and that it didn't just sound like Andrew Lloyd Webber," he told Toronto's The Grid. (Stephen Carlick)
3. Death From Above 1979
Title TBA
(Last Gang Records)
Release Date: TBA
It's been nearly a decade since the release of Death From Above 1979's last — and only — full-length studio album. Work on a follow-up LP has been ongoing since the band's reunion in 2011. Although a release date hasn't been announced, band member Sebastien Grainger recently assured us "it'll be done when it's done. It could be in three weeks, it could be three months." (Matthew Ritchie)
2. Fucked Up
Title TBA
(Label TBA)
Release Date: TBA
Anthemic Canadian hardcore outfit Fucked Up headed to Chicago's Electrical Audio studio back in April to work on an as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2011's David Comes to Life. There's no solid release date yet, but rumour has it the album may be finding a home on another independent label. (Matthew Ritchie)
1. Grimes
Title TBA
(Arbutus)
Release Date: TBA
Despite being signed to Roc Nation's management, it appears Claire Boucher will still release her follow-up to Visions on Arbutus in Canada. She's taking a break from the Internet to work on her album in Vancouver, and while that's all we know so far, it's all we need to get excited for this one. (Stephen Carlick)
Whether fully recorded and just around the corner or a well-kept secret, here are 20 albums by Canadian artists coming out this year that we just can't wait to hear.
Top 20 Most Anticipated Canadian Albums of 2014:
20. Mounties
Thrash Rock Legacy
(Light Organ Records)
Release Date: March 4
Canadian indie rock super-trio Mounties (composed of Hot Hot Heat's Steve Bays, Limblifter's Ryan Dahle and Hawksley Workman) officially announced a spring release for their hook-laden debut LP, Thrash Rock Legacy. The album was apparently created by editing pieces from a number of free-form jam sessions, so expect this one to be pretty jammy. (Matthew Ritchie)
19. The Pack A.D.
Do Not Engage
(Nettwerk Records)
Release Date: January 28
Garage-y Vancouver duo the Pack A.D. signed with Nettwerk Music Group earlier this spring for their fifth studio album, Do Not Engage, and are apparently already passing the smell test from some of the group's toughest critics. "Let's put it this way, I don't hate this album yet," drummer Maya Miller said, "and I usually hate them fairly quickly." (Matthew Ritchie)
18. King Reign
Title TBA
(Label TBA)
Release Date: TBA
King Reign just released Reign Music Vol. 2, the follow-up to Vol. 1, in 2010, but the main event is coming out in 2014. Though still untitled, this should be the one to finally put the former Sony artist on the map. (Stephen Carlick)
17. Sinoia Caves
Beyond the Black Rainbow OST
(Jagjaguwar/Death Waltz Recording Co.)
Release Date: TBA
Horror soundtrack collectors and analog audiophiles have been waiting patiently for the release of Black Mountain keyboardist Jeremy Schmidt's (a.k.a. Sinoia Caves) synth-based accompaniment to Panos Cosmatos's 2010 Canadian science fiction thriller, Beyond the Black Rainbow. All signs point to a release on Death Waltz sometime in the new year, with Jagjaguwar getting in on the action as well for the North American release. Get ready for some seriously cosmic mind melting. (Matthew Ritchie)
16. Slakah the Beatchild
Soul Movement Vol. 2
(Label TBA)
Release Date: March 28
Soul Movement Vol. 2 was supposed to be out in 2013, but patience is a virtue, right? He's released a few bonus tracks to satiate fans before he starts shipping his album out in March. (Stephen Carlick)
15. Trust
Joyland
(Arts & Crafts)
Release Date: March 4
Although he's apparently parted ways with co-founder Maya Postepski (of Austra fame), Robert Alfons's shadowy electro-pop act Trust is continuing on, with his new LP, Joyland due out on Arts & Crafts in early March. (Matthew Ritchie)
14. Rural Alberta Advantage
Title TBA
(Paper Bag Records)
Release Date: TBA
There's no news on an album title or release date for this folksy trio's follow-up to 2011's Departing, but apparently fans can catch the group road test new tracks on their upcoming North American mini tour. (Matthew Ritchie)
13. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra
Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything
(Constellation)
Release Date: January 21
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra's follow-up to 2010's Kollaps Tradixionales finds the group pared to five and the tracklist to six, but the titles, track lengths and songs themselves remain epic as ever. (Stephen Carlick)
12. Tanika Charles
Title TBA
(Label TBA)
Release Date: TBA
"Alright, so many of you know that I'm in the process of working on my first full length album, right?" Charles recently posted on Facebook about collaborating with Slakah the Beatchild. It's one of many social media teases she's issued, meaning that despite a lack of details, this one is almost certainly primed for 2014 release. (Stephen Carlick)
11. The Hidden Cameras
Age
(Evil Evil/Outside Music)
Release Date: January 21
Canadian chamber pop collective the Hidden Cameras teased their new single, "Gay Goth Scene," over the summer. A few months later, the band shed light on their eighth studio album, Age, detailing the record's tracklisting and album length (most tunes clock in well over the four-minute mark). (Matthew Ritchie) 10. Tokyo Police Club
Title TBA
(Dine Alone Records)
Release Date: TBA
Canadian indie rock champions Tokyo Police Club recently wowed us with a lyric video for "Argentina (Parts I, II, and III)," the first taste of their upcoming third full-length album. If the nearly nine-minute long clip is any indication, it should be pretty epic. (Matthew Ritchie)
9. White Lung
Title TBA
(Label TBA)
Release Date: TBA
This one's a bit hush hush, so we can't tell you much yet, but the Vancouver punks are sitting on big news about the release of their third LP in 2014. And you thought kickass single "Blow It South"/"Down With You" was just a one-off. (Stephen Carlick)
8. Rich Kidd
Title TBA
(Black Box)
Release Date: TBA
Rich Kidd had been prolific in 2013, releasing a handful of mixtapes, but his official full-length never materialized. Kidd hasn't officially announced anything, but we do know that Jay Z's engineer, Young Guru, will be recording and mixing the project, which should — according to his manager — be out sometime this summer. (Stephen Carlick)
7. Dan Mangan
Title TBA
(Arts & Crafts)
Release Date: TBA
Last we heard from Dan Mangan, he was working on the score to the Simon Pegg film Hector and the Search for Happiness alongside violinist Jesse Zubot. Apparently the instrumental project helped inspire a "Radiohead-y Peter Gabriel vibe" in the singer-songwriter's newest batch of tunes. "I'm working on a new record and I'm demoing all of these new songs that are very much different from anything I've ever done before," he told Exclaim! back in October. (Matthew Ritchie)
6. Badbadnotgood
BBNG3
(Independent)
Release Date: TBA
Not much is known about Toronto three-piece Badbadnotgood's follow-up to the excellent BBNG2, but if dramatic first single "Hedron" and their incredible recent performances are anything to go on, expect original songs amongst the cover tunes on their forthcoming third album. (Stephen Carlick)
5. Timber Timbre
Hot Dreams
(Arts & Crafts)
Release Date: April 1
The band have been quiet lately, but folk-noir progenitors Timber Timbre will end the silence with an album that includes Tasseomancy's Romy Lightman on backing vocals, Fiver/the Highest Order's Simone Schmidt writing words and Colin Stetson playing what a press release calls "atypically velvet saxophone." (Stephen Carlick)
4. Owen Pallett
In Conflict
(Domino)
Release Date: TBA
True to his typically cerebral style, Owen Pallett has revealed his new album is inspired by spectralism, "which is basically about retuning instruments to follow natural harmonic order. I was so happy with this slightly more pop method of composition — of harmonic choices being a little less obtuse and a little more whimsical — and that it didn't just sound like Andrew Lloyd Webber," he told Toronto's The Grid. (Stephen Carlick)
3. Death From Above 1979
Title TBA
(Last Gang Records)
Release Date: TBA
It's been nearly a decade since the release of Death From Above 1979's last — and only — full-length studio album. Work on a follow-up LP has been ongoing since the band's reunion in 2011. Although a release date hasn't been announced, band member Sebastien Grainger recently assured us "it'll be done when it's done. It could be in three weeks, it could be three months." (Matthew Ritchie)
2. Fucked Up
Title TBA
(Label TBA)
Release Date: TBA
Anthemic Canadian hardcore outfit Fucked Up headed to Chicago's Electrical Audio studio back in April to work on an as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2011's David Comes to Life. There's no solid release date yet, but rumour has it the album may be finding a home on another independent label. (Matthew Ritchie)
1. Grimes
Title TBA
(Arbutus)
Release Date: TBA
Despite being signed to Roc Nation's management, it appears Claire Boucher will still release her follow-up to Visions on Arbutus in Canada. She's taking a break from the Internet to work on her album in Vancouver, and while that's all we know so far, it's all we need to get excited for this one. (Stephen Carlick)
