Hear the Week's Best New Canadian Music: Men I Trust, the Weeknd, Dylan Sinclair, Avril Lavigne and Simple Plan

BY Exclaim! StaffPublished May 9, 2025

If you're ever looking for an example of how life imitates art, feel free to reference how, following Pope Francis's death, so many people got invested in who would become the new Pope after having seen Conclave — hell, even the cardinals themselves were watching the movie for insight into the process! How might this week's batch of the best new Canadian music change your life?

Well, it certainly might help you time travel to a bygone era when Avril Lavigne and Simple Plan — all young kids from small towns with big pop-punk dreams — were just starting out, as they reflect on being "Young & Dumb" with their nostalgic new collaborative single. If you liked the Weeknd's "Timeless" before, you might like it even more now that he's remixed it with Doechii and Playboi Carti. And if you haven't heard of Dylan Sinclair yet, his new single "What I Gotta Do" is going to make you remember his name.

This week in album releases, Men I Trust return with their excellent second album of 2025 (Equus Caballus), alongside the arrival of new full-length offerings from Preoccupations, Kara-Lis Coverdale and Kate Maki. Plus, New Faves alumni Bestfriend and Hanorah each have very relatable new EPs out in the world.

Elsewhere, U.S. Girls, Lammping, Three Days Grace and Matty Matheson's Pig Pen have all announced upcoming new albums that could very well alter the very fabric of existence. A new song from Cola is likewise very much a bet that's worth the hand.

Start your own internal conclave (c'mon, just go with it) with The Eh! List below, presented by Mary Brown's Chicken — all Canadian and proud of it!


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