Taxi Girls • Midnight Mixtape • 2026

Montreal's TAXI GIRLS arrive with Static, their debut full-length album, out June 26 on Stomp Records. If the first two singles introduced the band, Static is where the full picture develops. Across ten tracks, TAXI GIRLS pull together giant hooks, sharp songwriting, dual-vocal chemistry, and a deep appreciation for the women who made rock and roll dangerous, stylish, and impossible to ignore. There are flashes of The Runaways, Girlschool, Nikki Corvette, The No Talents, and the melodic punch of classic power pop throughout the record, but never as imitation. These songs feel less like homage and more like continuation.

 Order Taxi Girls’ Music and Merchandise

Max Subar • Anything Could Be • 2026

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On July 17, 2026, Chicago singer-songwriter Max Subar joins the Merge Records roster with his debut full-length album "Anything Could Be." Laid down on a mobile recording rig in a house on the shore of a frozen lake in Wisconsin, Max emerged after ten days of solitude with a record of neither fallow nor verdant earth, but, staggeringly, one that occupies the threshold between the two, a space that accommodates the potential for stagnation and growth: their hopes, their worries, the time it takes to arrive at an unknown destination, and the courage to accept what’s there, waiting to be realized.

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #184 • Mallory Hawk

Some debut albums arrive with the urgency of a first statement. Chinook feels different—it carries the weight of years spent listening, collaborating, and quietly becoming. On this episode, Mallory Hawk reflects on a childhood soundtracked by records and military helicopters, the winding road through New York's DIY underground, and the moment she stopped writing for everyone else and trusted her own instincts. It's a thoughtful conversation about memory, resilience, and the beautiful uncertainty that fuels great songs.

https://www.malloryhawk.art/

To produce Chinook, Hawk tapped like-mindedly omnivorous musician Sam Acchione (Alex G, Jessica Lea Mayfield), whom she’d befriended during her tenure in Customer. The two often spent hours trading liner notes minutiae, resulting in a collaboration that weaves songwriting idiosyncrasies with two lifetimes of radio scholarship. Hawk joined Acchione in Philadelphia to track at storied Headroom Studios (Hop Along, Algernon Cadwallader). There, she contributed tons of layers to Chinook—bass, drum machine, organ, rhythm and lead guitars—while Acchione encouraged unexpected overdubs like flugelhorn and djembe. 

Tele Novella • Paper Crown • 2026

With fable-like storytelling and thoughtfully crafted arrangements, Tele Novella's songs draw from folk fantasy, American Gothic imagery, and old-world traditions, often weaving together unexpected textures like chimes, dulcimers, toys, and vibraphones. The result is a sound that feels both wise and childlike, as though these stories have been passed down through generations before finding their way onto tape.

https://ffm.to/merlynnbelle.oyd

Wendy Eisenberg • 2026

Wendy Eisenberg has spent the past decade as a fixture of independent music and an artist of inspired multiplicity. As a singer-songwriter, improviser, and virtuoso guitarist, the coordinates of their artistry are ever-shifting, from art-rock to jazz to blistering free improv and eloquent folk. On catalog highlights including 2020’s 'Auto' and the 2024 free-jazz sprawler 'Viewfinder', they’ve made a signature of ambition. After spending the past five years experimenting in different bands, genres, and creative challenges, and following a period of self-confrontation that they liken to a personal exorcism, Eisenberg has arrived at a milestone. The poetic and formally daring folk songs of 'Wendy Eisenberg' comprise their most certain vision yet.

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #183 • Josaleigh Pollett

Josaleigh Pollett has quietly become one of indie music's most compelling voices, expanding from intimate folk confessionals into lush, emotionally charged songs where synths, noise, and vulnerability coexist. On this episode of ifitbeyourwill, we discuss the making of If I Let It Quiet, recording across continents with longtime collaborator Jordan Watko, the strange gift of physical distance, and why learning to be seen may be the hardest—and most rewarding—part of making art.

The work of Pollett and Watko has received a slow burn of recognition over the years. Following Pollett’s warm and rootsy solo debut ‘Strangers,’ the duo initially found acclaim together in 2020 with their ‘No Woman Is the Sea’ album. They reached a broader audience with 2023’s electronics-infused ‘In the Garden, By the Weeds,’ thanks to support from notable outlets, including NPR Music’s All Songs Considered, as well as awards and end-of-year lists.

 linktr.ee

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #182 • Andrew Sa

This week on ifitbeyourwill, Andrew Sa joins the podcast to talk about American Rough, his striking debut on Bloodshot Records. We trace a path from childhood karaoke nights and family musical roots to country music, identity, belonging, and the voices that shaped him along the way. It's a conversation about finding your place in a tradition while making room for something entirely your own.

https://www.andrewsamusic.com/

https://andrewsa.lnk.to/americanrough

Good Time Mystery Vision • Glimpse • 2026

Glimpse is caked in instrumental extravagance. The guitars are boisterous and riffy, with each track capstoned by a good ol’ fashioned face-melter of a solo that sweeps you up, spits you out, and leaves you drifting in its wake, craving more. The lyrics dance with Syd Barrett-style whimsy, carried by vocal harmonies that sparkle with the road-worn charm of The Grateful Dead. Underneath it all, an Allman Brothers-esque texture of keys glues the arrangements together, while a relentless rhythm section keeps you moving and swaying, grounding your body in the grass beneath your toes even as your mind floats far above. ST

Anna McClellan • “Twirl” • 2026

On her latest output, Space, you big cloud, Anna McClellan documents a stretch of time where many musical parts clicked into place. Booking the session on a whim, traveling between Fort Worth, TX, where she was working, to New York City, where she currently lives, the songs came out fast, recorded in three dizzying days with unapologetic urgency at Atlanta, GA’s Mirror Mirror Recording (Sword II, Arbor Labor Union) with producer and engineer, Graham Tavel. You can hear it in the bright and unguarded guitar, a band that free-flows, not overworked or cleaned up. There’s no sense of strain or overhandling in these songs, just a quiet insistence that suggests they already knew what they were supposed to be. F/D

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #181 • Magic Castles

On this episode of ifitbeyourwill Podcast Jason Edmonds of Magic Castles joins us for a conversation that begins in a basement record collection filled with psychedelic treasures and winds its way to Realized, the band's latest album. Along the way, we talk about the enduring pull of 60s psych, building a musical universe outside the spotlight, recording in Minnesota, and why Magic Castles continue to make music that feels less like a collection of songs and more like a place to disappear into. A thoughtful, cosmic conversation with one of modern psych's most quietly compelling voices.

At a time when the world is in a shambles, we need music like this to sustain us, to help us escape from cold reality, at least for a short time. The band is well named, for they spin magical notes in every tune. The record opens with the majestic ‘Hey Alright’, which includes baroque elements, whether from programming or actual strings. Then the guitars and drums crash in like a rogue wave, amping up the energy. Vocals arrive around the 2 minute mark, joining the psyched out party. This is music for stretching out and enjoying the moment, maybe with a cat or two in tow. ‘Abandoned Mansions’ is lovely, a dappled slice of psych pop with sweet harmonies. ‘Samata’ is a personal favourite, with a strong melody and slightly hazy vocal lines. Just stellar! ‘Mary Anne’ is one of the singles, and it will draw you in and worm its way into your ears! Echoes and dust

Amy Millan & Martha Wainwright • Calling All Angels • 2026

 

“When I moved to Montreal as a young student with my first guitar, being in the orbit of the loft parties and folk houses is where I first heard Martha and her distinct, powerful and now iconic voice,” says Amy. “Grateful to call her a dear friend, I always wanted to find a way for us to sing together. This Canadian gem of a song by the great Jane Siberry (originally sung with k.d lang) was the perfect beginning for us to get this gentle chance to convene with angels.” EyoQBlfpYeJ

sundayclub • Sad Summer • 2026

Winnipeg dream-pop outfit sundayclub unpack the emotions tied to the warmer months on "Sad Summer", a wistful anthem about the struggle to live in the moment. bestfit

“...dramatically twinkling” - Exclaim!  “Camera Shy”

 

“With its swirl of warm synths and guitars, Camera Shy gently reminds us to just put down our devices and bask in the glow of the moment instead” - CBC MUSIC

 

“[‘Camera Shy’ is] bringing in the shoegaze vibes…with a ‘90s rock sparkle”  

- Guitar World (Editor's Picks) 

“Courtney Carmichael and Nikki St. Pierre’s forthcoming self-titled debut revels in the chaos of youth” - FLOOD 

https://ffm.to/sundayclub

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #180 • Charlotte Cornfield

For Canadians who came of age somewhere along the Montréal–Toronto corridor, Charlotte Cornfield’s music carries a particular resonance. On this episode of ifitbeyourwill, the Toronto songwriter reflects on the cities that shaped her, the Plateau music scene that made a life in music feel possible, and the long road from jazz drums at Concordia to releasing Hurts Like Hell on the legendary Merge Records.

What unfolds is a conversation about creative practice, parenthood, community, and the strange act of looking back at your younger self with equal parts tenderness and humour. Charlotte discusses recording the album live off the floor with a hand-picked band, collaborating with artists she deeply admires, and finding new freedom in songwriting by letting go of the need to always be the narrator of her own stories.

Part music conversation, part Canadian cultural geography, this is a thoughtful look at how places, people, and time shape the songs we carry with us long after they've been written.

charlottecornfield.com

The title track leans into that looseness. Mid-tempo, nothing pushed, guitars sitting just above a whisper. Then the vocal climbs, not dramatically, just enough to tighten everything around it. It changes the weight of the song without changing the volume. The harmonies follow, brushing up against the lead rather than stacking neatly behind it, like they’re part of the same thought instead of decoration. montreal rocks

Kiwi Jr. • "Blowin' Up” • 2026

 

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Canadian four-piece Kiwi Jr. have announced a new album, Blowin’ Up, and shared its title track via a music video. The album is due out August 14 on K Records / Perennial / Kiwi Club. Watch the Ben Rayner-directed “Blowin’ Up” video below, followed by the album’s tracklist and cover artwork.

Kiwi Jr. is Brohan Moore, Jeremy Gaudet, Brian Murphy, and Mike Walker. They recorded the album at High Bias studios in Detroit Michigan with Graham Walsh. Guests on the album include Joe Casey and Greg Ahee of Protomartyr, Margaux Bouchaudon of En Attendant Ana, and Kerri Maclellan of Alvvays. underTRMag

Darren Hayman • January Songs • 2011

My name is Darren Hayman. During January 2011 I wrote and recorded and released a video for every day of the month. I also kept a video diary and made a video for each song. Collaborators included The Wave Pictures, Allo Darlin, Terry Edwards and many more.

There are plans to make a deluxe physical release at some point too. 

GVTH DVDDY • Who Knows How It Ends ? • 2026

GVTHDVDDY.com

Jaco Jaco • Wager • 2026

jacoja.co

I bet the world and kept the wager

Don’t like to see you so sad

No column in the hall of fame

I only played the game

I wonder if we’ll find each other

Through those wings with eyes

Trapped in a phosphor almond glow

Where grass don’t grow

Its okay if what is right for me is wrong for you

Did it ever occur to you to try out something new?

DOUBLE CURVE • Shame • 2026

Double Curve was formed in Montreal in 2024, when three friends and longtime collaborators from various underground projects finally decided to start a band together. With a straightforward, minimalist lineup — guitar, bass, and drums—the trio has developed a sound shaped by repetition, dynamic contrasts, noise, and melody.

Drawing inspiration from bands such as Sonic Youth, Fugazi, The Wedding Present, the Pixies, and Sebadoh, Double Curve navigates between feverish energy and hypnotic momentum, balancing abrasive textures with underlying melodies. Their songs are built around intertwining guitars, driving bass lines, and rhythms that oscillate between restraint and intensity.

 

“Shame” was the first song Double Curve played together. It began with a simple guitar intro built around harmonics. It was an old idea that felt mysterious and atmospheric, but it gradually evolved into something more urgent, melodic, and catchy.

Hayman, Watkins, Trout And Lee • 2008/2026

Darren's bluegrass project with David Tattersall (The Wave Pictures), David Watkins and Dan Mayfield (Owl & Mouse / Field Glass) reissued with two extra songs!

linktr.ee

"From the first jangle of banjo, its sentimental heart beats strongly and beautifully. Whimsy only rears its head on Jam-Eater Blues, but elsewhere a soft melancholy prevails, cut from the same sentimental cloth as the songs of the Proclaimers and the Beautiful South. Mesmerising observations emerge, too - 4/5." - THE GUARDIAN

Hefner • The Fidelity Wars • 2008

https://linktr.ee/darrenhaymancatalogue

Girls, they permeate Hefner’s songs like cheap perfume. Girls with cigarettes, lounging in unmade beds. Girls who drink whiskey. Girls who never, ever love the way that they are loved. Like Arab Strap, Hefner reside in the realm of the disastrous relationship, exhuming the sweaty, thoughtless bodies of past lovers, recounting tales of fumbled courtships with a draughtsman’s eye for detail. NME

Westside Cowboy • Kick Stones (The Boys) | Later... with Jools Holland • 2026

Kick stones and the cars shoot past

You know you got a face like a bullet when you talk like that

Pull my shirt and the cheap stitch cracks

How do you like that? How do you like that?

And the rain sounds like bells, the plastic covered cars swim totally fine

Have you heard that thе boys are gone this time?

Kick stonеs and the cars shoot past

You know you got a face like a bullet when you talk like that

Pull my shirt and the cheap stitch cracks

How do you like that? How do you like that?

And the rain sounds like bells, the plastic covered cars swim totally fine

Have you heard that the boys are gone this time?

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #179 • Evan Redsky

Evan Redsky grew up on Mississaugi First Nation, on the north shore of Lake Huron, between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury — a small community of maybe 500 people, and a history much larger than that. Four generations of his family attended the Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School. His great-grandfather James was the last elder to hold their community's birch bark scrolls before they were dispossessed by the Glenbow Museum. Redsky carries that lineage into everything: the punk fury of Indian Giver, and the quieter, harder work of his solo music — Canadiana-rooted folk that sits closer to Neil Young than Nashville, and closer to truth than either. His 2024 album The Language of Fishermen and the recent single "Red Dress," drawn from losses he witnessed working at a Toronto First Nations youth centre, are artifacts in the fullest sense — stories left behind for the next generation to find.

https://www.evanredsky.com/

"...an unfeigned country ballad about his indigenous bloodline and life on the reserve...an allusion to the residential-school system and its effects on his kin. Warm acoustic tones are cut with Redsky’s sandy drawl...a record showcasing a rugged sound that’s interspersed with whining lap steel and palatable twang.” - The Globe & Mail

“Though the songs' content is rooted in Redsky's Indigenous heritage, the sound is pure Americana, equal parts Springsteen and Petty…” - CBC

Widemouth • Gasoline • 2026

https://www.widemouthband.com/

Widemouth - No Gasoline (Urban Scandal)

The debut album from this Chicago band co-fronted by Mak Carnahan and Jamie Eder is an impressive set of evocative, intimate, dynamic indie rock that burrows into a tender intersection of slowcore, alt-country, and indie folk. With close friends Mak and Jamie delicately duetting throughout No Gasoline, there’s an emotional fragility and trusted closeness that poignantly pervades the record’s raw, heart-on-sleeve, coming-of-age sound. –AR

Knife In The Water • Plays More Than One And Others • 2026

knifeinthewater.net

Bedhead, American Analog Set, and other Texans set into motion a Lone Star branch of a national movement led by Galaxie 500, Codeine, and Low that utilized negative space in sound and songwriting. AC

Mallory Hawk • Chinook • 2026

malloryhawk.art

Friendly Faces • Your Total is 666 / It's Your Lucky Day • 2026

twin bloom • twin bloom • 2026

Rae Spoon • Assigned Country Singer At Birth • 2026

raespoon.ca

Assigned Country Singer At Birth is Rae Spoon’s thirteenth solo album and marks twenty-five years since they came out as trans and their return to country music. It’s arguably not any safer than it was in the early 2000’s to be a transgender country singer, but there's no room for doubting their connection to it when you hear them sing.

Johanna Samuels • Sorry, Kid • 2026

johannasamuels.com

“Before making this record, I was feeling the furthest from myself that I ever had.” Reflecting on her forthcoming album Excelsior!, Johanna Samuels continues, “There was a lot of cognitive dissonance—wanting to pursue my music while also being able to feel good about who I am as a person. This record is a lot of me identifying what I don’t want to be.”

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #178 • Second Body

Montreal’s Second Body returns with up and coming release Gift Horse, a record born from curiosity, confidence, and the willingness to let songs become something unexpected. In this conversation, songwriter and former drummer Yann explores the leap from the back of the stage to the front, the creative freedom found in surrendering control, and the balancing act of music, family, and everyday life. We dive into songwriting as discovery, the vibrant Montreal music community, and why some of the best songs arrive when you simply keep showing up and listening.

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Young Lovers • Mourning Routine • 2026

 

For Los Angeles-based post-rock/shoegaze band Young Lovers, love has always been a hard thing to write about. As Baldwin notes, love is inherently tied to growth – it is growth. And this growth can only ever be found within the inevitable, mysterious, and painful process of maturation, a process that can only ever be completed if one is ready to go through it. For Young Lovers, this process, with all its uncertainties, dead ends, and unbreakable cycles became the band’s own portrait in 2026, crystallized in their upcoming LP, The Circle’s End.

"balancing emotional weight with expansive instrumental storytelling"
-The Daily Music Report

"‘Back Again’ arrives as a striking instrumental piece, moving from hazy, atmospheric passages into a powerful crescendo of layered guitars and percussion. The track reflects a more expansive and emotionally direct direction for the group as they move toward their second full-length release."
-Psychedelic Baby Mag

https://youngloversla.com/

villagerrr • ‘Carousel’ • 2026

“For years, villagerrr was Columbus, Ohio’s best‑kept secret…on ‘Carousel,’ Scott’s fifth album as villagerrr, he watches his future take shape as his music reaches places he never imagined it would.” —The Line of Best Fit

“A lovely, bucolic take on slowcore” —Stereogum

“Scott dropped his guard and opened villagerrr up to outside influence more than ever before, with an enviable list of friends and collaborators joining to elevate Carousel into the project’s richest sound to date.” —Various Small Flames

“There’s definitely a wayward twang on the horizon…those gentle vocal tones don’t hurt me one bit either, so I’m all on board as we look to ‘Carousel’ hitting in May” —Austin Town Hall

https://lnk.to/villagerrr-carousel

Jaco Jaco • On the Levee • 2026

"Jaco Jaco…delivers warm, kaleidoscopic psych-pop on…Gremlin. These complex arrangements feature funky basslines, dreamy vocals, murky guitars and synths, and syncopated percussion, resulting in an intoxicating and imaginative set of groovy, jazz-tinged indie-pop goodness." — KEXP

“There's an appreciable alchemy at work for Jacob Theriot, known as Jaco Jaco here, on his newest single ‘Charade.’ The light touch and funky, undeniable groove keeps Theriot's work in the clouds even as he lyrically vents of a reality that's ‘held me up and hung me upside down.’” — Analogue

Mol Sullivan • Dog • 2026

This spring, I lost my mother while on European tour with WHY? and a few weeks later, on the day of her funeral, there was a catastrophic fire at my house. Paramedics were able to rescusitate my dog, but we tragically lost my partner, Josh's dog, Jackson.

Josh (Evert) and I had been working on some recordings at his Milwaukee-based studio (Silver City Studios) and in the weeks following the fire, we decided to pour ourselves into and release this song. It was originally written about finding my dog in a time of need- specifically in the early, white-knuckling days of sobriety. It ended up being a super cathartic practice for us to channel our grief into something creative. After months of not being able to step inside my house, Josh had the idea to dig in deeper to the loss and film a music video inside the burnt-out carcass of my home. Since it was taken down to the studs, we got a couple of lights from the hardware store and were able to dramatically play with light and shadow. It serves as a reminder of feeling safe in having my ugliness being witnessed by my dog in some of the lowest days of my life. 💝 https://www.molsullivan.com/dog

Evan Redsky • Cosmic Carousel • 2026

The punk-rocker / folk storyteller recently is performing in support of his sophomore album 'The Language of Fishermen and recently shared new single, “Red Dress” on Red Dress Day. Growing up on the Mississaugi First Nation reserve of Blind River, Ontario, Redksy was often compelled to hitchhike to Toronto to immerse himself in the city’s burgeoning punk and hardcore music scene. Redsky recalls sleeping under bridges and on construction sites, dedicated to making music happen.

The theme of healing on The Language of Fishermen — and questioning if, when, and how healing can be accomplished — comes from Redsky’s own journey in the past few years. Through meditation, sobriety, and music, “The healing journey is constantly transforming,” Redsky says. But having known many Indigenous people who need permission to forgive themselves, and allow the healing process to begin, this song feels boldly overt, honest.

https://www.killbeatmusic.com/evanredsky

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #177 • zzzahara

On this episode of ifitbeyourwill, zzzahara talks about the new album Distant Lands — a record shaped by distance, emotional drift, and the search for connection inside everyday uncertainty. The conversation moves through formative musical memories, relationships, identity, and the comfort of making songs that don’t try to hide their bruises. From discovering emotion through the Selena soundtrack to embracing vulnerability in their songwriting, zzzahara reflects on creating music that feels lived-in, intimate, and deeply human. A thoughtful conversation about longing, memory, and finding clarity inside the noise. 

Zzzahara’s latest album came to them in a dream. Despite being born and raised in Los Angeles, Zahara had never really gotten into David Lynch. When he died at the start of 2025, they dove into his archive of films and interviews. “He's so weird,” they laugh. “Always talking about how ‘everything's a dream!’ And you know what? At that moment, I couldn’t remember the last time I dreamed. I thought, that’s fucked up. So I started taking magnesium and shit, trying to see what it was like to dream again.”

Andrew Sa • "Your Whisper” • (Live 2026)

 

Songwriter and Vocalist Andrew Sa has earned the title of Chicago’s premiere queer country crooner. Sa’s career has always been rooted in songwriting that highlights his easy and elegant voice, but when he met mentor and pioneer Patrick Hagerty of Lavender Country, his “Lonesome Andrew” persona was born. Diving headfirst into the catalogs of Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison, and other classic songwriters that defined his adolescence as the child of a Karaoke Jockey, Sa easily slipped into this new but familiar persona. It wasn’t long before all of Chicago was seeking out his voice.

Sa quickly became the star of the touring revue Cosmic Country Showcase​, an instant smash hit camp-country revue based out of Chicago. The city provided two important collaborators for Andrew,  One of those was Kelly Hogan (Mavis Staples, Neko Case). Hogan instantly recognized Sa’s abilities and quickly the two were booking gigs across the city as a duo. The young and talented Liam Kazar (Jeff Tweedy, Sam Evian, Kevin Morby) also recruited Sa for a duet on his debut album Due North. Sa also created a stunning film, Andrew in Anotherland, which was a celebration of Chicago’s many voices that accompanied a live revue at the prestigious public amphitheater Millennium Park.