April showers bring May flowers and April New Faves bring good vibes. And while the opening lineup was pretty lame, this month’s crew of up-and-coming Canadian musicians is anything but.
April’s New Faves are here to soundtrack your official transition into real spring — before you know it, summer will be right around the corner. But until then, you have to get over the Spring bloom. Smell the flowers, spot the buds and baby birds! From playful pop music via Winnipeg to swirling rock from St. John’s and sparkling Toronto jazz, these New Faves do it all.
Keep reading to discover Exclaim’s latest New Faves! and head over to ours Spotify playlist to listen to them alongside our previous domestic favourites.
Basque
Kitchener, ON
For fans of: Combat Wounded Veteran, Slint, boxcutter
Around Southern Ontario’s DIY venues is Basque, a screamo band straight out of Kitchener. Aggressive and emotionally devastating, this four-piece have just released their seven-song debut via No Funeral Records. Pain without hope of healing it starts heavy and tender with the opening track “Nausea”, but begins to melt into a disturbing and unique experimental sound as the album progresses. Raw and perfectly produced, it’s a harbinger of good things to come.
Emma Schuster
Dermabrasion
Toronto, ON
For fans of: Siouxsie and the Banshees, She Past Away, ACTORS
Invoking the flavors of hardcore punk with dark industrial new wave comes Dermabrasion, a fierce songwriting duo with a penchant for rudimentary vocals and ridiculously groovy instrumentation. All under the guise of goth rock, Dermabrasion’s debut album, Pain behavioris a wonderful occult fantasy ride that will feel right at home in a dimly lit German nightclub. abrasive and buzzing for the long pale night. These songs are theatrical, with a great mix that gives them a bigger presence. It’s a strong contender for album of the year. You are not prepared.
Stephan Boissoneault
Liz Fagan Band
St. John’s, NL
For fans of: Slow Pulp, Big Thief, Hey Rosetta!
Despite their name, the Liz Fagan Band is a collective experience. The four-piece refuses to conform to genre, and blazes a trail in whatever direction the spirit takes it. Fagan’s haunting melodies blend English and French on their debut EP, Leaning In/Se Pencher Versstories take on new nuances as they shift between the two languages. Fuzzy guitars, brutally real screams and folk tones combine to create a record that feels terribly comforting. Each chorus on the single “Hurricane Season” packs a sonic and emotional punch as the lyrics deal with someone who feels the world very deeply. a perfect combination with all the spring rain and final flowers.
Madison Ryan
Moodset
Toronto, ON
For fans of: Hiatus Kaiyote, Moonchild, Alfa Mist
Moodset writes jazz that you can put in the palm of your hand. Their music warms your soul, spicy like apple and cinnamon, rich in texture like a silky latte. The five-piece band’s debut album, Let’s Talk cleverly titled. The record can coax conversations between strangers or punctuate a cathartic car ride home with an old friend. Watch these young graduates from the University of Toronto’s music program as they rock the technique that polishes their pieces so brilliantly that you can see yourself in the shine.
Rachel Evangeline Chiong
Clay Orange
Vancouver, BC
For fans of: Bahamas, Kurt Vile, Andy Shauf
Last month, Clay Orange released his debut full-length album Deeply. The latest work from multi-instrumentalist Ross Macnab – who has been playing under various names for over a decade – Clay Orange finds him using deeply soothing, lush pedal guitar and smooth acoustics reminiscent of the Bahamas or Kevin Morby. Across the album’s nine tracks, we’re treated to Macnab’s introspective lyricism, tapping into his most vulnerable memories.
Francis Baptiste
Father
Toronto, ON
For fans of: Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Decemberists
Parmida Kakavand first appeared as Päter in 2020 with the first single “Dam, Damn”, a promising taste of the heights she would eventually reach. Her debut as Päter, 4-7 Company explores the evening hours between work and social life, the time when solitude leads to wandering thoughts and creative discoveries. Channeling equal parts baroque bombast and intelligent insularity, Kakavand’s music as Päter is refreshingly ambitious and intelligent, an antidote to our modern obsession with brain-numbing detachment and therapy. Dramatic, relentless and poised, Päter’s latest is a tidal wave of emotional release and technical prowess. It’s the sound of a terrible artist announcing their arrival.
Kaelen Bell
Harper K. Smith
Winnipeg, MB
For fans of: Bon Iver, Phil Elverum, Weezer
Harper K. Smith is sick, and not just figuratively. This crazy-voiced songwriter is the newest addition to the Winnipeg music scene, carrying a bundle full of swagger and troubadour sensibilities. Her plaintive lyricism examines chronic illness and urban unrest, oscillating between disarming clarity (“Sick and sad / Isolation, emptiness”) and madcap metaphor (“God is smoking in the food court / And I’m downwind”) . Watch your bedside manner, now. Her hushed tones and emotional bleed belie a hardened spirit and caustic spirit.
Matthew Teklemariam
Lana Winterhalt
Winnipeg, MB
For fans of: Lucy Dacus, Ingrid Michaelson, Begonia
As evidenced by the bio on her website, Winnipeg musician and producer Lana Winterhalt knows exactly who she is: “a Recovering Theater Kid – dramatic, emotional, charismatic, sparkling, larger than life – all fueled by caffeine and Zoloft.” Recovering Theater Kid is the piano pop, folk rock story of Winterhalt’s journey to self-awareness. Combining heartfelt lyrics with tender and memorable melodies, Winterhalt deserves a standing ovation.
Laura Stanley
Listen to tracks from these and other New Favorites in our Spotify playlist:
