Energetic, hard hitting and hooks for days, the power trio of Katrin Sawatzky, Jordan Gabriel and AJ Johnson (JUNO Award-nominated Cuff the Duke) are Royal Castles. 

The three-piece are now releasing their sophomore album Just the Hits, produced by producer Zane Whitfield (The Glorious Sons, The Bluestones, Sarah Harmer). Just the Hits is filled with ear candy: killer drum fills, psychedelic-bubblegum harmonies and crunchy guitar tones that will be sure to make this album feel like sunshine all year-round.

“Schönsee” serves victory and verve as the final single, an electric and triumphant 90s rock anthem sung in both German and English that sparkles and uplifts. ‘Schönsee’ means ‘Beautiful Lake,’ named after the Russian-Mennonite colony; an ode to Katrin’s ancestors, who made the Great Trek across Europe by caravan to escape religious persecution in WWII. This electric song builds upon the German lullaby often sung to Katrin as a child, telling the story of curiosity, resilience, fear and hope for a better life.

Witty, fiery, and rebellious only begin to describe alternative/indie artist London Mars. The Berklee College of Music alum began studying piano and voice at the young age of 5, and was already travelling back and forth from her hometown of Oklahoma City to L.A. to record at only 16. 

“Alexandria” is her debut release on Sadboy Records. Reflecting on how the smallest choices can have lasting effects, she mused over how different her life could have looked had she been named that instead. There’s a sense of acceptance throughout the song, that “Alexandria” is out there living her own carefree life in another dimension and London is here, living what feels like a very complicated life sometimes. 

Favours is made up of Jacq Andrade, Alexander Zen and Mark Andrade. Their debut album, Made to Wait, was released in 2020 and the song “Stowaway” has been featured on Netflix and CBC Gem shows. Recently, Favours built a home recording studio in a former halfway house in Mimico. The studio serves as a practice space and home to Alex, as well as their central creative hub for all music videos and photography projects.  

Favours’ Left Behind EP, which was released on November 12th, and features a fresh dream pop, new wave sound inspired by the trio’s shared love of 80’s new wave and DIY post-punk. The band collaborated with a strong team for Left Behind, enlisting the talents of Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning to play bass, the engineering chops of Tallies’ Dylan Franklin, and the mixing prowess of Alexandre Bonenfont. 

The EP’s newest single, “Escaping,” is a song about the secrets that you keep inside. All of those hidden thoughts. Starting with a heavily affected guitar loop, it evolved into a track that makes you move. A bop where you can feel the mystery while also wanting to put on your dancing shoes.

The three friends at the heart of VHS Collection – James Bohannon, Conor Cook, and Nils Vanderlip (multi-instrumentalist and producer) – grew up together in New York City and formed the band in 2015 as a side project while working other jobs, merging modern and nostalgic aesthetics to create their now-signature heart-pumping, arena-ready synth rock and alt-pop. 

Night Drive, the trio’s upcoming album, captures the spirit of that titular activity: its liminality, its kinetic excitement, its intoxicating potential and power, its hope and mystery. “Space Between Us,” the latest single to be shared from the LP, is about longing for true connection. It’s about the desire to put aside the trivial things in life and be at peace with the one you love. 

With a slice of U2-style guitars and pop-goes-new wave groove, VHS Collection evoke the vibes of a classic love song.

Following her recent single, “Dark,” SHEAL is revealing a new, melodic piano-led ballad.

“‘Gravity’ is about what it’s like when you choose to love someone in spite of hurt and difference,” the artist explains. “Rather than running away from tenuous relationships, holding space for the other person to be themselves with all their flaws and beauty.” 

While her previous single explores the experience of fear shrinking one’s inner world, “Gravity” charts its expansion through love.

Lilting clarinet and strings elevate the grace of this song’s gentle beauty, which is one of SHEAL’s most ambitious pieces, both lyrically and production-wise. It conveys the feeling of weightlessness at the centre of “Gravity.”

The name Bealby Point derives from the band’s favorite beachside vacation spot in the British Columbian interior, an important beacon of inspiration when putting the final touches on their songwriting, among being a place of solitude from everyday life.

Groove to the bouncy, surf-rock vibe of their latest single, “Mermaid From L.A.” Inspired by love at first sight, the mermaid is a metaphor for this idealized version of the person crafted in fantasy and your own self-interest, without having even met them.