Yes, almost everyone is listening (or being forced to) listen to Christmas music. But there are still options like these five picks culled from recent submissions.
1. Karly C, I’m in Love with Amazon Prime
Single (Quirky Girl)
Recommended If You Like: Jeff Bezos?
The last I heard of Karly C, she was releasing country songs. But then she started writing pop-punk songs inspired by All Time Low and Bowling for Soup. One day in her living room waiting for her next delivery of…whatever (she apparently gets packages delivered every day), this track poured forth. They say write about what you know, so…
2. Oliver Forest and Flara K, Moments
Single (Independent)
RIYL: Mellow bossa nova groovers
Flara K (a duo from Montreal) and Oliver Forest (another Montreal duo) got together in a studio one night, nipping from a bottle of gin. By about two in the morning, this song had come together, complete with layers of vocals, a cello, and a banjo. This was the result.
I Prevail, Bad Things
True Power (Fearless/Concord)
RIYL: The space somewhere between Panic! At the Disco and Linkin Park
This five-piece is coming on their tenth anniversary together. Formed just north of Detroit, they first got attention with a metal cover of Taylor Swift’s Blank Space back in 2014. They’ve had a couple of Grammy noms for their post-hardcore work. This song has turned into a late-season hit for alternative radio in the US.
4. Ruby Waters, Heather
Single (Independent)
RIYL: Tattoo shop bathrooms
Juno-nominated Indigenous artist Ruby wanted to get this single out ahead of her upcoming Soaking Wet Tour across North America (it started in Portland on November 22). Looking to capture something as vulnerable as possible, the video for this song was recorded in the bathroom of Midway Tattoo Shop in Toronto’s Kensington Market. Bold concept for a single, no? It’s a nice compliment to her latest single, Open Arms.
5. Blonde Diamond, Dreamland
Magnetic Strangers (High Tide Music)
RIYL: Dear Rouge meets July Talk and Mother Mother
This is an interesting Vancouver project featuring members of Hot Hot Heat, Fake Shark, and Gay Nineties. They first came together in 2016 under the name Youngblood (renamed in 2018) with the goal of creating music of the future from the perspective of the 1960s. That was enough to get them a gig in a Lululemon campaign. After a series of singles and an EP, this is their debut album.