Alex Cuba – Lo Unico Constante

The new set of songs hears Cuba digging into his roots and revisiting the musical styles of his childhood. It was inspired by the filin movement (derived from the English word “feeling”), which rose to prominence in the 1940s with its rich blend of Cuban trova and American jazz and soul.(Exclaim!)

Del Bel – III (Missed Connection)

You might be familiar with the Toronto-based orchestral pop band, or more specifically the torchy, haunting vocals of singer/lyricist Lisa Conway, who has been in other indie bands such as Chrome and the Ice Queen and the Owle Bird, and also puts out music under the name L Con. Producer/composer Tyler Belluz adds a distinct pop noir sound to the mix, with his moody, cinematic arrangements.(CBC Music)

Leeroy Stagger – Love Versus (True North)

Leeroy Stagger is getting ready to release Love Versus next week and, even though it is his 11th studio album, the singer-songwriter from southern Alberta seems to be coming into his own.(CBC Music)

Lou Canon – Suspicious (Paper Bag)

If the feeling of being in a coma could be conveyed through song, how would it sound? Toronto songstress Lou Canon attempts, and succeeds, to do just that on the opening track of her new album, Suspicious (the long-delayed follow up to her 2011 eponymous debut, which was produced by her brother-in-law, popular songwriter Hayden). The song begins with faint, far off, echoing moans that evoke someone tumbling down the well of their own subconscious. That’s followed by before spare, melancholy electric guitar strums and Canon’s husky whispered singing about letting “your mind fall, and your spirit dies.” It’s a haunting, engrossing song for fans of subtle, distinctive indie pop, even if cynics may dismiss it as being too on the nose.(Exclaim!)

New Pornographers – Whiteout Conditions (Dine Alone)

It’s hard to imagine a band that abhors a long, throat-clearing windup more than The New Pornographers. Listen to any of the group’s seven albums, and each bursts out from the jump with a blast of pure, blissfully irresistible power pop. Take the title track from 2015’s Brill Bruisers, which opens the record by racing from zero to a full-blast sing-along hook in a literal fraction of a second. Why wait?(NPR)

Sarah Slean – Metaphysics (Cadence Music/Fontana North)

Her hiatus was due to a much-needed break. “There was so much going on in my personal life, and work had been pretty much an insane roller-coaster ride for the last four years,” says Slean. But it wasn’t until she bought a farm outside the city, where she began to reflect on herself and understand her “web of being.” Though Slean didn’t realize it at first, her experience while at the farm would lead her to write Metaphysics.(CBC Music)

The Flatliners – Inviting Light (Dine Alone)

Sometimes, I really don’t know what to make of The Flatliners—one minute, they are these rabid pit bulls that need to be kept on a leash at all times (otherwise they’d maul the neighbors), and then the next, it feels like they’re mild-mannered house pets agitated by squirrels and the mailman. While I haven’t been the biggest fan of this Canadian punk rock powerhouse, they have made some pretty great songs throughout the years, and Destroy to Create is still one of the best ska/punk hybrids I’ve heard. So I asked myself, “Where will The Flatliners go with this new record? Will it be slow and melodramatic while keeping an upbeat edge, as they have done in their previous three albums, or will they wallop me over the head with something completely different?” The answer leans more toward the latter, as Inviting Light has a quite different sound from any of their other releases, but it’s not so much a smack in the face as it is a light tap on the shoulder.(Slug Magazine)

The Watchmen – Live And In Stereo (Fifth Kid Records/Fontana North)

Beloved Canadian rockers The Watchmen will release their first official live album, Live And In Stereo on April 7th via Fifth Kid Records/Fontana North, that was recorded at the Burton Cummings Theatre in front of a hometown crowd in Winnipeg on March 24, 2016. The album comes as an 8-song limited edition vinyl package with an accompanying digital release containing the full concert. The Watchmen will mark the release of Live And In Stereo with a special hometown show at the Burton Cummings Theatre on April 8. Stay tuned for more upcoming Canadian tour dates.(The Music Express)

The Wooden Sky – Swimming in Strange Waters (Nevado Music)

The anticipatory opening buzz on “Swimming in Strange Waters” is not for nothing — the full-on stadium rocker that follows spins you right around and around, finally catching you in its ending refrain, “Let every living thing shine a light on every living thing.”(CBC Music)

Timber Timbre – Sincerely, Future Pollution (Arts & Crafts)

When Taylor Kirk and his bandmates in Timber Timbre set out for France a year ago to record their newest record, Sincerely, Future Pollution, they envisioned a sound you could dance to, that was worthy of celebration. For more than a decade, the Montreal-based band — led by Kirk, who handles much of the writing and recording — has explored the gnarled and shadowy corners of rock, evolving from sun-bleached cabin beams (Timber Timbre) to ’70s country twang (Hot Dreams). None of it has exactly been the stuff that gets one shaking, outside of a narcotized sway in the corner of a plywood bar. Sincerely, Future Pollution isn’t, either. But maybe it’s not the time to dance.(NPR) +first listen

Godboogie – Play Music & Dance (Vizztone)

Jayme Stone – Jayme Stone’s Folklife (Borealis)