It’s going to be a quiet week in the music world. And no wonder: Between Canada Day, the 4th of July and the end of school, millions of North Americans will be enjoying the great outdoors instead of squinting at screens. Fittingly, there are only about 75 albums, EPs and singles being released — about half as many as recent weeks. And there are no big-name, chart-topping artists on that list. So rather than take up more of your time than I already have, I’m just going to list them, and highlight the ones that stand out to me. Mark your calendars and pre-order your favourites — but don’t blame me if things change at the last minute:
THE LONG LIST
Abbath | Outstrider
Ailee | butterFLY
Oren Ambarchi | Simian Angel
Félicia Atkinson | The Flower And The Vessel
BABii | HiiDE
Baby Keem | DIE FOR MY BITCH
Ballout | Ballin No NBA 2
Baltyk | Self-help Pt. 1
BEING. | Tapestry of Us
Joey Berkley Band | Moving Forward
BiSH | CARROTS and STiCKS
Jackson Browne | Running On Empty Remastered
BTS | Lights
Joey Cape | Let Me Know When You Give Up
Valerie Carter | Ooh Child: The Columbia Years
Riccardo Chailly | The Fellini Album: The Film Music of Nino Rota
Chief Keef | Almighty So 2
Clover the Girl | Even If It Hurts EP
Billy Cobb | The Boro
Piper Cole | Wildish
Melaine Dalibert | Cheminant
DBangz | Keahonui
Defoe | Too Soon to Cry
The Dharmas | Little Sunshine
D.O. | That’s Okay
David Ellefson | Sleeping Giants
Everything But the Girl | Amplified Heart 25th Anniversary Vinyl
Heather Findlay | Wild White Horses
Gandalf’s Fist | The Clockwork Prologue
GFRIEND | Fever Season
Glim Spanky | Tiny Bird
The Golden Filter | Autonomy
Hi-Rez | Only for the Fans: The Album
Jesca Hoop | Stonechild
Hurricane Party | Juice
Isata Kannen-Mason | Romance
The King Blues | 38 Minutes
Kix | The Atlantic Studio Albums
KOKOKO! | Fongola
https://youtu.be/IoJEVgPRXsg
Ernie Kovacs | The Ernie Kovacs Album Centennial Edition
Bobby Krlic (Haxan Cloak) | Midsommar Score
Kryptos | Afterburner
Jamie Lenman | Shuffle
Lighthouse Family | Blue Sky in Your Head
Lou the Human | Painkiller Paradise
Machine Gun Kelly | Hotel Diablo
Magenta | Home Reissue
Tim Mahoney | Trucky Ride
Marshmello | Joytime III
Moonsign | Okay You First
Mark Mulcahy | The Gus
Necking | Cut Your Teeth
Olympia | Flamingo
Kelly Lee Owens | Let it Go / Omen
The Plug | Plug Talk
The Quiet Temple | The Quiet Temple
Rainbow Grave | No You
Reptant | New Advancements in Lizard Tech
Riff Raff | Arrogant American
San Pedro | The Demon Sessions
Schattenmann | Epidemie
Elliott Sharp | Plastový Hrad
Shirokuma | Clothes I Wear For The Space I’m In
Sigur Rós | Ágætis byrjun: A Good Beginning 20th Anniversary Edition
The Soft Cavalry | The Soft Cavalry
Nad Sylvan | The Regal Bastard
Trash Kit | Horizon
3Teeth | Metawar
Traxman | Tekvision Volume 2
Umm Kulthum | The Twinkling Star
Reinier Van Houdt / Bruno Duplant | Lettres et Replis
Various Artists | Greatest Hits From Outer Space
Various Artists | Punk Top 40
Various Artists | Stranger Things Season 3 Soundtrack
Westside Gunn | FLYGOD Is An Awesome GOD
Wilson Tanner | II
Zoo Look | Similar Steps EP
https://youtu.be/dQFhLKG38nE