Tired of all the usual Canada Day CanCon classics? Looking for some new music to spin while you celebrate and/or relax over the extra-long weekend? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here are more than a dozen fresh singles and videos to spruce up your patriotic playlist from now until Tuesday — and beyond! Stand on guard for these:
Joe Lapinski | Set Free
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Indie artist Joe Lapinski just unveiled his bold and deeply personal album New Day, a genre-blurring exploration of identity, community, trauma, and healing. At the heart of the album is the theatrical and liberating Set Free, a passionate plea to break cycles of addiction and self-sabotage in the name of love. Produced in close collaboration with longtime creative partner Dave Clark (Rheostatics, Gord Downie’s Country of Miracles), New Day is Lapinski’s most sonically adventurous and emotionally resonant release to date. Across its tracks, Lapinski channels life-altering transitions — opening a studio, becoming a father — into songs that wrestle with what it means to surrender to growth. Set Free stands as a powerful centerpiece, blending indie-rock punch with glam-era theatricality, calling to mind early David Bowie and Bahamas in its fearless emotional range. It plays like a duet between two people desperate to connect, but haunted by inner baggage — a raw, slow-burn anthem made for anyone who’s ever felt like their past keeps them from the love they want.”
Ada Lea | Something In The Wind
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ada Lea — the moniker of Montreal musician Alexandra Levy — releases Something In The Wind, the second single from her new album, When I Paint My Masterpiece, out Aug. Following the sprawling, Chantal Ackerman-inspired lead single Baby Blue Frigidaire Mini Fridge, Something In The Wind is a meditation on love born out of a dream. Reflecting on the creation of the track, she says: “I had a dream about this song and remember nothing. There is a constant in everyone’s life, which is the dream. When we recorded the song, Luke Temple, who produced it, suggested we slow it down so Tasy Hudson could improvise a busy drum solo. Then, Jonas Bonnetta, engineer, sped the song up to its regular speed. Like a slowed-down wink to Leonard Cohen himself.”
Braden Lam | Bigger Flame
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Earlier this year, Braden Lam released his new LP The Cloudmaker’s Cry. Today, he shares the video for Bigger Flamer from the record, a song which began when “my friend Jesse Thomas (aka Awolk) brought this idea to me shortly after my wife had a serious cancer scare and emergency surgery due to endometriosis,” says Lam. “I instantly resonated with the theme — embracing the pain and hoping we only grow closer through it. I spent some time expanding on the story and verses to tell my own story. One of my favourite co-writes on the album, it’s very much adjacent to Wide Open (feat. Michaela Slinger). If Wide Open is the invitation, then Bigger Flame is the encouragement to keep going — ‘To make a bigger flame / You gotta fan it with the painful things / All these sparks are flying high / it’s just what we needed’.”
Hot Mud | Ordinary
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ordinary is about wanting fulfillment in a simple life while being haunted by illusions of grandeur. It’s the fifth song from Hot Mud’s Shiny Single Sessions, where he will release one song each month throughout 2025. Hot Mud is an alter ego of a man named Muddy Watters. The musician burst into the indie underground rock scene in 2024 with his debut album Rehab Rock. The record was written during his struggle with addiction and the early stages of his recovery, it was recorded entirely by himself throughout his stay at The Sobriety House Treatment Facility in Ottawa.”
Evan Redsky | Cosmic Carousel
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Evan Redsky shares Cosmic Carousel, his first single since his 2022 acclaimed debut LP Oblivion. The track arrives alongside a video that is featured in its entirety in the new episode of APTN’s Amplify. In the episode, Redsky takes us on an existential ride inspired by his contemplative childhood where he explored deep concepts of the meaning of self and our place in the cosmos. Directed and written by Sean Stiller and Claudia Skunk, and shot in stunning black and white, this is one of Amplify’s most boundary-pushing episodes, an unforgettable musical and metaphysical journey.”
Ark Identity | Still In Love
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Toronto indie-pop singer-songwriter and producer Ark Identity returns with his latest single Still In Love, a hypnotic track that explores the emotional limbo of heartbreak that refuses to fully fade. Still In Love is the latest taste of Ark Identity‘s just-announced second EP Deluxe Nightmare, a collection of dynamic, genre-bending songs due Oct. 24. The song itself takes you on a journey, blending dream pop textures with indie sensibilities, hints of alt-R&B, culminating in a psychedelic finale. It pulls listeners into a dreamy, otherworldly space where the past and present blur. “This song came from that weird space between holding on and letting go,” says Noah Mroueh, the artist behind Ark Identity. “It’s about still being in love with someone who’s already moved on — feeling pulled back into their orbit even though you know it’s not good for you.”
Great Lake Swimmers | Wrong, Wrong, Wrong
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Led by songwriter Tony Dekker, Great Lake Swimmers have spent the past 20-odd years crafting music that feels at once deeply rooted and free-floating — tethered to land and language, yet always reaching for something beyond. Recently, the celebrated band shared One More Dance Around The Sun, their first new single since 2023’s Uncertain Country. Today, they’re sharing another new track, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, a song “about being on the edge, in deep despair,” says Dekker. “The consolation is that it places trust in the understanding of the listener — it’s almost as if the song is speaking directly to a sympathetic friend. Although the music and instrumentation deceptively suggest a sunnier attitude, the lyrical gist is about trying to make sense of a deeply troubled world.”
Babygirl | Take Me Back
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Recently, indie-pop band Babygirl released the single After You, a sublime and captivating offering about true love and fleeting summer moments, and the band’s first new music since 2023’s breathtaking Be Still My Heart EP. Today, the Toronto duo of Kiki Frances and Cameron Bright follow suit with the second glimpse of the new music they are conjuring — Take Me Back, a song brimming with wistful pop hooks, honeyed vocals in a haze of melody, and a chorus that, by contrast, pleads for love to return. “The song is an apology,” Babygirl say (longingly). “It shows up on your doorstep with flowers in its hand. It’s about getting a taste of the ‘freedom’ you thought you wanted only to realize it’s not what you thought it would be. Musically, we wanted to channel the earnestness and sunshine of 60’s pop melodies and the sonic character of ’90s alternative.”
Andrew Spice | Terrible Date
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Canadian indie singer-songwriter Andrew Spice swaps fury for farce on his charming new track Terrible Date. Following the cinematic drama of his previous singles Rage Stage and Gentle Sentinel, this whimsical indie waltz turns the awkwardness of a romantic flop into something melodically melancholic and universally relatable. Written by Spice and produced by Juno nominee Matthew Barber, Terrible Date is a playful detour into romantic misadventure. The song features strings, synths, and a lilting piano rhythm that mirrors the emotional chaos of an evening gone sideways. Acclaimed musician Mike Tompa contributed a madcap string arrangement along with additional keys and guitar, helping to capture both the charm and cringe of a date best left in the rearview.”
Ian James Bain | Devil Dance
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Following the singles Come & Gone and Church On A Hill, Ian James Bain shares Devil Dance, the last preview of his new EP At Your Service, due July 18. On At Your Service, Bain is ready to make his mark on the international Americana scene. He’s already got plenty of experience, serving as touring guitarist with Jeremie Albino, and as a core member of Nicolette & The Nobodies, but on At Your Service he’s found his own voice on four songs that convey hard-earned lessons. Working closely with Toronto producer and pedal steel guitarist Aaron Goldstein (Daniel Romano, Kathleen Edwards), Bain’s songs seamlessly blend the past and present, updating vintage sounds in surprising ways. Devil Dance is such an example, taking familiar bluesy riffs and themes and expanding upon them with a dark, swampy groove. Ian says, “I’ve always loved the old fire-and-brimstone gospel tunes from legends like The Louvin Brothers and The Stanley Brothers. Something about those coal-dust voices singing about such terrible things in perfect harmony makes the hair on my neck stand up. I wanted to see if I could contribute something in that style while not putting on an old time costume that didn’t feel genuine. I wound up with a funk riff, psychedelic guitars, and possibly a little blasphemy.”
Superstar Crush | They Keep Calling
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hamilton baroque-pop quartet Superstar Crush share their latest single They Keep Calling, a bombastic power ballad rooted in female rage, emotional exhaustion, and mutual care. Tugging at the threads of pop rock melodrama, the track is the latest preview of their debut album Way Too Much, due Aug. 5, and a vivid portrait of creative camaraderie and burnout survival. Written from the perspective of lead singer Marzieh Darling — by her partner and bandmate Sam Hansell — They Keep Calling is a love letter in reverse: One that says ‘I see you,’ when no one else does. Inspired by the overwhelming sense of obligation she carried as a confidant, friend, and university resident advisor, the song chronicles a descent into psychic static, with Marzieh as its electrified centre. “I didn’t really know how to help,” says Sam. “So I wrote a scenario where she finally stands up and asks to be heard.”
Ev. G | Belladonna
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With a groove-laced pulse and evocative lyrical abstraction, Belladonna marks a transportive new chapter for artist and songwriter Ev. G. Taken from his debut album And Then I Go Up (due Sept. 23), the avant-pop track merges asymmetrical rhythms with ethereal textures and subtle hip-hop swagger to conjure a lush, hallucinatory atmosphere. Fittingly named after the infamous poisonous plant, Belladonna leads listeners down a curiously oblique path – somewhere between dream and distortion, clarity and mystery. The single began with a simple piano loop and drum pattern from producer Brock Geiger, which later inspired a mumble-vocal demo from Ev. G. That raw seed evolved into a fully immersive sonic world. “It deals with some of the feelings you get when things are still just unfolding in those early stages of a relationship,” shares Ev. G. “That strange awareness of all the uncertainty, and the excitement that comes with it.” Inspired equally by emotional ambiguity and the layered history of the belladonna plant — from ancient witchcraft to Renaissance-era cosmetics — the track explores dualities of danger and beauty, hope and delusion. “We rarely live in absolutes,” Ev. G notes. “Except my cat, Pinot. He absolutely rules.”
Erica Knox | Kerosene
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With siren-like vocals, delicate guitar and emotional depth, Toronto singer-songwriter Erica Knox returns with Kerosene, a folk-tinged pop single that turns heartbreak into healing. The track, written during college in 2018, found new life and deeper resonance after being recorded live off the floor at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios. “It’s a full-circle moment,” Knox shares. “I wrote it after my first trip to London, and my first heartbreak. Coming back, and recording at Abbey Road, it feels like the perfect time for this song to be heard.” Written for a college project on metaphor in music, Kerosene weaves poetic double meanings into its sparse, four-word chorus by balancing simplicity with profound emotional weight. The track explores the shame and longing that often follow a first heartbreak, and the fear of being “too much.” “The lyrics and picking pattern hold a lot of space so we didn’t want to overcrowd it during production”, Knox says, and adds “there’s something about this one that feels like it’s been waiting for the right moment to be heard.”
Justine Giles | Past LIfe
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “On her new single Past Life, Justine Giles continues to explore personal growth and healing through her songwriting. The track poured out of her following an encounter with an acquaintance with whom she’d had a complicated history, prompting Justine to reflect on how we often remain connected to such people, whether we want to or not. Past Life is Justine’s first new music since her 2024 EP Another Chance, which collected the singles she’d recorded after moving from Toronto to Calgary in 2019. Justine is ready to open a new chapter with Past Life, with its multi-layered arrangement and emotional vocal performance illustrating the creative strides she has made. The song was produced by Mark Troyer at Calgary’s Evergreen Sound and features Justine’s friend Sarah Houston on piano, both of whom contribute greatly to the song’s cinematic dynamics. Justine says the sense of musical tug of war at its heart reflects the message contained in the song’s lyrics. “One minute it’s vulnerable, intimate and raw, the next it’s large, loud, and strong. It pulls you in and then it spits you back out again — such is life.” She adds, “I guess some things just can’t be explained, but also, two things can be true at the same time. I’ve always been a believer in soul connections and learning important lessons through these relationships.”
Drea Lake | 4U
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “After sharing a handful of singles over the past several years, Canadian singer-songwriter Drea Lake is preparing to show off her full range on a debut album, A Call From Somewhere Else, due in autumn. Today, she offers the first preview, 4U, a song that displays her distinctive approach to her craft, mixing unconventional arrangements with instantly memorable hooks, all held together with her soaring vocals. “4U is really an anthem for love, commitment and the sense of freedom that goes along with living in the country,” Drea says. “It’s the song on the album that I most hope people will bounce to. Olivia Esther also added something special to it with her French horn and Nicholas Baddely added some wonderful train-style beats. It’s just one example of the care that we put into this song overall.” That care certainly extends to the rest of Drea’s new material, co-produced by Quebecois acoustic guitarist Antoine Dufour, along with a host of other contributors from the worlds of Canadian roots, jazz and classical music. Blending genres has always been a major focus of Drea’s compositional style, and she came to the album sessions with about 20 songs she felt had the most potential for collaboration. These were eventually whittled down to the final eight songs, which she describes as coming together “without any loose ends. I can’t take them any further at least for now, and that’s when you need to share them with others.”
