Most Anticipated of 2023
Most Anticipated of 2023
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Every January, we tackle a list of our “Most Anticipated” releases from the upcoming year. This isn’t a new idea, most music publications do something similar but we’d like to think we put a little extra effort into it. While other publications simply put together a list of releases they’ve obtained press info for, the Cups N Cakes Network goes further. We sleuth out albums that haven’t been announced, talk to the artists and labels and deliver some true “Breaking News.”
Sometimes we swing for the fences and strike out hard but for the most part we nail down facts on a handful of albums that no other publications are reporting. For this reason, this article has become (pardon me for this), our most anticipated article of the year.
Enjoy checking out our Most Anticipated of 2023!
Aladean Kheroufi
Edmonton’s Aladean Kheroufi is one of the most exciting new voices on the prairies. He fuses R&B and Soul with classic 60s pop aesthetics to craft music that is always finding its way onto our year end, “Best Of” lists. Case in point: 2022s LOVE! ... (is the answer) b/w Every Girl, and 2020s Beauty Beyond Grief both claimed a spot as our Favourite EPs of those years. Will this be the year that finally sees Kheroufi delivering his debut album?
What We Know:
To answer that question… maybe. Kheroufi will start the year off with the release of a late winter EP which came together quick and is made up of all new songs. The EP will be followed by his debut album but we could not obtain confirmation that it will arrive in 2023… we think so, but we cannot confirm.
Whet your appetite with Kheroufi’s 2022 release, LOVE! ... (is the answer) b/w Every Girl.
Andy Shauf
A man that no longer needs any introduction will return early 2023. Shauf’s latest follows 2021’s Wilds and 2020’s The Neon Skyline which came in at #8 on our Favourite Albums list of that year.
What We Know:
Straight out of the press release:
“Watching a David Lynch film one night, Shauf found inspiration for how to frame his concept. What appeared to be a nearly static camera shot of a key on a table continued uninterrupted for two minutes, then five minutes, then seven. It seemed impossible in its relentlessness, bordering on genius. Eventually, Shauf realized his browser had crashed and the movie had frozen. Enchanted by the sense of possibility and wonder that had made the film so vivid to him during that period of incomprehension, he wanted to create something similar. He deliberately left open spaces through which readers could enter to find the story and create meaning for themselves. “
The new album is called Norm and it’s set to arrive on February 10th via Arts & Crafts. Two singles have been released so far promising another gem from Andy Shauf. It will be available everywhere and you can pre-order it from the embed player below (but we’d recommend supporting your local independent record store when it drops… save yourself the shipping). A massive tour has been announced with dates in every major Canadian city (except those in Quebec).
Amos The Kid
Amos The Kid is the recording moniker of Winnipeg’s Amos Nadlersmith. In the past two years, he has catapulted into our collective hearts with two fantastic EPs that boast indie rock at its finest while sometimes pulling influence from folk and country. His debut EP, Mountain View, made our list of the “Best EPs of 2020” and now we are very excited to report that 2023 will see the release of his debut album.
What We Know:
The album will arrive through House of Wonders Records and we are told it will mark the label’s first ever vinyl release. They are expecting it in the first half of 2023 and we’ve also heard that Cups N Cakes favourite, Boy Golden will make an appearance on the album as a guest banjoist. A new single from Amos The Kid arrived in November of 2022, we are unsure if it’s a stand-alone single or if its on the album. Either way… it’s a great track! Check it out below.
Atsuko Chiba
Montreal’s Atsuko Chiba found their sonic voice with the release of 2019’s Trace. Their experimental, psychedelic, post-punk fusing gripped us by the ears and demanded repeat listens. We are very excited to hear their follow-up album Water, It Feels Like It's Growing.
What We Know:
The album is arriving on January 20th and continues their relationship with Mothland who put out 2019’s Trace. Two singles have been released so far with the video for “Seeds” finding its way onto our list of the “Best Music Videos of 2022.” The band are celebrating the albums release with three shows in Quebec and three more in Ontario but we are crossing our fingers they make their way out west this summer. If you’re a vinyl collector, the limited edition “Tropic” LP is 80% sold-out. Hit the “Pre-order” link in the embed player.
Bart
Toronto act Bart have been quietly reminding us they still exist about once a year with the release of a new song. While these tracks have been nice little nuggets for us, we’ve truly been dying for a follow-up to 2019’s Today, Tomorrow, & The Next Day.
What We Know:
That follow up will arrive this year. The album is called Some Kind Of Way and it’s set to arrive in the spring through idee fixe. Three advance singles will arrive before the record with the first one due in a couple weeks. While you wait for that, check out the song “Into” which was released late last year but we don’t think be on the forthcoming release.
Begonia
Canada’s best pop-songstress is returning with a new full-length album in early 2023. And when we say “Best”, we mean BEST. Nobody making pop music in Canada has a stronger voice than Winnipeg’s Alexa Dirks who continues to amaze audiences as Begonia. Her last album, Fear, arrived in 2019 and was featured on our list of the “Best Albums” of that year.
What We Know:
The album is called Powder Blue and is set to arrive on Feb 24th via Birthday Cake. It will be followed by four shows in Canada and four in the States but we are crossing our fingers that more will be getting announced soon. Dirks has been quoted explaining the album by saying:
“To me, this album holds a muted nostalgia, musings on childhood, the complexities of new love, self love, religion, virginity, and sexuality. There’s an indulgence in emotional depth and pain yet also an indulgence in love and a poppy lightness—two sides I’ve always tried to balance. I feel like I let my guard down even more with this record and decided to not hold back on either end.”
Hear the first three singles in the player below and the hit the “pre-order” button to nab the Limited Edition 12" Iridescent White Ripple Blue Vinyl.
Bria
Bria Salmena returns with her second volume of Cuntry Covers. Known for her work in the vicious Toronto post-punk band, FRIGS, and also as a touring member in Orville Peck’s band, Salmena has become one of the most exciting artists in Canada. It is firmly believed by the team at Cups N Cakes that Bria is 100 times more exciting than Orville Peck, this statement was easily proven with her first offering of Cuntry Covers which arrived in 2021 and came in at #2 on our list of the “Best EPs (*or mini albums)” for that year.
What We Know:
Once again arriving via Sub Pop, this six song release drops on Feb 24th. Vol. 2 sees Salmena once again joining forces with multi-instrumentalist Duncan Hay Jennings except this time they moved from an idyllic farmyard setting to their frozen, tiny makeshift home studio in Toronto. On Cuntry Covers Vol. 2, Salmena takes on songs from Gillian Welch, Paula Cole, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Robert Lester Folsom, Glenn Campbell (by way of Nick Cave), and Loretta Lynn. The first single veers far from anything on Vol. 1 with a danceable synth laden version of Paula Cole’s “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?”
Check it our below and pre-order on opaque red vinyl and CD.
Cots
Cots, the project from Montreal’s Steph Yates last blessed us in 2021 with the Sandro Perri produced album, Disturbing Body. Its avant-garde blend of bossanova, jazz, and pop blew us away, earning a “Pick Of The Week” review and firmly planting Cots on our radar. We are very excited to hear that an EP will be arriving soon.
What We Know:
This time around, Yates teamed up with Olivier Fairfield to craft this impressive five song EP entitled, Moonlit Building. The EP will arrive on January 24th via Boiled Records and you can hear the first two tracks in the player below.
Devours
Whoop Whoop! We are overjoyed to deliver the news that Devours will return in 2023 with the follow up to the 2021 album Escape from Planet Devours which made our top 25 Best Albums Of 2021.
What We Know:
The fourth full-length LP from Vancouver, queer, synth-pop maestro- Devours will be arriving sometime in the spring. Devours continues his full DIY spirit and will be releasing the record (which is being pressed to vinyl) through his label Surviving The Game. The release moves the Devours storyline in a shocking new direction with it being described as: ”…if Janet Jackson was a depressed gay bear trapped in the Matrix.”
The first single was released in December which you can hear below.
Espanola
We’ve secured a hot tip that Aaron Goldstein will be following up the fantastic 2019 self-titled album under his solo moniker, Espanola. For those who may not immediately recognize the name, Goldstein has enjoyed a career as one of Canada’s most visible side players, appearing or recording pedal steel or guitar with The Sadies, Daniel Romano, Bry Webb, July Talk, Kathleen Edwards, Matt Mays, Elliott Brood and more. He’s also a well respected producer who’s credits include Julianna Riolino and Le Ren who’s releases made our “Best Albums of 2022” and “Best EPs of 2021” lists respectively.
What We Know:
No timeline for release as of yet but we do know it will arrive via Sonic Unyon and was produced by John Agnello who’s worked on every Dinosaur Jr. record since 1993 and also Kurt Vile, The Hold Steadys, Drive By Truckers, Son Volt, and Waxahatchee. For the album, Goldstein recruited Glenn Milchem to play drums, Anna Ruddick on bass, and Micah Hulscher (who plays in Margo Price’s band) came up from Nashville to play all the keys.
Get excited by revisiting Espanola’s 2019 self-titled album.
Faith Healer
Ok ok ok ok… I know. We’ve been talking about this new Faith Healer album since 2019. I get it. Every time we put Faith Healer on this list because we’re expecting that album to arrive… poof! No album. We left Faith Healer off the list last year because we didn’t want to jinx it and still… no album. Could this FINALLY be the year that sees Jessica Jalbert and Renny Wilson deliver their follow up to 2017’s Try ;-) ???
What We Know:
Yup. This is the year, the fall of 2023 to be exact. Our sources are sound. Another plus?… Faith Healer quietly released a new song and video a couple months back. We have no idea if it’s from the album but the track is fantastic!
Final Fantasy Reissues
Vinyl lovers rejoice! Owen Pallett will finally be reissuing long out of print early albums and EPs. These beauties used to fetch over $100.00 on Discogs and now will be available at your local independent record store!
What We Know:
Both of Pallett’s first two albums will be getting the reissue treatment. 2005’s Has A Good Home and 2006’s He Poos Clouds (which won the very first Polaris Music Prize). In addition, a third LP will be available which bundles both of Pallett’s 2008 EPs Spectrum, 14th Century and Plays to Please together. All three records will arrive on February 24th and they are being released through Domino Records so you know there will be distribution. Speak with your local independent record stores to make sure they can secure you a copy of each!
Fucked Up
There is always some hype when Toronto hardcore legends, Fucked Up, return with a new album. Even more exciting for folks on the prairies is that they will be playing live in Edmonton, Calgary, and Saskatoon as part of Winterruption and BIG Winter Classic festivities.
What We Know:
The album is called One Day and it arrives on January 27th via Merge Records. We are very excited to see that Damian Abraham sings on all but one of the tracks. The album arrives in all formats, including a limited edition “Peak Vinyl” LP which has a blue center in milky clear.
Jon Mckiel
We’ve been huge fans of Jon Mckiel going all the way back to before the Cups N Cakes Network ever existed! It’s been a real treat to watch him grow as an artist. This growth culminated with 2020’s Bobby Joe Hope which came in at #3 on our list of the “Best Albums” from that year. We are very excited to have gotten some insider info that we are allowed to share with you all today. Jon Mckiel will put out a new album in 2023!!!!
What We Know:
Not much. We do know that it is arriving in 2023 and it will be released via You’ve Changed Records. It’s not a ton of intel but it’s enough to have us giddy with anticipation. Get giddy with us by revisiting 2020’s Bobby Joe Hope below.
K!MMORTAL
Vancouver’s K!MMORTAL is a rising star in Canada’s hip-hop/r&b world. Under this moniker, queer Filipino musician, Kim Villagante has been peaking our interest, specifically with their last proper release, 2019’s X Marks The Swirl, which made its way on to our “Best Albums” list from that year. Since then, Villagante has released singles sporadically but we have grounds to believe a new release will be arriving in 2023.
What We Know:
Not much yet. We are pretty sure the release will be an EP and we have a suspicion that K!MMORTAL’s most recent single “This Dyke” will be on it. At this point, it’s all speculation but we are seeing a lot of email’s from their publicists, so we are reading between the lines and expecting a proper announcement soon.
La Sécurité
La Sécurité are easliy one of Montreal’s most-hyped acts at the moment. Their members play in various other Montreal bands like Choses Sauvages, Laurence-Anne, and Jesuslesfilles and in 2022 they came together to blow our collective minds with the two song release Try Again / Suspens. Although technically not an EP, we had to sneak it on to our “Best EPs of 2022” list because after we heard it, we decided they might not only be one of the most exciting new bands in Montreal, but one of the most exciting new bands in all of Canada!
What We Know:
We have some solid information that tells us their debut album will arrive in early 2023 via Mothland. We did learn that both tracks released in 2022 will be on the record and we can deduce that (because it’s getting released via Mothland) there will likely be some limited edition LPs available. In case you missed the hype in 2022, check out Try Again / Suspens below.
Masahiro Takahashi
We were extremely intrigued by Masahiro Takahashi’s 2021 album, Flowering Tree, Distant Moon. The Japanese producer who now calls Toronto home crafted this experimental masterpiece using an array of software synthesizers, granular samplers, plug-in FX, MIDI controllers, and a shruti box. The album is a meditative masterpiece that transports you to a different time and place regardless of when or how you listen. We are extremely eager for Masahiro Takahashi’s follow up to arrive this year.
What We Know:
The album is called Humid Sun and it’s scheduled to arrive on March 31st, 2023 through Telephone Explosion Records. Mark that down and get lost once again in Flowering Tree, Distant Moon below.
Nora Kelly Band
We knew Nora Kelly was a member of the fantastic Montreal punk band DISHPIT, but we never expected that 2022 we see Kelly go country with the release of the six song EP, Perfect Pig. We also never expected that we’d find it more exciting than DISHPIT but we did! It appears as though Kelly has a gift for crafting enticing country music, so much so that Perfect Pig made its way on to our “Best EPs of 2022” list.
What We Know:
We are stoked to be the first to deliver the news that Nora Kelly will be returning with her band in 2023 with their debut album. We can’t say much but we are allowed to pin point the summer for the release and we can’t wait!
poolblood
poolblood can be tough to pin down, the project from Toronto’s Maryam Said tows a line between indie rock and bedroom pop. All we know is that we got really excited by this rising star’s debut EP, Yummy, which came out in 2019 through Vain Mina, so we cannot wait to hear their debut album.
What We Know:
Oh shit! This is out today! Buy it now! Keep coming back to the Cups N Cakes Network because we will be releasing an album review in the coming weeks!
Private Lives
Sometimes releases slip through the cracks of even our “Slipped Through The Cracks” end of year list. That was the case with Montreal’s Private Lives who we discovered by checking in on other outlets “Best Of 2022” lists. How could a band full of musician’s from some of our favourite acts (Priors, Pale Lips and Lonely Parade) slip past us? We feel shame. But let’s get past that and totally redeem ourselves by being the first to report that Private Lives will deliver their debut album in 2023!
What We Know:
Straight from the band themselves:
“You can say there’s a confirmed release for 2023 and we should see an LP by the summer.”
You heard it here first folks! Get hyped by listening to their self-titled 2022 EP.
Spiderbite
Remember when Daniel Romano went on a tear and released something like a million albums in 2020? One of those album was the punk-blitz assault band called Spiderbite which was compromised of Daniel and Ian Romano plus Steven Lambke who’s vocals were the biggest charm of the album. We all assumed this was a one-off release, a weekend hangout that turned into an album that we loved so much it was featured on our “Best Albums of 2020” list. Well… that assumption was wrong.
What We Know:
Nothing really except that a second album is complete and will be released in 2023 via You’ve Changed Records. How fun would it be to get a string of dates to support it this time around? Here’s hoping. If you missed Spiderbite in 2020, we understand… Daniel Romano put out more music that year than most do in a lifetime. Have a listen below.
Sunset Rubdown Reunion
There was a solid five years where the king of indie rock in North America was Spencer Krug. The artistic output that Krug released from 2005-2010 is staggering. He continues to craft impeccable albums that we continue to cover but in those five years, he amassed a catalogue of material most artists could only dream of. Yes this included three fantastic Wolf Parade albums but some would argue he saved some of his best songs for his solo project, Sunset Rubdown, who’ve been inactive now for 13 years.
What We Know:
At the end of 2022, Krug and company announced they would reunite for a small tour in 2023. Canadian dates include Montreal (March 23, 24), Toronto (March 25), Ottawa (March 26), Victoria (April 19), and Vancouver (April 20). The band also teased a potential for new music! A few weeks after the announcement, they quickly realized the cost of touring has changed substantially and asked their fans for help by selling three different limited edition prints to fund the tour. Those prints sold out instantly so it’s safe to say this thing is happening. For us far from all the cities not found on the tour schedule, all we can do is cross our fingers that our favourite local festivals (AHEM! Sled Island!) have the clout to entice this legendary band to the stage closer to home.
Witch Prophet
In 2020, Toronto’s Witch Prophet put out DNA Activation which we gave the top spot in our countdown of the “Best Albums” from that year. Hip-Hop, R&B, Soul, Jazz, Psych, and World all came together to craft one of the most ambitious albums we’ve heard in years. The name “Witch Prophet” will be forever burned into our collective consciousness as we had that album on constant rotation while eagerly awaiting its follow-up… which will arrive this year.
What We Know:
We are overjoyed to report that Witch Prophet will be dropping a new album in 2023. It will be called Gateway Experience and it’s set to arrive in the spring via Heart Lake Records. The first single, “Energy Vampire”, will be out at the end of February and features DillanPonders. At the start of November, Witch Prophet released a Boy Golden produced track called “Back 2 You” to help tide us over until we get the experience of hearing Gateway Experience in its entirety.