Most Anticipated of 2025

It’s time! It’s the Cups N Cakes Network’s annual round up of the releases we’re most excited for in 2025. A few of our writers took up the task, and are excited to dish on albums, both confirmed and not, that we’re looking forward to in 2025.

Chris Lammiman:

Perhaps it’s the instability and uncertainty that have ushered in 2025, geopolitically, ecologically, etc., but it seems like the upcoming releases I’m looking forward to most is new music from old favorites. A fresh start tempered by the comfort of familiarity, maybe. Top of my list is probably Motherhood’s Thunder Perfect Mind, expected January 24. The tracks released so far promise to be a super fun ride from one of Canada’s most dynamic and exciting bands. Plus, maybe it means more tour dates can be expected (fingers crossed!). Other treats I’m looking forward to include new albums from national darlings The Weather Station (Humanhood, out January 13), and the ever enigmatic Destroyer (Dan’s Boogie, coming March 28). In the expected but unconfirmed category, it looks to be a good year for things coming out of Montreal, with rumblings about new music from the exceptional art punks La Sécurité, as well as shapeshifter Yves Jarvis, who seems to be toying more with the funk/soul side of things on the last couple of singles. I’m sure there will be lots of new gems to discover as well, so I’m looking forward to what else the year has in store.

Harman Burns:

When I heard the Weather Station’s fifth album, Ignorance, in 2021, it was clear the band had achieved something special. The music was sophisticated and self-assured, the arrangements thoughtful and spacious, vying with the negative image with superlative musicianship. For what will now be the band's seventh album, Humanhood, the lead singles promise a dynamic album, from the whispers and drum machines of “Body Moves” to the chaotic heights of “Window.” Motherhood, a long time favorite of Cups N Cakes, will no doubt stagger us with their next album Thunder Perfect Mind. What more can be said about these mad geniuses? This power trio’s zigzagging songs and genre-gumbo approach never fails to be a thrill to experience, every single, every EP, every album.

Gus Englehorn first got my attention with his second album Dungeon Master back in 2022, and I was immediately both disturbed and inspired by the madcap brilliance in Englehorn’s storytelling, both as a lyricist and as a character himself. His voice is a psychopomp for a carnival ride through hell; not the Dante kind, but the Lynchian kind. Based on the singles I have heard, his upcoming album The Hornbook is sure to deliver (Editor’s note: it’s come to our attention that Englehorn has relocated to Hawaii, and so while we likely won’t cover The Hornbrook, it will still likely be great and worth checking out even though it is not, strictly speaking, a Canadian release).

To close off my list, I’m looking forward to Dan Bejar’s new album with his Destroyer project, Dan’s Boogie. His last album LABYRINTHITIS was among my favorites of 2022, and I have no doubt with this newest effort he will manage to surprise and confuse expectations while maintaining his characteristically cool demeanour and dry wit.

Artemis Peaslee:

Ah, the new year, a chance to start again, to begin anew, or to listen to a bunch of new releases to distract from how awful things are. Here are some releases I’m looking forward to use to drown out the dread within my mind.

With more indie than you could shake a sleazy stick at, Toronto based alt-pop band No Frills’ Sad Clown, coming out in March, promises to bring even more smooth, up/offbeat tunes to you in the new year. Their newest single off the album “Shopping in the Toothpaste Aisle” evokes similar emotions to their previous works, seemingly with a folkier influence; nevertheless, this is one release I’ll be listening to when it drops.

If you thought you weren’t in for a scare on February 28th, then you thought wrong, because Ontario horror-gaze band Bonnie Trash returns with their upcoming album Mourning You. The lead single “Veil of Greed” captivates with its chugging guitar and hauntingly catchy melody. While it seems this album might be heavier than prior, I have no doubts that the gazey, ambient, and frightening soundscapes synonymous with the groups previous works will be used to a stunning effect once the full album is released.

Jeff MacCallum:

Hello loyal fans of Canadian independent music! I’m very excited for a new year of music from the Great White North and I’m happy to share with you what I’ll be keeping an eye on this year.

First and foremost, three of my favourite acts in Canada are releasing new albums early this year. Fredericton’s Motherhood is dropping Thunder Perfect Mind in a couple weeks and it’s non-stop bangers that will be ringing in my ears for months to come. Then in March, Dan Bejar returns with a new Destroyer album called Dan’s Boogie and the lead-off single that features Fiver is truly amazing. The third of my favourites is Carey Mercer’s Frog Eyes. Their album was just announced earlier this week, arriving in March and coinciding with a tour that sadly neglects the prairies. Finally… I know I said three but Eliza Niemi announced her new album after I’d handed the first draft of these words to Sean but I needed to mention her. Her 2022 album Staying Mellow Blows was ranked as our second favourite album from that year! We are all soooo excited for its follow-up. 

Ok, now what you look to me for… Acts you may have never heard of that you should check out! I clawed and scraped to find some up and comers without press releases clogging up my inbox but that will surely start getting more attention in 2024.

Will Edmonton’s grungy, shoegazy, fuzz-forbearers, Tebby & The Heavy finally release their debut album this year? Answer: YES!!! Expect a new single and more information soon. Blue Youth, the Regina noise monsters, were hoping to release an album last year but it didn’t arrive, look for that to see daylight in 2025. Toronto’s Crooked Raw Records has an album from an alt-pop act called Cootie Catcher that is going to take the scenesters by storm, it’s out in March. Edmonton’s Smokey makes psych-country that is right up my alley and I really hope to see an album from him this year. Yukon’s Cryptozoologists released a single last year and I’m hoping there’s more because I love their brand of art-rock. Vancouver post-hardcore/post-punk band WAIT//LESS released their second single at the end of 2024, it comes nearly two years after their first and the image of each song on Spotify now match… a dead giveaway that they're both from a larger upcoming release. Finally, a wild new punk band from Calgary called bugswallow dropped a two-track demo last summer that blew my mind and they’re hoping to drop a proper release this year.

Last but not least, I wanted to make sure everyone is keeping tabs on You’ve Changed Records in 2025 because I’ve received a hot tip that the label run by Steven Lambke is going to be very busy this coming year with many highly anticipated releases.