New releases have slowed to a trickle as the end of the year approaches, but there are still a few stragglers out there. It’s also a chance to review the year to see if there’s anything that I missed. Both are covered in this week’s Five Songs You Must Hear This Week.
1. Arkells, Money (feat. Portugal. The Man.)
Single (Virgin/Universal)
RIYL: Collaborations
Hamilton’s Arkells love networking, a practice that has led to collaborations with Tegan and Sara, Light, K.Flay, Cold War Kids, and others. Their latest is a project with Portugal. The Man (man, that punctuation is confusing). This is the second single from an upcoming 2026 album (the other being What Good? back in October.) Anyone go to the band’s first-ever Christmas show at Niagara Falls Casino?
2. Daniel Avery and Julie Dawson, The Ghost of Her Smile
Tremor (Domino)
RIYL: Beautiful Distortion
Avery is a revered producer and composer in the indie world. This single from his sixth studio album features Julie Dawson, whose day job is in the Irish alt-rock band, New Dad. The production on this single is incredible and is especially powerful if you’ve got your subwoofer set just right. It starts quietly, but wait for the guitars to kick in. Bliss.
3. Sprints, Up and Comer
Letter to Self (City Slang)
RIYL: Irish garage bands
This is another case of a song that’s not new but was certainly new to me. There’s just so much music each week that it’s impossible for good stuff not to slip through the cracks. Let’s fix that. Sprints is an Irish garage rock band with two albums to their name. Their first, a 2024 record called Letter to Self, features this fierce in-your-face track. Now I’ve got to investigate their 2025 record, All That is Over. Better late than never, right?
4. Softcult, Queen of Nothing
When a Flower Doesn’t Grow (Loma Vista)
RIYL: Fuzz
London, Ontario, Softcult, the Juno-nominated project of siblings Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn, have been dropping singles for the last couple of years. They’re now ready with a much-anticipated debut album on January 30. Watch for a Canadian tour starting at the Drake Underground in Toronto on the day the album comes out.
5. Malinowski, The Dogs of God
Single (Dine Alone Records)
Recommended If You Like: Heavy philosophical discussions
Jay Malinowski, whom you might know from Bedouin Soundclash, appeared on a podcast entitled Podsongs back on December 3. The podcast (episode 166) is hosted by Irish philosopher Richard Kearney. This song arose out of that conversation. It will also appear on Jay’s next album, Under a Landslide of Stars on March 13.
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