Narcy — To Be An (Arab)
(We Are the Medium)
Technically, Narcy’s new double LP is a reissue. In 2024, the Iraqi-Canadian MC released two vinyl-only albums bearing the same title. Now available on streaming, the 2026 version of To Be An (Arab) bears some minor but not insignificant adjustments. The album maintains features from artists like Talib Kweli and Todd Rundgren, and except for “A.H.A..,” Suite I remains fully intact. Suite II has more revisions, including two skits that reposition Saudi-UK DJ Nooriyah’s contributions as those of a faux-AI therapy bot. “SWORDS,” meanwhile, reunites Narcy with Iraqi-Canadian producer Sandhill for a revival of their collaboration with American rapper Redveil. On “SWORDS” — a revival of Narcy’s collaboration with Iraqi-Canadian producer Sandhill and American rapper Redveil — the MC skewers U.S.-Israeli Bonapartism in the Middle East and the expansion of the “Gaza doctrine” in Lebanon and Iran. — Tom Beedham
Mecha Maiko — Nervous System
(Right Click 2 Download Records)
Mecha Maiko is the solo pop project of Hayley Stewart, a Juno-nominated songwriter and producer who cut her teeth in the 2010s working with synthwave artists like Perturbator, Gost, and Dead Astronauts. As Mecha Maiko, Stewart retains the genre’s tensions between past and imagined future. She showcases her deft understanding of synth textures, but refocuses its broad-stroke cinematics into a synthpop sound that’s much more personal. Opener “Hello” sounds as if it’s being crafted in real time, expanding beyond its skittering drum beat with each new utterance of the title. The eight-song record really comes alive in its second half, though. It’s hard not to fall in line as Stewart coos “Why don’t you crawl to me” on “Crawl,” a song about how self-awareness provides little resistance to impulse and how intimacy brings with it the threat of vulnerability. — Michael Rancic
Paste —Thanks, Roy
(NℲℲN)
Toronto’s Paste return to form on their new EP Thanks, Roy, mixing anthemic indie rock and power pop that evokes the sound of The Hold Steady. With lyrics that explore themes of late 20-something malaise and uncertainty, their sound hearkens back to the Gen X doldrums of bands like The Dismemberment Plan. The production is polished, highlighting every instrument while leaving just the right amount of grit to perfectly capture the energy of their live performances. Dylan Taylor’s vocals in particular showcase a mature raw vulnerability that perfectly fits the atmosphere of each song. “Won’t try to explain, I’m getting tired of looking for an answer,” he sings on “Ready For a Reason,” capturing the emotional core of the track. — Daniel G. Wilson
Hiroki Tanaka — Isan
(Errant Records)
The sophomore album from Toronto’s Hiroki Tanaka — the former lead guitarist of the experimental art collective Yamantaka // Sonic Titan — is a strange, beguiling album, filled with unexpected twists and eyebrow-raising turns. Based on a series of early-20th-century Japanese Christian hymns that Tanaka inherited from his grandparents, Isan (meaning “inheritance” in Japanese) swings between moments of tenderness and explosive psych-rock theatrics, making the music difficult to categorize. Tanaka sounds a bit like Mark Lanegan on the brooding desert rock track “Yamato,” and a bit like Jeff Buckley on the ethereal ballad “Oushogatsu.” Then there’s the wicked prog-metal of “Tomogaki,” where Tanaka shreds his way through the depths of hell. The album’s highlight, though, is “Nation of Love,” a truly weird pop song that wheedles its way into your brain and latches onto your dopamine receptors. “There’s a fruit-sized love that’s growing in your body,” Tanaka croons mysteriously over the song’s dancey groove. I don’t understand the metaphor, but I feel it. — Richie Assaly
Siyahkal — Corrupt
(Static Shock Records)
Corrupt marks ten years of raging hardcore punk from Siyahkal, a Toronto band named after the 1971 Siahkal insurrection in Iran led by the Organization of Iranian People’s Fedai Guerrillas. Across the new record, frontman Kasra Goodarznezhad delivers blistering vocals entirely in Farsi, grounding the record in defiance and a strong sense of identity. Though recorded before the U.S.-Israel invasion of Iran, the record speaks to today’s political climate, offering five blasts of catharsis amid the chaos of war. Dedicated to lives lost and those continuing, songs like “Full Moon / ماه کامل” balance grief with acceptance, as violent destruction dissolves into stillness beneath a watchful night sky: “It’s a full moon and the sky is bright,” Goodarznezhad repeats in Farsi. — Michael Rancic
Dead Bob — Nothing Changes Everything
(Wrong Records)
Led by Canadian punk legend John Wright, Dead Bob eschews convention in favour of unrestricted creativity on their newest release, Nothing Changes Everything. Reformed as a proper quintet, the eight-song album sees the group blur genre lines and standard song structure to achieve something that feels wholly their own. Songs range from anthemic bursts like “Punk rock-a-rama” to the instrumental mediation of “The Present,” but the songs are all tied together by a focus on groove and rhythmic complexity. The band is also joined by guest musicians Bob Wright and Toronto art-rocker Selina Martin, each of whom bring their own flair to the tracks they appear on. — Daniel G. Wilson
This article appeared in the 2026 Jun/Jul issue.