Last year, Polaris Prize-winning artist Debby Friday released yet another great electronic album, The Starrr of The Queen of Life.
Debby isn't necessarily a typical Canadian artist - she's signed to Seattle record label Sub Pop, she was born in Nigeria - but the Montreal-raised and Vancouver-based artist is certainly the embodiment of everything that is great about Canadian music and why I dedicate approximately 1/12 of the year and a solid 10-15% of the posts on this blog to Canadian music - because it's innovative and fun and exciting and unlike anything you hear anywhere else on earth.
Also, Canadian artists tend to put on a hell of a show no matter the genre, and you can see that Debby has the way-too-small early day crowd in the palm of her hand.... and brings ALL the energy to this very cool song.
Part of me really feels terrible pulling out more francophone content when most of my audience is English-speaking.
Part of me knows that 2 of my top three posts of all time are by artists from Quebec (yes, doing anglophone songs, but stay with me). Francophone content does very well here.
And, since Beyries's latest album Reprises made my Wicked 25, and remains one of the few artists I have not otherwise discussed, let's talk about her.
Amélie Beyries was a public relations professional until age 28... when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. During her treatment (she's twenty years past that, guys), she discovered songwriting and began making music as a career.
This song, with music written by the artist, is from her 2024 album Du feu dans les lilas, which is an excellent francophone set from an artist who seamlessly glides back and forth between English and French. It's absolutely beautiful - so I hope you enjoy it.
You thought you were getting away with no Carly Rae Jepsen this March?
Nope.
But we went OLD. We went to her debut album, from the pre-"Call Me Maybe" times. This was the title song and main single off that album - written by Jepsen and her producer, Ryan Stewart. It was her first Canadian hit - and second single overall - peaking at #36 on the Canadian Top 100 and doing better on adult contemporary radio.
This album and single were released in 2008, a year after her third place Canadian Idol finish. Bonus points if you can name the top 2.
It's a song about her begging a guy to stay in with her tonight.
I love these "before they were really famous" performances, because you can see her excitement, even back then.
I find myself coming back to the Hip more the older I get.
And why wouldn't I? They're clear Canadian music royalty. And this song - from their 1993 album Fully Completely - is quintessentially Canadian - named for the line that separates the East from the prairies, running somewhere between Winnipeg and Regina, really close to the western shores of Lake Winnipeg.
Yep. I looked it up.
But it was more than that. It was a song about being at the edge - the brink - and pressing forward.
Written by the band, it was a top 20 hit in Canada and a top 40 hit at US rock radio - further cementing their legendary status.
I think my Canadian fans know and by now my worldwide fans know as well that lead vocalist Gord Downie passed away in 2017, and the 2016 tour was their farewell. Their last shows, in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario, were nationally televised and watched by 1/3 of the Canadian population.
Of course they played a spirited performance of this song. Note the faster tempo and extended jam break.
Also, we really miss Gord Downie and we're not afraid to say it.
Daniel Caesar is a great up-and-coming R&B singer who happens to be from Toronto.
And by "up-and-coming", I mean multiple Grammy-nominated and Grammy-and-Juno-winning, #1-hit-singing singer/songwriter.
He's a big deal, who has had some big collaborations with other hitmakers like Justin Bieber, Kali Uchis, and H.E.R.
This song - a non-album single that was the b-side to his mega hit "Get You" - ended up being his first charting hit, reaching high on the Adult R&B charts in the US and running up some pretty impressive streaming numbers.
So, when he first appeared on the NPR Tiny Desk in 2018, it makes sense that he'd lead off with this song.
Well, here we go. It's everyone's favorite Canadian cringecore queen, Sophie Powers.
What else do you want me to say here?
That she's releasing music slowly but virally and it seems to be working?
That she's got an alter ego for her goofy stuff (yeah, I'm pretty sure now) and her main stage name (because Powers is not her real last name) is getting more serious?
That this song is an early, old single, released in 2021, and it's really strong? And leans serious?
That she designs her own outfits?
That her mom is proud of her?
It's nice to see a mom so proud.
That she's clearly Canadian? And that I'm pretty sure this video was filmed in Toronto because the CN Tower makes an appearance?
OK, I guess we can say all that.
But can we say we have a strong live performance of the song?
Yep, we can.
OK, but a cringecore artist like this can't duplicate that, right?
Emmanuelle Querry's website says the following about her:
"Emmanuelle Querry est une autrice-compositrice-interprète émergente de la scène francophone, qui se distingue par une pop assumée et sensible, nourrie d’influences R&B et électroniques."
I don't know. I don't speak French.
I'm kidding. It calls her confident yet sensitive, and infused with electronic and R&B influences.
Her debut album, Au 10ᵉ étage, was released in early February, and I encourage you to give it a listen. It's really good.
Did I mention she was from Quebec? Yeah. She's big in the Montreal club scene.
It was important to me that I start this post like I have started no other in this blog's history - leading with the music.
In his life, Gord Downie, leader of the Tragically Hip, was a board member and vocal supporter of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper - which is now known as Swim Drink Fish after merging with other like-minded organizations - who are concerned with preserving the water and the culture of the lakes and waterways surrounding the Great Lakes and Lake Ontario specifically.
He was a great public speaker - which a lot of people did not know - and he once told a story at one of the LOW events, in April 2015 - about the drop off. Alex Lifeson heard this beautiful spoken word piece, and it stuck with him.... so when Rheostatics put together The Great Lakes Suite, they took Gord's beautiful words, and put them to music.
Gord Downie passed away in 2017, but his words from that Waterkeeper Gala are still with us. And below, they are without music.
Learn more about Swim Drink Fish at www.swimdrinkfish.ca - and donate in Gord's memory if you are able .
I did not have a new Rheostatics album on my 2025 bingo card.
I didn't have a GREAT Rheostatics album on it, at all.
You see, I wasn't really a big fan of Rheostatics before 2025.
And then they released The Great Lakes Suite, a concept album around the Great Lakes. And critics were kind to the album, such as this great one quoted below:
"I was not a Rheostatics person, which is exactly why it shocked me how hard The Great Lakes Suite landed: a sprawling, mostly improvised love letter to the lakes that turns geography into this wild, shifting soundscape. Alex Lifeson and Hugh Marsh are here, but the moment that really broke me is “The Drop Off,” built around a haunting spoken‑word recording from the late Gord Downie about Lake Ontario and water stewardship – it’s like having a ghost of Canadian music history standing in the middle of the suite, reminding you why this landscape matters.
This song, written by Kevin Hearn, closes the album, and it is a beautiful, sweeping piece about the Lakes and their status as an inland sea. Alex Lifeson of Rush joined the band on guitar.
Have they had a chance to perform the song live yet?
Of course they have, and Alex Lifeson joined them for that, too!
Honestly, I knew there was gonna be a Lights song come March. Probably today, but because things happened, I had to rearrange.
Because I WAS going to intentionally skip posting one day in February to make something happen.
And then I did not. Because I got sick of rearranging things.
And then more things happened and I just moved this back. Because it was just easier.
On January 28th, she very much told me (and all Lights fans) exactly what song that was gonna be.
You see, that's the day she released the song "COME GET YOUR GIRL" and its accompanying video, two days before she released A6EXTENDED, the deluxe edition of her fantastic 2025 album A6, about which one critic said:
More than a decade after Siberia and Little Machines, A6 is the first Lights record that really feels like it belongs beside them - not as a sequel, but as their evolved equal. It’s a neon‑soaked grief diary that shows she is still the blueprint for the new wave of alt-pop, folding the heavier, LŪN‑era electronics into synth‑pop songs about damage, numbness and clawing your way back to yourself. she manages to make the "glitch-pop" trend feel grounded and visceral rather than just aesthetic, hitting with the urgency of someone rebuilding in real time. - Literally me.
Yeah, I put A6 #7 on my 2025 list.
This video is why I put it there. If you are a Lights fan and you recognize the scenes from the "Second Go", "Toes", "Running With The Boys", "Giants", or "Prodigal Daughter" videos (guess we have our next two Lights posts written), you have a sharp eye. The scenes from those videos are recreated pretty meticulously (no idea if the scenes were redone or if these are digitally enhanced versions of the originals but I'm leaning towards the former) (Edit: I know now that they were, indeed, redone), but she's clearly singing the song, today, modern-day. It's definitely 2026 Lights, not 2011 Lights with her lips changed.
The song (after which her 2026 tour is named) is also great, but dang, the video is distractingly good.
Today is NOT the 2000th post on Wicked Guilty Pleasures. It was supposed to be, but stuff happens. #1000 was mentioned above. THAT, I did not plan.
Yeah, it was supposed to be 2000. Oh well.
But because we did some rearranging, we get to heard this song, live, from February 26th!!!!!
Yes, the band named after their neighborhood in old Toronto is probably just gonna be posted here every year now.
No, seriously, this map is from Wikipedia.
And while the rest of the world learned about them because Jordan Miller decided to write a song about Brett Emmons, they've actually been making music for more than a decade. Today's song is from their 2021 EP Future Lovers, and it has an ever-so-slightly poppier sound than their current stuff - but it's still pretty excellent.
The band doesn't play this song much anymore, but when they do, they play it as part of a medley I had to crudely edit, and yes, my sister is very excited to hear it.
Saya was the daughter of classical musicians - and parents who TAUGHT music, both privately and at world-renowned institutions. She has released two albums. In 2025, she released SAYA, which was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize and, according to one critic:
"Saya Gray’s SAYA is like scrolling through someone’s brain: songs splinter mid‑phrase, guitars and strings smear into each other, and you’re never quite sure where the groove is going to land. It’s dense and sometimes disorienting - it's not an easy listen, and even took a few listens for me to connect - but once it clicks, it becomes the thing to put on when regular alt‑pop feels too tidy and you want something to gently pull your head apart and rewire it for 40 minutes." - literally me
I sincerely liked the album on first listen, but with subsequent listens, it went from pretty good album to absolutely chaotic and indispensable soliloquy on heartbreak. This song is one of the more upbeat on the album and it makes me smile, every time.
I mentioned Polaris, and yeah, she performed this song at the Polaris Concert and Award Ceremony.
I didn't get too deep into it above, because I wanted you to SEE that 1) she's an absolute wizard on the guitar and 2) her vocal range is next level
This wasn't special for Polaris. She's just that good.
And she opened her NPR Tiny Desk Concert - a year ago - with this song, too.
This time, I'm here because, as part of my 1000 albums listening project which is quickly turning into a 2000 albums listening project, I listened to Shad's acclaimed second album, The Old Prince, which is far less Kanye and far more Big Willie Style than his later work that was previously featured.
And, I posted on Instagram that I loved The Old Prince. And, to be fair, several other albums.
I got one response. Guess which London, Ontario based rapper was the responder?
To be fair, Lights liked it, too. But she didn't respond
So, yeah, that day, I said to myself, "Next March, we are telling all TWELVE blog readers about The Old Prince and how great it is." Because it is.
It's a fun, modern hip-hop classic that sounds timeless, with an award-winning video that seems inspired by a trip to Bel Air or something. The song is very much about... well, still living at home.
The Old Prince was very much short-listed for the 2008 Polaris Prize, and although he didn't win, he did perform this song at the gala.
And the performance is a classic. He does it LIVE, with instruments. In the lead-up, you can hear he credits Common and Lauryn Hill as influences, and I definitely hear it.
What happens when you mix electropop and great storytelling?
You get Baby Nova, the stage name for Kayleigh O'Connor, who has been signed to a publishing deal since she was 16. Her earlier synth-folk sound has been replaced by something a little poppier, but still telling the good stories.
She's from Nova Scotia, so.... there's that.
In January, after a lot of singles, Baby Nova finally released her debut album, Shhugar, and it is delightful. Here's a single from that album that I hope is a worldwide hit by the time you read this.
This six-piece collective that originally started off as a bunch of street performers in 2004 ended up staying together for seven years, releasing three albums and cementing themselves in Quebec folk-country lore.
This is from their 2007 2nd album Kerosene & Coal, and is about a restaurant in Montreal. The video is mostly consisting of working class scenes from along the Lachine Canal in Montreal - they were a working-class group making working-class music.
I really wish they were still around, because they made some amazing music.
I always want to try to get you a live version, so you can see the band in action. THIS was hard, but this short live performance includes this song, and you can see the mellow dynamic of the band.
Oh, and keep listening. There's a lot of great songs they play.
Marie Davidson's 2025 album City of Clowns was shortlisted for the 2025 Polaris Prize.
And rightly so. Not only was it an innovative album that merged pop, techno, and... spoken word, it was, in the words of one great critic:
"City of Clowns is what happens when Marie Davidson points her dry, dark sense of humor at capitalism and nightlife and decides to dance on their graves instead of just eulogizing them. It’s electro, spoken word, satire and genuine anxiety all tangled together, and in a year obsessed with AI and hustle culture, this record felt like someone finally saying, “This is insane, right?” over a beat you can actually move to." - Literally me
She may be from Quebec, but her songs are international hits, and his album even hit the charts in the UK.
This was one of four singles from the album, and, in my opinion, the best of the four. Co-written by Davidson, Pierre Guerineau, and Belgian producers Soulwax, the song is kind of about awkwardness.
I know that the song is kind of about awkwardness because that's literally what she said when she opened the 2025 Polaris award show with THIS song.
So, when they quickly released a follow-up EP in the summer of 2025 called PENSACOLA, I was very much expecting to be disappointed.
Nope. JUST as spectacular. Just as incredible.
This is the title song from that EP. It is dark and brooding and a work of art. The video is just as dark and brooding and leans into their indigenous roots.
And yes. They're from Montreal.
They haven't really performed the EP's song very much, but they did at this show in October, when they were opening for Wombo.
OK, I know I'm pushing it with the francophone content. I promise I'll post an English-language song tomorrow.... from someone possibly not even from Quebec.
It would be a little funny if we posted an English-language song by someone from Quebec, wouldn't it?
Today, we're going to go ahead and just put that œ right on our clipboard, because we're talking about Cœur de Pirate and I just REFUSE to type it "oe". Nope, it's "œ" or it's nœthing.
Today's song, written by the artist, is the second single from her 2026 album Cavale, which is of course very good and pretty. This song really highlights her piano skills on top of her unique vocal.
I'd love to say she's going to win the Juno for Best Francophone Album this year (we're writing this before the nominations) but there's no way she beats Lou-Adriane Cassidy. (Yep. BEFORE the nominations are made, I'm making THAT bold prediction). Which our favorite heart of a pirate, who owns and leads Bravo Musique - the label that is the home to BOTH Cœur de Pirate AND Lou-Adriane Cassidy..... so she wins either way.
Juno winner or not, this song is gorgeous, and I think I like the piano edit - without the synth accompaniment - even better.
You would not think it based on my native language, but our March francophone content really traditionally does well.
Now, I don't usually open March with three straight days of it, but....
Anyway, Bibi Club, the Polaris-shortlisted duo from Montreal consisting of Nicolas Basque (of Plants and Animals, if you are so inclined) and Adèle Trottier-Rivard, just released a new album last Friday. This song, the first single and title song from the album, is cool and trippy and gives us Phantogram-meets-.... oh, I didn't think that analogy through very well. But really, rock-electronic duo from the Snow Belt of North America.... where else did you expect us to go with that.
Anyway, it's very good, and both written and produced by the duo. It is still a side project for now, but it's quickly becoming a core part of the Montreal music scene.
