The leaves are falling and we’re tuning into our creature comforts, which includes sampling new tunes from some exciting artists that are both catchy and captivating. There’s lots to be thankful this time of year and we couldn’t be more grateful for the sounds from artists like Arlo Parks, Yves Jarvis, NADUH, Florida BC and LU KALA. 

Join us on an audible journey through a mixed landscape of genres, while we take a look at the artists who have been making us move, shake and sometimes even think from the comfort of our homes.

Arlo Parks

Genre: Pop/RnB
For Fans Of: Charlotte Day Wilson, King Krule, Jamila Woods
Perfect For: Painting or scrapbooking with a friend

Arlo Parks is coming up in a big way. In fact, she’s had so much success early in her career that she might as well already be at the top, but Parks isn’t slowing down for a second. Her lush single, “Eugene,” was featured on former First Lady Michelle Obama’s playlist earlier this year and she’s already won over fans all over the world, including Angel Olson and Phoebe Bridgers. Paramore’s Hayley Williams also recently asked her to join her on her next tour once things get back to normal.

Wise beyond her years, the South London-based artist channels a confessional brand of poetic pop music that floats through the air, allowing the listener to pluck each saccharine note with ease. Parks is informed by a plethora of different influences, from old school soul and 90s hip-hop to the written works of Sylvia Plath and Haruki Murakami. “The way Murakami writes is how I aspire to write my songs; gritty and sensitive and human,” she says. With a proper debut currently in the works, we can expect a lot more feels from this magnificent and captivating voice.  

Yves Jarvis

Genre: Cerebral Psych-Folk
For fans of: Sufjan Stevens, King Crimson, The Notwist
Perfect for: Late night walks through your neighbourhood

Yves Jarvis is profound in the way that he approaches his craft as a songwriter; he’s both intense and with purpose. His new album, Sundry Rock Song Stock, is a fully self-made offering, right down to his painted self-portrait on the earthy green album cover. In fact, the only other help Jarvis got on the album was from engineer Mark Lawson (Arcade Fire, Basia Bulat) who helped man the boards while Jarvis laid down his drum tracks.

“I experienced a musical breakthrough with that bright, easy sound of my last two albums,” says Jarvis. “It felt good to make at the time, but it counters my essence. People think I’m calm, but I’m very not calm, and I’m happy to elaborate on it now. This album came together exceptionally easy in reaction to that nighttime shit. This green is epitomized. This album is reduced.”

The Montreal-based artist has crafted a mysterious and breathy collection of experimental and otherworldly songs that sit somewhere on the spectrum between cosmic-folk and prog-rock. If that doesn’t sound fun to you, walk down to your local dispensary and change your perspective, man. 

LU KALA

Genre: Pop
For Fans Of: SZA, Lizzo, Post Malone
Perfect For: Driving down the highway with the windows open

LU KALA cuts through the banality of pop music with empowered R&B-infused dance floor-ready anthems that pair her bold personality and sugar-coated voice. KALA’s penchant for catchy choruses and verses that you can’t help but vibe with is what has built her following since she dropped her debut single two years ago.

One of her most recent tracks, “No Smoke,” just hit 500K streams on Apple Music and begs for the kind of bumping and grinding that you only find in the darkest corners of the best nightclubs. But until we can ditch our coats at coat check and hit the dance floor, this rising star is curbing our cravings for those wild weekends with her emotive pop songs that burn brighter than her signature orange hair. Keep an eye out for her upcoming debut EP, KALA. 

Florida BC

Genre: Folk-Rock
For Fans Of: Magnolia Electric Co., Bill Callahan, The Constantines
Perfect For: A backyard BBQ with your buds

You can almost picture yourself holding a cold beer in the middle of a small and sweaty live music venue, nodding your head to the dark, brooding, and mesmerizing folk-rock of Florida BC that builds and breaks ever so delicately.

Band leader Clinton St. John has been a modest but welcomed participant in the prairie rock scene for many years, and this time he’s recruited former Cape May bandmate Jeff Macleod, Morgan Greenwood (Azeda Booth) and Carl Davidson to bring his campfire cowboy visions to life on their debut, Salt Breaker Sand. The album blends raw rock and roll energy with a distinguishable nod to the late Jason Molina, who St. John recently revealed to be his all-time favourite lyricist.

Recorded in Montreal with producer Scott Munro of Preoccupations, the eight tracks embody a mood that pushes and pulls in a way that only seasoned players could execute, carrying the listener past last call and out into the crisp evening air.

NADUH

Genre: RnB/Hip-Hop/Soul
For Fans Of: Kelela, Tirzah, Bahamadia
Perfect For: Late night (or early morning) romance 

NADUH is a celestial supergroup of talented women who share a mutual love for 90s RnB, modern hip-hop, and a whole lot of soul. The five-piece claim to be “spicier than the Spice Girls” and come out strong with their debut single, “Mawnin’,” a sultry and caffeinated groove about romancing in the mornings. 

“For us, it isn’t about being overtly provocative just for the sake of it,” the group says. “Every time we reference our sexuality through our music, it’s a reclamation of our autonomy as empowered women. It isn’t always easy for us to be so open, but it’s a part of our growth journey to be able to free ourselves of shame, to embody and embrace our sexuality.”

The group is composed of Taraneh (aka Tee Krispil), Jenny Lea (of I M U R), Rosita Alcantara (of Off Topic), Giorgi Holiday (aka Giorgi), and Larisa Marie, who write, engineer, and produce all of their music. Based on everything we’ve heard, we expect this new collective will be going all the way from Mawnin’ to night once they get some more songs into the world.