New & Upcoming Album Releases: David Vertesi Goes Acoustic, Bryan Adams Hosts a Holiday Jam

Album releases are slowing with Thanksgiving in the U.S. and the onset of the holiday season, but there are some notable Canadian releases coming this week. Leading the pack is a new release from David Vertesi, best known as the leader of popular indie rockers Hey Ocean!. The B.C. singer-songwriter launched his solo career in 2010 with Cardiography. He celebrates its 15th anniversary by releasing Cardiography (Acoustic), a drastically stripped-down reimagining of that acclaimed album. It was recorded in a live, minimalist setting with production by longtime collaborator Daniel Klenner (Peach Pit, Dear Rouge, Hey Ocean!).

Here is a live performance video of one of the new album's songs.

Other Canadian artists with new music out this week include eclectic Ontario singer-songwriter Dylan White, with Fronds, blues veterans Johnny Max Band, with Johnny Max & His So-Called Friends, indie folk songsmith singer-songwriter Alex Mason, with sophomore album Breaking the Blue Sky, and Johnny 99, the solo project of John Sponarski, guitarist in City and Colour. He explores classic country terrain in his songs, as showcased on his second full-length, Mr. Lonely. Some of his City and Colour comrades accompany him, and Kendel Carson and Georgia Harmer have guest turns.

A couple of notable Vancouver artists announced upcoming album release dates this week. Indie rock veterans 54-40 remain a prolific combo and they'll serve up a new record, PORTO, on Jan. 23.

Danielle McTaggart, known as the voice behind the Juno Award-winning pop-rock duo Dear Rouge, has adopted the moniker of Larkk for her recently-launched solo project. A debut Larkk album, Cinders, is set for a Feb. 13 release, and it reportedly shows McTaggart swapping the high-energy pulse of indie rock for raw, poetic vulnerability.

Former Polaris Prize shortlister, Quebec artist Les Louanges has also announced the new album Alouette!, out April 10 on Bonsound. The first released track "Je confirme ma présence" brings the indie rock singer's voice to an adventurous hip-hop inspired loop.

Canadian star Bryan Adams, meanwhile, is hosting a Christmas special on Citytv on December 8, and there will be an album to go with it on Bad Records. The first taste of Bryan Adams & Friends: A Great Big Holiday Jam is out now. “California Christmas” features Alessia Cara, Alan Doyle, Barenaked Ladies, and The Sheepdogs and is recorded live at Vancouver’s Warehouse Studio. The album will also feature Lights, which is where the budding friendship that brought Adams to Billboard Canada Women in Music 2025 began.

Here is the full album release calendar.

November

21: Boutique Feelings, Shwaya, Shywya (Mothland)

21: Roy Woods, Flower City Heartbreak (OVO Sound)

21: Limblifter, I/O -vinyl reissue (Record Record Label )

21: Jill Barber, A Holly Jolly Jill Barber Christmas (Outside Music)

21: Odds, Nest -vinyl reissue (Record Record Label )

21: Sam Salmon & the Grand Manan Bandits, Down For Life (Forward Music/Big Turnips)

21: Burs - Significance, Otherness

21: Danko Jones, Leo Rising

21: Demsky - Jugaad

21: Die-On, Tel Kel, Rencontre au Sommet

21: Jayli Wolf, Daughter of the Haze

21: Joseph Marchand, Treize miniatures

21: Jeff Johnston, Terra Nova

21: Myles Lloyd, I'm Still Thinking

21: Just Jillian, Story of Mine

21: Rheostatics, The Great Lakes Suite (Cordova Bay)

21: Anna Pidgorna,Invented Folksongs (Redshift Records)

21: Kara-Lis Coverdale, Change in Air

21: Lendemain de veille, Le pied casse

21: The Liquor Store, Right Place Wrong Time

21: Magic Fig, Valerian Tea

21: Rufus Wainwright and the Pacific Orchestra, I'm A Stranger Here Myself - Wainwright Does Weill

21: Tate McRae, So Close To What ??? (Deluxe)

21: Ruby Singh & The Future Ancestors, Celestial Libations

21: TUSH, Heavy Weather

21: Tenille Townes, Heart of the Holidays

21: Tobias Jesso Jr., s h i n e

21: Wesli, Makaya

21: Whitney Ross-Barris, Curtains of Light

21: Said The Whale, B-Sides And Rarities Volume 2

25: Dylan White, Fronds

25: Johnny Max Band, Johnny Max & His So-Called Friends

27: Johnny 99, Mr. Lonely (North Country Collective)

27: Alex Mason, Breaking the Blue Sky

27: David Vertesi, Cardiography - Anniversary Acoustic Edition (Tiny Kingdom Music)

December

1: The Jellyfish, S/T

5: The Dirty Nil, Live At The Dine Alone Store

5: Hugo Blouin, Le buffet (Ambiances Magnétiques)

5: Géraldine Eguilluz and Michel F Côté, hORs TempS (Ambiances Magnétiques)

5: Kid Koala, The Storyville Mosquito - picture disc vinyl

8: Bryan Adams & Friends, A Great Big Holiday Jam (Bad Records)

12: Patrick Smith, Words Underlined (Lit Soc)

January 2026

9: Calling All Captains, The Things That I’ve Lost Out (New Damage Records)

16: Clothesline From Hell, Slather On The Honey

21: Katie Tupper, Greyhound (Arts & Crafts)

23: 54-40, PORTO

23: Dana Sipos, Golden Molten

26: Jo Passed, Away (Youth Riot Records)

30: Softcult, When A Flower Doesn’t Grow (Easy Life Records)

30: Gab Bouchard, Encore

30: New Saint, Santo

30: Luca Fogale, Challenger (Nettwerk Music Group)

February

6: Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Laughter In Summer (Transgressive)

6: Nick Schofield, Blue Hour (Backward Music)

6: Daphni, Butterfly

13: Boy Golden, Best of Our Possible Lives (Six Shooter Records)

13: LARKK, Cinders

27: Bibi Club, Amaro (Secret City)

27: Garrett T. Willie, Bill's Cafe

March

13: Malinowski, Under A Landslide of Stars

13: Marie Celeste, Tout ce qui brille

19: Gnarwhal, Lucid Machines

20: Edwin Raphael, I Know A Garden

27: Wintersleep, Wishing Moon (Dine Alone)

April

10: Les Louanges, Alouette! (Bonsound)