New Music Friday: 8 new releases for a cold January weekend (24 Jan 2025)

Alan Cross Corus Radio

January 24, 2025 8:05 am

New Music Friday: 8 new releases for a cold January weekend (24 Jan 2025)

It’s another light week for albums, which isn’t surprising given that January and early February are devoted to releasing singles that set up album releases later in the year. New Music Friday has tracked down the best of both.

Singles

1. Brigitte Calls Me Baby, Careless Whisper (ATO)

Yes, it’s the George Michael/Wham! song. The track has been a live favourite of this five-piece Chicago band. They describe themselves as “equal parts elegant time warp and up-close exploration of our modern-day neuroses.” This might work for the depths of winter.

2. Cleopatrick, Please (Nowhere Special Recordings/Thirty Tigers)

After being nominated for a couple of awards including a Juno, Cleopatrick, a Toronto-based duo, is almost ready to return with a sophomore album entitled Fake Moon (due March 14). This is the second advance single.

3. Viagra Boys, Man Made of Meat (Shrimptech Enterprises)

The Stockholm five-piece is just about ready with their fourth album, which will be entitled Viagr Aboys and in stores April 15. The band says the new record is all about “sharp observational humour and unique ability to dismantle everything and nothing at the same time, while juxtaposing real life with high art.” I do like this first single which was apparently inspired by antics touring with Queens of the Stone Age.

4. Papa Roach, Even It It Kills Me (New Noize/ADA)

Nu-metal survivors Papa Roach hasn’t released anything for the last three years so fans are relieved that this new song has appeared. They’re about to go on tour, too (the “Rise of the Roach” tour), to celebrate the group’s 25th anniversary.

5. Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Stitches (Missing Piece Records)

Pigs x 7–one of my favourite new British groups of the last five years–are preparing an album–their fifth–entitled Death Hilarious (due April 4). The video for this single is a bit…odd as it depicts the band being mutated and mutilated. Fortunately, it’s all animated. I guess that makes it better.

Albums

1. DITZ, Never Exhale (ROM/Domino)

We can filed DITZ under “experimental rock.” Formed in Brighton, England, in 2016, the five-piece has found love with a lot of critics and fans, especially those with a fondness for bands like IDLES. This is is just their second album, although their discography already includes a couple of EPs and nearly a dozen singles. If you’re ever taken a sketchy taxi ride at night, you’ll appreciate this single.

2. Mogwai, The Bad Fire (Rock Action/Temporary Leisure)

Scotland’s Mogwai (est. 1995) loves instrumentals and this album (their 11th) contains its quota. It also continues their tradition of using absurdist song titles. As the album plays, you’ll run across tracks with names like If You Find This World Bad, You Should See Some of the Others, Hi Chaos, and What Kind of Mix is This? Let’s try this for a sample. (Fun fact: “The bad fire” is an old Scottish expression for Hell.