What to know
- 2026 is barely halfway over, but Canadian artists have already released an impressive list of albums and songs.
- From Drake’s trio of chart-topping albums to Angine de Poitrine’s critically acclaimed work, Canadian music is in good hands.
- Five Canadian musicians and music writers each picked five songs that defined the first half of 2026.
2026 is barely halfway over, but Canadian artists have already released an impressive list of record-breaking and genre-defining records.
From Drake’s trio of Billboard Hot 200-topping albums — Iceman, Habibti, and Maid of Honour — to Angine de Poitrine’s whirlwind year and critically acclaimed sophomore LP Vol. II, to Broken Social Scene’s first body of work in nearly a decade, the Canadian music scene is in better hands than ever.
But what songs do musicians and writers think have defined this year so far? Now Toronto polled a selection of musicians and music writers to find out which 2026 releases have stuck around as favourites they’re still jamming to in the second half of the year.
Alex Southey
Alex Southey is a Toronto-based singer-songwriter who writes and performs indie folk rock music reminiscent of Jeff Buckley and Elliot Smith. To date, he’s released four albums, three EPs, and over a dozen singles, all of which were self-released.
Here are the five songs that defined his first half of 2026:
Charlotte Cornfield: Hurts Like Hell
A steady presence for years now in the indie-folk-rock scenes in Canada, Cornfield’s latest effort “Hurts Like Hell” feels like the culmination of a lot of the sounds she’s been honing. Here we have keening, lived-in vocals, and lyrics that flow like regular speech and just happen to rhyme. This song has just the right amount of earnestness and a whole lot of laid-back guitar work.
Boy Golden (featuring Cat Clyde): Cowboy Dreams
Boy Golden’s duet with Cat Clyde is a slinky, danceable folk-rock earworm. Both vocalists are unique and talented enough to hold their own against one another.
Sook-Yin Lee: Mending Wall
It’s art with a capital A. Lee channels Nico, and at times David Bowie, in her vocals, and the music is a kaleidoscope of referential sounds, field recordings, and progressions that make the whole thing feel like an evolving marvel.
Drake: Janice STFU
“Janice STFU”, with its very odd, viral invite to all Janice’s affected by the song, is notable and has definitely defined the year. Additionally, this is the track that helped Drake, a Canadian, beat Michael Jackson’s record for overall number one hits in the US as a male artist.
Angine de Poitrine: Yor Zarad
I have seen more people wearing t-shirts with their likeness than I have heard people actually discuss their music, but that’s not for a lack of incredible work. Standout “Yor Zarad” makes the Canadian band’s mission statement clear: figuratively offbeat melodies, arrangements, and a whole lot of distorted energy.
Allie Gregory
Allie Gregory is a culture writer and editor living in Toronto. As the Managing Editor at Exclaim! Magazine, she’s deeply entrenched in the Canadian music scene.
These are the five songs that she believes defined 2026.
Daphni: Waiting So Long
Mirroring Dan Snaith’s mid-2010s reign as Caribou, his side project Daphni has risen to prominence thanks to his latest album Butterfly, whose summer-tinged single has been bumping on dancefloors since its February release.
Peaches: Not in Your Mouth None of Your Business
Merrill Nisker has been an unstoppable force since debuting in the ’90s, and her latest album, No Lube So Rude, proves that she shows no sign of stopping in her 60s. The record’s most outright political anthem is a perfectly timed queer rallying cry.
Charlotte Cornfield: Hurts Like Hell
Ever the songwriter to tell a story through its minutiae, Cornfield zooms in on the insecurities that spiral into miscommunication and ultimately force vulnerability to the fore. Backed by Buck Meek, it’s a self-described “shy people love story.”
La Sécurité: Detour
Quebec’s indie scene has been on fire this decade, and Montreal art punks La Sécurité have been at the forefront of the movement, carving out a path for kraut-y electroclash on sophomore album Bingo!, repudiating naysayers of the indie sleaze revival.
Angine de Poitrine: Fabienk
Half the country is selling out venues to catch a glimpse of the fabled polka-dotted alien duo from Saguenay to shout “Sebastien!” alongside fellow revellers.
Hugh Carter
Born and raised in rural Ontario, Carter now lives in Toronto. In 2023, he founded Turn & Work, an independent online publication that pushes forward meaningful discourse on music and literary works.
Here are the songs that defined 2026 for him.
Noise Hotel: Sweet Talk
The People’s Choice Award winner at NXNE (North by Northeast). I saw them live before I heard any of their music — I was blown away. Their new EP Five Stars is excellent, but when you see them play this song live, they’re a band possessed with incredible energy and charisma.
Cootie Catcher: Puzzle Pop
I’m not sure anyone expected Cootie Catcher’s new album, Something We All Got, to blow up like it has. It’s so catchy, so charismatic, and so weird. Who knew that glitchy twee indie rock would be the sound of 2026?
sundayclub: Camera Shy
The Winnipeg shoegaze duo’s new self-titled album is dreamy, melodic, melancholy and memorable — and “Camera Shy” was the gateway drug.
Lennie Rayen: Give It Up
Write that name down. Rayen’s debut album Entertain the Space is an early favourite for my Canadian record of the year, and the song “Give It Up” is as good as anything that played on 102.1 The Edge in 1998.
Ani After Death: Endless
If the trip-hop revival is happening, Ani After Death stands to be a big part of the Canadian scene. Her music videos are as captivating as her songs, and “Endless” has been on constant play since it came out.
Darryl Saves Lives
Darryl Saves Lives is Cole Gereghty, Nick Lai, David Le, and Neal Smedegaard, a four-piece that showcases the best of Edmonton’s pop-punk and emo scene. The band have put out two EPs since their inception — Darryl Saves Lives (2019) and When Will It All Be Fine? (2020) — and about a dozen singles. Their most recently released single, “Fade Away.”
Check out the five songs that defined 2026 for them.
Broken Social Scene: Only The Good I Keep
This is easily Gereghty’s favourite song of the year. The production, writing, everything is just perfect.
Pony: Superglue
Pony has been consistently putting out exceptional power pop for years and “Superglue” is no exception. Everything about it is perfect, although we could have easily picked any of the songs from Clearly Cursed as they are all equally great.
Calling All Captains: A New Type Of Grey
Calling All Captains are our hometown heroes. Their latest album The Things That I’ve Lost is an amazing pop-punk album full of bangers, but we really love this song in particular.
Chief State: DAMN!
We have been big fans of Chief State since first seeing them play Edmonton in 2022. The melody is so catchy and we love how the guitars sound.
Angine de Poitrine: Sarniezz
We are big fans of math rock/prog rock and this track blew us away from the first seconds. We love how unique this band’s sound is.
Rachel Halpern
Rachel Halpern is no stranger to the DIY pop-punk and emo scene in Toronto. She plays guitar and sings in the bubblegrunge quartet Chasing Laika, the folk punk band BROKEBACK, and the emo project Ever Since We Met.
These are the songs that defined 2026 for her.
Tiger Really: death spiral
Everything I gravitate towards about emo music is in Tiger Really’s album Mayfly Daydream. It’s melodic and catchy and dramatic, and my biggest hidden gem recommendation for 2026.
PUP: If This Is It
This is the latest single from my all-timers and loves of my life who never miss. I want to yell PUP out the window of every moving car I’m ever in.
ceippo: fifteen ton head
Ceippo is an integral part of my band family, and listening to this song makes me feel like I’m in the pit at their show, feeling the pure happiness and sweat drip off all their friends. It’s a banger.
Dumb Crush: Had It
This is the kind of earworm that buries itself in your head and never leaves. I heard them for the first time running their lights at JUNOfest and it has never fully left my brain since. The song is expressive, tongue-in-cheek, silly, and smart.
Weak Hands: Massey Sign
It feels nostalgic in all the ways they intended it to. It feels like I’m coming of age again. It feels like I’m 15 years old at my first show with stage diving and I’m leaning against the barricade to catch every word.
