Based on the album cover, Emm Gryner’s latest album Torrential looks as though it will be full of solemn songs about relationships and break ups.

The latest album from Juno-nominated group Wake Owl, The Private World Of Paradise, is a dreamier take on average indie music. Smoother and more soft spoken, the album is defined by its hypnotic and serene mood, created by faded instrumentals and light vocals that the indie genre seems to be so fond of. Rhythmic acoustic guitar chords and constant yet hushed percussion add to the overall relaxing atmosphere.

Chance To Fate echoes out familiar emotions, as if the trio behind indie folk band the Olympic Symphonium is capturing our collective moments of self-doubt, loneliness and homesickness and putting them into a single album. Instead of being depressing, it serves as a call to “Seize The Day” — fittingly positioned as the album’s first track. Unfortunately, the whole experience is marred by a forgettable score and lacks the originality of the the band’s last offering, The City Won’t Have Time To Fight.

At first glance, it’s obvious that Bend Sinister’s new album Animals will go in some interesting directions. The cover shows the band in a ’70s-era rumpus room filled with kitschy decorations and taxidermied animals — a polar bear head adorns one of the keyboards and there are wolfskin rugs and foxes wearing sunglasses. And that’s saying nothing of guitarist Joseph Blood’s shoeless, long pyjama shirt and toque ensemble. No one can accuse Bend Sinister — or this record — of being boring.

I’ve seen enough sci-fi to be weary of artificial intelligence anything, but if the future sounds anything like Livingston’s Artificially Intelligent Folk Songs of Canada, Vol. 1 we needn’t worry as much as I thought.

The self-titled debut album from Vancouver-born Bradley Ferguson’s new band, Hunting, takes somber indie-folk music and adds electronic accents to create a sound that is eerie and unnatural. Ferguson’s vocals are faded out behind the music like an ethereal, ghostly presence. The piano and violin sections add to the mesmerizing feeling of the album. The synth music and drum beats add another layer of depth, providing some much needed bass to harmonize the melody and give substance to the music.

Vancouver’s Ari Shine and Adrienne Pierce come together to form The Royal Oui. The pair’s self-titled album is a follow up to their Forecast EP. Shine and Pierce create a true-to-folk journey through love with a romantic and melodic feel. Both bring extensive musical experience to the table, which is more than evident in their songwriting and harmonizing throughout the album.

This collection of upbeat and emotive folk-rock music has a huge variation of track backgrounds, ranging from hard and fast drum rhythms to soft piano sets to electronic background notes. It showcases Kalle Mattson’s eclectic musical style. The songs on the album continually flip between having a strong steady beat, with energetic hooks and solid determined vocals and softer tracks where Mattson’s lyrics take centre stage and the world seems to go quiet while you listen to his story.

Canadian singer Alejandra Ribera is a remarkable musician. From her first song she begins a journey that spans 12 tracks — seven in English, four in Spanish and a single French-English duet. Much like Ribera herself, “La Boca” crosses continents and languages effortlessly. She brought a little piece of Argentina back with her in the title track, “La Boca,” which puts English and Spanish side by side.

Down with Webster’s music is a blend of pop and rap with distinct electronic accents which create a more complex sound than traditional pop music. Their new album Party For Your Life, with prominent vocals and a deep driving bass, can easily be classified as punk, yet each song has its own rap section which distinguishes the music from other pop-punk groups. The instrumentals are higher in pitch than most other groups, however this is offset by the baritone vocals.