How much new music did you listen to at the beginning of the month? There were so many fantastic releases in September that probably slid under your radar. Here are a few of my favourite picks that released early into the month. All of these artists come from local scenes across Canada.

Elephant Stone is a Montreal based psychedelic rock and indie group. They are led by Rishi Dhir, a sitarist who has spent 20 years blurring the lines between Western psych-pop and Indian traditional.

With your summertime ending, Elephant Stone has released ASHA, a 9-track cultural journey through sound to commemorate the time. They remind me of Tame Impala, just with a sitar as their primary instrument. This is the kind of album that probably would have sent George Harrison back to India. I love psychedelic rock, early 60’s stuff like the 13th Floor Elevators and Iron Butterfly. I think Elephant Stone has taken an amazing modern twist on the genre. My favourite track on the album is, “Fascists Killed Yer Rock’n’roll”. It is an experimental indie trip with a sick sitar solo in the middle.

Ar Kay / Pixels

Heading back to the underground, an artist I bet you have never heard of is Dresser. This alternative Canadian group is ambitious; they’ve chosen to go the album route rather than releasing singles. Tether Gladly is the newest album by the group, releasing early in the month with 7 new songs. After listening to the album, I think the strongest part about this group is their instrumentals. Each song is creative and beautifully composed; rather it be an unconventional melody or an abrupt slap of the strings, you never get lost in the music as each song pulls you back in with a creative twist on the norm. A standout track on the album is, “Palpable,” it is the longest song on the album at over 4 minutes.

I really like this group because they remind me of another underground music fixation I had years ago, the post-punk project, Killjoy & the Cutthroats. Both Dresser and the Cutthroats share a similar rhythm section and deep, booming vocals. I recommend giving both of these groups a listen for yourself.

The beginning of this month was great for album releases and honestly, I prefer an artist who is album-orientated over focusing on singles. What do you prefer? Will you listen to an album front-to-back or would you rather add a few songs into a playlist to shuffle through?