Where Are The New Albums? September 2022 Update

Apologies for the delay, but here is this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! We're largely in a holding pattern this month with no new to-be-released albums in-progress to add, and only one existing entry has updates (look for the title in italics), but hopefully we get some more updates on new albums ahead shortly. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Chase James Wigmore's new albums

Rumoured Songs: Multiple

Background: Ever the prolific artist and songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore posted on his eponymous Facebook page in August 2020 to announce two more distinct acoustic albums and the long-gestating completion of his 33 part rock opera "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". In 2021, one of those acoustic albums (the black metal-infused "Ruins Of Life") was posted for free on YouTube, with Chase belatedly posting that and most of his back catalog albums for sale on his Bandcamp page by March 2022. In April, Chase released a brand new album for sale on Bandcamp named "Sonic Apocalypse", and teased on Facebook in May that he started a new album in January that he was taking his time with so he could "make music actually worth listening to." From that album (since titled "Is This The End Of.."), Chase has posted four songs planned for it in mid-2022. Chase also posted a lengthy elaboration of his rock opera, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline

Current Release Status: Your guess is as good as mine, but remember that Chase is very prolific and varied in his musical interests, and not every album of his has seen a formal paid release, either by finishing it's lifespan as a demo, or by being released online for free. In any event, stay tuned for updates from his camp when they roll in!
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Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide's fourth album

Rumoured Songs: "Lost & Found", "All Broke Down", "No Control"

Background: Local Celtic punk veterans Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide began recording sessions by October 2018 at Dustin's own Mission Control Studios, as per their Facebook page. In January 2019, the band confirmed that they were indeed recording a fourth studio album (and first since 2012), which will presumably be released through Tidal Records, and will also be their first album with second guitarist Liam Seymour & drummer Chris Johns. While "All Broke Down" was initially cited as the first single in December 2018 (source here), the first two released singles were "Lost & Found" in March 2019 & "No Control" in December 2020. Credits on the above songs' music videos note that Kyle Whittaker at Strange Pumpkin Studios in St. Catharine's is mixing the album, as he has done for multiple Tidal/Mission Control releases. Dustin posted a handful of solo songs on Tidal Records' YouTube channel in 2020, but it's not publically known whether or not they'll also be used as new Tide originals.

Current Release Status: When The Tide shared a teaser clip for "Lost & Found", they mentioned that the album was "coming soon", which doesn't tell us much, especially as the band has only posted sparingly on Facebook since the end of 2020. This may be partially due to fiddler Sheldon Jaaskelainen's recent out of town commitments, with Dustin focusing on side projects Jonesy Land and The Cover-Up since. Still, with recording sessions well along the way, and two music videos now public, it's likely that Dustin and company aren't early in the process, but we'll let you know when more comes out on the album!
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Fort Creek's debut EP

Rumoured Songs: "Hammer Down"

Background: Local southern/hard rock quintet Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, and while the pandemic lockdowns may have gave them more time to record, they wouldn't release a sample from the sessions until almost two years later when they shared this snippet of their single "Hammer Down" their Facebook page. The guys debuted it at their headlining concert at Soo Blaster in June, and have played it live regularly since, but they have yet to release any full tracks online.

Current Release Status: Fort Creek originally planned to release the EP in "late summer", but their Rotaryfest Stage 1 write-up says that it will come out in "late 2022". There are a lot of unknowns either way, especially given the 2 years of production time and that this is a band primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit (though some members do have experience in name original bands, especially Matt and Tony). It will be interesting to see how things develop, so follow Fort Creek on Facebook for continuing details!
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Handsome Sandwich - "Lettuce"

Rumoured Songs: "All or Nothing", "Bitter", "No Entry"

Background: After taking a year+ long hiatus during the pandemic, local "no genre" band Handsome Sandwich reunited last summer with a new lineup, with Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger now joined by singer Taylor Emlaw and bassist Mitch Sirie. Via their new Facebook page and YouTube channel, the band almost instantly began teasing a debut album (after previously being covers-only from 2017-2020), posting two YouTube videos of them jamming new original songs for it. In June 2021, Handsome Sandwich revealed that the album will be titled "Lettuce", and it began pre-production then, with recording at Unsalted Audio with producer Dustin Goodall. As of April 13th, drums, rhythm guitar, and bass tracks had been recorded, and Taylor was pictured in studio at the end of May. The band also confirmed in July that guest saxophonist Josh Norling will appear on their new song "No Entry".

Current Release Status: No clue, especially given that we have no prior Handsome Sandwich albums to go off of, but the new look band has definitely hit the ground running since resuming activity last year! Staying busy and creative when proper non-socially distanced concerts couldn't happen isn't a bad idea either, so stay tuned for updates from Handsome Sandwich's camp when they have them!

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Mike Haggith - "All The Best In All You Do"

Rumoured Songs: "I've Seen It Before", "Twist of Fate", "If Only You Could Hear Me"

Background: During his live-streamed Facebook concert in February, local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith revealed that he was working on his newest studio album, entitled "All The Best In All You Do". Like his other Thompson-era albums, this will have an overarching concept, this time about the transition out of depression and being manipulated by others, into a happier personal life. At the time, Mike was 35% done with the album, and he has played two new originals planned for it in live-streams and in his 2022 concerts in both Thompson and the Soo, as well as "If Only You Could Hear Me", a still-unreleased song from early in his time in Thompson. A single version of "Twist of Fate" was unveiled in July, and live videos of all three songs can be found on Mike's Facebook page and/or YouTube channel.

Current Release Status: Given Mike's day job and personal commitments, he hasn't been as active on social media in mid-2022, but he is playing live dates and presumably working on recording the new album where time allows. Hopefully things are progressing naturally in studio, and we'll let you know when Mike gives some progress updates!

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The Uncanny Valley's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "The Uncanny Valley", "Glowin'", "Middle Man", “This Love is Psychedelic”, "Stuck In Rotation", “Sweet Like Sugar”, "Fumbling Through"

Background: The new classic hard rock band from 2019 Soo's Got Talent winner Adrian Sullivan, fans will have seen original material of theirs right from the start, as The Uncanny Valley debuted their own songs in their first live concert at The Canadian on New Year's Eve 2019. Live concert & jam session videos have followed on their Facebook page featuring their own material as well. After posting a teaser audio clip of "Sweet Like Sugar" in September 2020, they posted the full studio version of "Middle Man" in October, finally confirming there that they are working on their first album. The guys did record a studio version of "Stuck In Rotation" at Unsalted Audio for the Clusterfolk Music Festival and a related compilation album in April, but whether that exact recording will be included on the band's own album is unclear.

Current Release Status: No clue, which isn't helped by The Uncanny Valley's age and relatively unfamiliar profile for many readers, not to mention the complications of the pandemic, but they have played a number of local concerts in the past month. That said, they are a talented group who seemed to be taking the right steps for the future, and hopefully more updates on The Uncanny Valley's debut album follow in some form or another when ready!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series should return on or around October 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on Saturday. That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post in the coming days! Thanks everyone!