I’m going to cheat this week and talk about a couple albums that have already been released. Earlier this year in January, LA band Local Natives released their sophomore album entitled Hummingbird. The album artwork caught my eye, mostly because of the visual of a man breakdancing on the edge of an open airplane, which both intrigues and terrifies me. I listened because I wanted to give the album a shot and without even finishing it, I was buying it on vinyl.

Anyone who enjoys bands like Copeland, Sigur Ros and Death Cab for Cutie, I can only assume, will love Hummingbird. Great songs from beginning to end; it’s simply a solid indie rock record. If you have enough energy after all the shows and festivals from this summer, try to catch Local Native’s show September 21st at the Kool Haus. Check them out on Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud.

The Polaris Music Prize is given out yearly, based on full albums’ musical merit of any genre and has opened doors for so many Canadian bands and artists. The long list for 2013 was released last week, and I’m going to throw it out there and say Kid Koala might be the most creative person on it this year. If you haven’t heard of him or his music, stop reading, just go listen right now. His album, 12 Bit-Blues, was released last September and comes with a DIY record player accompanied by a flexi-disc that plays a feature bonus song.

Out of Montreal, Eric San has brought back the art of turntablism to DJing, scratching old blues records to create modern hip hop sounds. For a Canadian artist, he’s already established himself as an accomplished musician by opening for the likes of Radiohead and Björk. Do Kid Koala, your local record store, and yourself a favour and go pick this album up right away. Check him out on Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud.