8 Emerging Canadian Artists You Need to Hear in November 2024

November's New Faves are here to bring a little warmth and light to that five p.m. sunset, and they do it with a myriad of attitudes and styles. From sweet-as-sugar Toronto pop to floating Halifax jazz and buzzy Montreal punk, this month's faves are ready to fight off the blues in as many forms as possible.

Keep reading to meet Exclaim!'s latest New Faves, and head over to our Spotify playlist to hear them alongside our previous homegrown favourites.

Tarek Funk
Hamilton, ON
For fans of: Lowkey, Public Enemy, Rage Against the Machine

Palestinian/Syrian rapper and "adopted Hamiltonian son" Tarek Funk is a saxophone-playing, roller skating longtime figure in the Hammer arts scene who recently released a benefit album, Levantine Poetic Vision, in collaboration with Hamiltonian MC/rapper Cee Reality. The cover artwork is a painting made by Tarek's mother, and all proceeds will go toward humanitarian relief efforts in Palestine and Lebanon. You can go ahead and buy the album yourself (highly recommended), or choose to donate through Tarek directly by contacting him through the details provided on his bandcamp.
Sarah Jessica Rintjema

Hypno Jerk
Nanaimo, BC
For fans of: Group Rhoda, New Chance, Devours

Nanaimo trio Hypno Jerk blend poetry with ambient, techno and pop into thrumming, dewy electronic soundscapes alive and unkempt like an untouched rainforest. The band doesn't leave much of an online trail, but they've shared bills over the last year with the city's experimental underground favourites including KMVP and Earthball. Look out for new music, as Hypno Jerk spent time this past summer recording music in Ladysmith, BC.
Leslie Ken Chu

Frank Mighty
Toronto, ON
For fans of: Black Pumas, Leon Bridges, Bon Iver

Before moving to Toronto, John Traboulsi — known on stage as Frank Mighty — used to call Calgary home. Pulling inspiration from his own life and experiences, the Syrian-Canadian singer-songwriter with a distinct taste for indie rock anthems and neo-psych grooves wears his heart on his sleeve when he's on stage. His latest EP, Nexterday, features seven tracks that he's written over the past couple years singing about everything from what it's like to get caught up with work and miss the important things on "CAKE," to the moment when you're laughing so hard that your eyes can't help but squint in "Laughing Eyes."
Vanessa Tam

Neon Ghosthouse
Ottawa, ON
For fans of: Billy Talent, Basement, Movements

Neon Ghosthouse invite you to bring their stories to life in the mosh-pit with their second EP. The Big Words That Make Us Feel Small explores the punishing nooks and crannies of grief. The five-track EP welcomes you to change with the season, and feel all the shame, yearning and courage that comes with loss. Heavy guitars and powerful drums meld with heart-wrenching vocals to form the band's distinctive, massive sound that has made them a central component of Ottawa's burgeoning rock scene.
Emma Schuster 

New Hermitage
Halifax, NS
For Fans of: the Necks, Colin Stetson

It's hard to pin this group down, falling somewhere in the world of improv, minimalism, avante-garde, jazz, chamber and more, but that's what makes them so engrossing. The quartet's new single "Circuit Weaver" from their upcoming album Doomsday Fantasias finds them cohesively melting the warm textures of woodwinds, cello, guitar and harp into a soundscape that flows with ease — hypnotic without being repetitive and purposeful without losing a sense of playfulness. 
Joe Smiglicki 

Pressure Pin
Montreal, QC 
For Fans of: the Lost Sounds, Hardcore Devo, the Screamers

Kenny Smith is busy — as part of art punk outfit La Sécurité, he tours almost non-stop and recently dropped a new single "Detour" — so it's amazing that he had time to give us a killer EP under the name Pressure Pin. The four-song Polyurethane expands on the frantic, electro-futuristic frantic 7" Superficial Feature, jamming so much into 16 minutes it leaves your head spinning. This is best demonstrated on "Negative Impression," which sounds like four pots of coffee filtered through the Lounge Lizards and Screamers.
Joe Smiglicki 

Roswit
Vancouver, BC
For fans of: Tough Age, Supermoon, Wire

Deeply entrenched in Vancouver's DIY community, newly formed trio Roswit features members of Tough Age and Supermoon — a local lineage that can be felt in their thrumming post-punk basslines, spiky guitar strums and chipper, unvarnished melodies. With a curious medieval theme ("Duke's Song," "Peasant's Song," "Person's Song," etc.) and overdubs of flute, debut album Eternal Living is a feudal twist on classic rough-around-the-edges indie pop.
Alex Hudson

Saccharine
Toronto, ON
For fans of: Julia Jacklin, Mitski

If you are mourning a lost love or are touch starved, Toronto-based pop singer Saccharine's debut single "Foolishly" is a wistfully romantic song about longing for what could have been. A modern, nostalgic retelling of the Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice" told through the lens of a broken heart, the song blends grande melodies and moody instrumentation with sweet, sighing vocals and sincere lyrics evoking simple everyday pleasures like sunshine, film grain and soft cotton on bare skin. To all the hopeless romantic yearning to crush again, Saccharine is expected to release more music ahead of the new year.
Vernon Ayiku

Listen to tracks from these and other New Faves on our Spotify playlist: