Kyle Riabko — The EP (Aware/Columbia/Sony) Remember his name. Just 16-years-old, this Saskatoon-based destined teen heartthrob sings, composes and plays guitar beyond his years. A singer-songwriter in the purest form (think James Taylor), the skinny white kid has also got the soul. The EP is just a teaser (a full album is due by year’s end), as he builds a fan base this summer by touring. The six songs are spare and unembellished from the bluesy piano ballad “Half As Much” to the funky “Estrogen”. “Carry On” is the single — and would sound awesome with a gospel choir. Starfield (Sparrow/CMC) Produced by Matt Bronleewe (Natalie Imbruglia, dc talk), the Winnipeg band’s label debut is filled with catchy, harmony-driven pop-rock songs, many re-recorded from its independent album, Tumbling After, which sold 15,000 copies in Canada. With the exception of a couple of tracks such as the first single, “Filled With Your Glory,” one would never know that frontman Tim Neufeld is singing about his love of God; it could be a woman. “Ordinary Life” has the best shot at mass crossover appeal. Social Code — A Year At The Movies (Interscope/Universal) Formed in 1999, the Edmonton act originally called Fifth Season has developed into quite an impressive band. Mainly produced by Jeff Blue, Social Code’s former A&R guy, with two songs by Howard Benson (P.O.D., Mötörhead), “I’ll Miss You Forever” could be what “Perfect” became to Simple Plan — big! But SOCO is a heavy modern rock band, not punk-pop. The songs range from the bouncy rager “Beautiful” to the unique cover of Icicle Works’s “Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly),” the band’s first single, all voiced by Travis Nesbitt’s emotionally-charged melodic scream.
Rye — Wolves (MapleMusic/Universal Music Canada) Moist/David Usher bassist Jeff Pearce trades in the four-string for guitar and steps in as the frontman. He recruits guitarist Sean Kelly and drummer Steve Nunnaro (both of Crash Kelly) and Toronto bassist Robert Shaw to realize his solo dream. From the slamming “Alcohol And Nicotine” and catchy “Radio One” to the gentler “Tip Of My Tongue” and “Empires”, Pearce has a voice that works on softer cuts and the bottle-to-the-head ones. “If Its True” is the stand-out. Like the whiskey, Rye is straight up and potent. Keshia Chanté (UOMO/ViK./BMG Music Canada) The 15-year-old R&B-pop singer from the nation’s capital has already had hit singles with the Shawn Desman reply “Shook (The Answer)” and apologetic “Unpredictable”. The first official single from her self-titled debut album is “Bad Boy” and was written by Desman and his producers, Perry Alexander and Rupert Gayle, as was the sentimental ballad “Little Things” which is a simple stunner. On another track, “Does He Love Me”, featuring Foxy Brown, Chanté herself gets a writing credit. And what does she write about? Typical teenage fare — boys, boys, boys. The Rumours — The Mighty Can Fall (Switchblade/Universal Music Canada) The female-dominated retro-metal band was the winner of the Future Shop and Universal Music Future Stars grant at CMW 2003. Coming out full-force on “Fight,” The Rumours also get into radio-palatable Bif Naked territory with “Hotwire,” while “April” has a fifties do-wop vibe. The band can be nasty, fierce, and just a little bit ugly inside, but it’s strong and knows what it wants. And, yes boys, the three gals are very cute.