This week's picks: Madison Galloway, Chris Corey, Softlung, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Built to Spill

We're using this end-of-year time, when the record labels pause their releases, to catch up on some music we've missed in recent months, and to check out some new and emerging artists.

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Madison Galloway: The River

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We're catching up with this emerging roots-rocker from Fergus, Ontario. At 22, Galloway already has played hundreds of shows, including numerous festivals, and is preparing her second album for release early in the new year. This single combines bluesy guitar-rock with a prog-like bridge and a mystical lyric about learning lessons of history from a river goddess.

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Chris Corey: Storms We Face

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This new artist splits his time between his native Ontario and Western Canada, where he’s working on his debut album. He says the collection, to be released in a few months, "is really a mixed bag," combining strains of rock, pop, blues, country, folk and new wave. This single is billed as "a lush blend of 80’s-inspired synth hooks mixed with punchy guitars and sweeping melodies." It builds into a stadium-ready anthem.

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Softlung: The Other Side

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This is the second single from the latest project by songwriter-musician-producer S.J. Kardash. He was touring the world as the bassist for hard-rock band Reignwolf when the pandemic shut that down. "Picking up an acoustic guitar and looking inward, he began writing and recording in solitude," according to his publicity. "New songs poured out quickly." He tells Canadian Beats that this one was "written about feeling like the supporting character in your own story ... and realizing we’re all just trying to figure out our own script. And sometimes, to keep moving forward, we just need to tear it all up and start again."

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Tedeschi Trucks Band: Soul Sweet Song

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We don't do end-of-the-year "Best" lists, but the four-part I Am the Moon album has to be near the top of any ranking of 2022 rock releases. Songs from each part have been in our New Music bin through the year, and now we're adding one more from the fourth part, Farewell, released in September. As AllMusic wrote, the track "starts with rumbling congas, Gabe Dixon's piano, and Derek Trucks' slide guitar. [Susan] Tedeschi and Mike Mattison sing in resonant harmony about how the spirits of the dead leave indelible marks on those who remain, as lithe horns frame them."

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Built to Spill: Spiderweb

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When The Wind Forgets Your Name is the latest LP from the project headed for some 30 years by singer-guitarist Doug Martsch. Pitchfork writes that the "whole album is dotted with cool surprises," and that this track "gives way to one spirited twist after another ... with a generosity of intricately plotted melodies."