Here we go! Part THREE of my Favorite Albums Series!

I’m just gonna start diving into each album from here on out!

This time – I’m sharing three more of my fav albums! And bonus – they’re all Canadian!

The Trews – Time Capsule – 2016

Back in 2003, The Trews released their debut album ‘House of Ill Fame,’ and I was immediately excited. The two stand out track – ‘Not Ready to Go’ and ‘Tired of Waiting’ – were phenomenal then and remain phenomenal now.

For whatever reason, I stopped listening to them for over a decade. It wasn’t until 2014’s self-titled album that returned me to being a huge fan. The lead single of ‘The Trews,’ titled ‘Rise in the Wake’ had me grinning like a maniac. Featuring amazing guitar work, a huge sing-along chorus and as close to an Alternative Canadian Rock Breakdown as you can get, the track had me exploring all of their music I’d missed while not listening to them.

Then, in 2016, they released a ‘Best Of’ titled ‘Time Capsule,’ and though it may seem like a cop out to choose a ‘Best Of’ on a list of fav albums, this collection has everything magnificent the band did up until that year. Their latest album, ‘The Bloody Light,’ just came out in October of 2025 and songs like ‘Manifest’ and the title track indicate we should be getting many more years of phenomenal tunes from this band.

Stand out tracks – ‘Not Ready to Go,’ ‘Tired of Waiting,’ ‘Paranoid Freak,’ ‘Sing Your Heart Out.’

Live – Yes! July 1st, 2017! And the reason for me remembering that exact day is because for Canada Day, my father-in-law, my son and I went to Spruce Grove and watched them perform for free for the Canada Day celebration. It was Auryn’s first concert and The Trews put on a simply amazing show!

Sam Roberts – Lo Fantasy – 2014

Much like The Trews, Sam Roberts debut album ‘We Were Born in a Flame’ also came out in 2003. And much like with The Trews, I loved Sam’s debut instantly. Hearing ‘Brother Down’ for the first time sold me and made me a lifelong fan. Between the lyrics, the music and the music video of Sam in a boat on wavy waters, I couldn’t get enough.

Fast forward and when ‘Lo Fantasy’ was released, I couldn’t stop listening to it. This was the album I was listening to when we found out my wife was pregnant and to this day I remember driving to all of the check up appointments with this album playing. Each song is an earworm and each song will make you bob your head and sing along.

Stand out tracks – ‘We’re All in this Together,’ ‘Metal Skin,’ & ‘Chasing the Light.’

Live – Yes! Edmonton has an annual festival called K-Days and I think it was 2018 when Sam Roberts performed there. It was such an amazing concert.

The Glorious Sons – A War On Everything – 2019

How’s this for connectivity? When The Glorious Sons debut album came out, the guitar player from The Trews produced their ‘Union’ album. Fast forward and in 2025, the singer and guitar player of TGS produced The Trews newest album. Cool eh?

Considering my love for Canadian music, TGS came onto my radar shamefully late. It was only a few years ago that I heard their song ‘S.O.S. (Sawed Off Shotgun)’ on the local radio station, THE BEAR here. I checked out more of that album and loved the songs ‘Everything Is Alright’ and ‘Comedown.’ Then, in 2023, their album ‘Glory’ was released and that album is near perfect. Songs such as ‘Mercy, Mercy,’ ‘Cellular,’ ‘Speed of Light’ and ‘You Stay Young,’ are magnificent and I’m constantly going back to that album, as it’s so good. But for some reason, I never checked out 2019’s ‘A War On Everything’ until early this year. Not sure why I never got around to listening to it, but as soon as I did, I was blown away. To me, this is their best album (so far) and I’ve probably listened to it close to a dozen times a week since I snagged the CD some months back. The song mix on this album are both a perfect example of the high energy tunes they write, but also the emotional, atmospheric music they create.

Songs such as ‘A War On Everything,’ ‘Wild Eyes,’ ‘One More Summer,’ ‘These Wicked Things,’ & ‘Pink Motel’ are some of the best songs you’ll ever hear.

Stand out tracks – ‘A War On Everything,’ ‘Wild Eyes,’ & ‘Pink Motel.’

Live – Sadly, no. I’m hopeful that they’ll be here again next summer as over the last few years they’ve played five or six times in and around Edmonton, but for various reasons I just haven’t managed to get to a show.