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With so much new music arriving every week, finding the records that genuinely deserve your attention can sometimes feel like searching for a clear signal through the noise.
Bywater Call’s new album, Broken Souvenirs, is one of those records.
Released on July 29, 2026, the Canadian band’s fourth studio album is an 11-song collection that brings together Southern soul, blues, roots rock, Americana and contemporary R&B, while sounding confident enough not to worry too much about where one genre ends and another begins.
And perhaps that is one of the album’s strongest qualities.
You can put Broken Souvenirs on casually, but chances are it will not remain background music for very long. There is something in the way these songs are written, arranged and performed that repeatedly makes you turn your attention back to the speakers. A vocal phrase, a guitar line, a change in dynamics, the entrance of the horns or simply the emotional weight of a melody can make you stop what you are doing and listen properly.
In the constant flood of new releases, that is no small achievement.
At the centre of the Bywater Call sound remains Meghan Parnell’s extraordinary voice. Powerful when it needs to be, vulnerable when the song demands restraint, her singing carries much of the emotional character of Broken Souvenirs.
Around her, guitarist Dave Barnes and the rest of this seven-piece band create arrangements that are rich without becoming overcrowded. Slide guitar, keyboards, horns and an exceptionally solid rhythm section give the music plenty of colour, but the playing consistently serves the songs rather than drawing attention away from them.
That sense of musical chemistry has become one of Bywater Call’s defining characteristics. The band’s current line-up features Parnell on vocals, Barnes on guitar, Bruce McCarthy on drums and percussion, Mike Meusel on bass, Andrew Moljgun on keyboards, Stephen Dyte on trumpet and valve trombone, and Julian Nalli on saxophone.
The result is music that can move naturally from an intimate acoustic passage to a full-bodied soul arrangement, from blues-rock muscle to contemporary R&B, without ever sounding as though the band is deliberately ticking off styles.
Broken Souvenirs finds Bywater Call at perhaps their most adventurous and versatile.
The album draws from both classic and contemporary influences, with references ranging from Black Pumas and Alabama Shakes to Amy Winehouse, Shakey Graves and The Black Crowes, yet the end result remains recognisably Bywater Call.
Tracks such as “No One Else,” “Only” and “Hold Me Down” demonstrate the band’s ability to build infectious, groove-driven soul around modern production and songwriting, while other moments allow far more space for atmosphere and reflection.
One of the album’s most striking examples is “Is This Thing On?”
Built around acoustic guitar, strings and a remarkably exposed vocal performance, the song steps away from the bigger sound of the seven-piece band and lets the storytelling carry the weight. Its subject is particularly appropriate for anyone who creates music: the vulnerability of putting something deeply personal out into the world and wondering whether anybody is actually listening.
The sparse arrangement gives the song room to breathe, and it is exactly the kind of track that illustrates why Broken Souvenirs rewards attentive listening.
Elsewhere, the album moves comfortably through retro soul, roots rock, blues, Americana and more contemporary textures. The transitions work because the common thread is not a particular genre but the emotional conviction of the performances.
There is an important difference between music that sounds good and music that makes you want to know what happens next.
Broken Souvenirs frequently manages both.
The musicianship is obvious, but it never feels like a technical demonstration. The arrangements are sophisticated without sounding calculated. And even when the record is polished, there is enough humanity left in the performances to keep the listener emotionally involved.
That may be the best reason to recommend this album.
For anyone trying to discover genuinely good new music among the overwhelming number of releases appearing every day, Broken Souvenirs is well worth making time for. It is an album with enough immediate appeal to catch your ear, but also enough depth, detail and variety to reward repeated listening.
Sometimes a new record comes along and within the first few songs you realise that you are no longer simply hearing it in the background.
You have stopped to listen.
Broken Souvenirs is that kind of album.
Bywater Call are a seven-piece Southern soul and roots rock band from Toronto, Canada, led by vocalist Meghan Parnell and guitarist Dave Barnes.
Known for emotionally charged live performances and the interplay between all seven musicians, the band has developed an international following through extensive touring across North America and Europe. In 2025 alone, Bywater Call performed more than 130 shows across 11 countries.
Their music moves freely through blues, soul, roots rock, Americana and R&B, drawing inspiration from artists including The Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Otis Redding, Little Feat, Sly & The Family Stone and The Wood Brothers.
Their 2024 studio album Shepherd was selected by Classic Rock as its Blues Album of the Year, while the band has received three consecutive UK Blues Awards nominations for International Act of the Year. Their reputation has also been built on appearances at major festivals and events and performances alongside artists including Blackberry Smoke, Marcus King, Warren Haynes and others.
With Broken Souvenirs, Bywater Call continue that evolution with a record that places songs, emotion and ensemble playing above genre labels — and further establishes them as one of the most interesting bands currently working at the intersection of blues, soul and roots music.
A show that celebrates the fusion of blues and rock music, with songs from different genres, eras, and artists. Our DJ's spent many hours choosing music for you, from the vaults of Blues and Rock music history but also from the best of new releases.
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