The rapidly changing modern world in which we are beginning to question what it means to be human proves the perfect inspiration for one of 2026’s album of the year contenders.
By Graeme Smith
Digital spaces, artificial intelligence, a growing polarisation and atomisation of society keep a lot of us awake at night, no-one more than creatives. Advances in technology threaten their very existence, and those making art find themselves having to adapt quickly.
It’s no surprise that in this part of the 21st century, the topic looms large in music. I’ve heard plenty ruminating on it, but none more powerfully than Canadian alt-rock quartet Awake & Dreaming.
Their new record Inevitable is a very deliberate one. Written with a ‘vinyl mindset’ it’s an album rather than a collection of singles. It demands to be listened to from start to finish so that one can follow its arc from being ‘part of the machine’ to wonder and possibility.
Opening track I U Me has a slow-burning intro and fiery, anti-establishment message, recalling the work of Radiohead. It sets the scene nicely, not only giving us a sense of what’s to come compositionally, but also thematically.
Awake & Dreaming shrewdly spotlight their singer and keyboardist Sasha Kristoff in their marketing and socials, and listening to Inevitable, you understand why. It’s her voice that truly grabs you throughout as she delivers the lyrics with an understated passion. Stripped back moments like Old Ghosts feel intimate, introspective, and confessional and it’s that voice that keep us engaged.
The band mixes textures and emotions beautifully as the album progresses. Rewire ups the pace before slowing things back down for some reflective melancholy. Lead single Underwater (out 18 September) combines the gentle and devastating expertly.
Can’t Sleep is a powerful ballad that proves a late album highlight. Event Horizon provides a final lingering moment where the band leave it all out there. The isolated vocals in the first half are striking, and the band wisely leave us wanting more as the calculated climax fades out.
Awake & Dreaming are an act who have built themselves on a theme of duality and you hear that in their new album. It’s an interesting, subtly varied, honest record with a distinct and relevant point of view. That’s why it’s an album of the year contender for me.
If you want to keep up to date with the band, you can by heading to their website, and by following them on Instagram, Spotify, YouTube, and TikTok.
Mixed by Jay Dufour (9× Juno, July Talk) and mastered by João Carvalho (Rush, The Tragically Hip), Inevitable is out on 16 October 2026. You can pre-order it here.