Mellow Montreal pop band Tops is at a tentative level of success where everyone I know seems to have heard of them, but no one can really say where they came from. I latched onto 2014’s Picture You Staring through some friends in Detroit (there’s a strong love between Detroit and Montreal right now) and wore that smooth, Julee Cruise-esque record right out. I recommend listening to Tops at magic hour, while walking around and petting neighborhood cats. It’s a good situation.
Tops occupies an unusual spot in Canadian indie pop. They’re signed to Arbutus—a great Canadian record label that introduced fans to Grimes and Lydia Ainsworth—but their labelmates are primarily electronic or experimental artists. Tops is kind of an aberration, a traditional indie-pop band among ravers.