Lots of breakup albums feature raw anger, hurt and regret, but has anyone ever written an opus about denial? Islands frontman Nick Thorburn spends A Sleep & A Forgetting (Anti-) tracing his hazy memories, trying to understand a pain he swears he’s forgotten. Tinged with lush Motown arrangements and indie-pop quirks, songs such as “Can’t Feel My Face” and opener “In A Dream It Seemed Real” revel in the tension between Thorburn’s brave-faced lyrics and sweeping melancholia. A Sleep is Islands’ most personal, relevant album yet.

Toronto band Elliott Brood bills its music as “death country,” but the three-piece’s third full-length is more listenable than ominous. An anthemic album ready-made for road trips, Days Into Years (Paper Bag) ditches the death rattle for palatable CanRock that’s still angry and solipsistic enough to feel sincere. “West End Sky” and “If I Get Old” warn of what will ...