By Colin 
Kanadia have unveiled their latest single ‘I Can’t Feel The Sunlight’, taken from their forthcoming third album The Fire That’s Tearing Through Our Home, which arrives on 26 September.
The Oxford alternative rock band have never been afraid to stretch their sound, and this track shows them at their most uplifting. Propulsive and shimmering, it carries the same expansive energy as The War On Drugs with the bite of Wolf Alice, but it still feels entirely their own.
Frontman James Bettis explains: “This track feels like the most uplifting moment on our upcoming album. I remember staying up all night experimenting with these chords which had this hopeful, open quality to them. A lot of our songs have been born out of wrestling with mental health, using music as a kind of sounding board to process the weight of things. But with this one I felt something different – like I could finally let go, a sort of ‘what will be, will be’ feeling.”
That sense of release runs right through the track. Where past Kanadia songs have often leaned into heavier atmospheres, ‘I Can’t Feel The Sunlight’ glows with brightness and defiance. James admits it marked a turning point for the band: “Something I really needed to learn was that there are a lot of things in life you can and can’t control, and this song was my way of telling myself that. It also became a turning point for us creatively. With Chris Barker guiding the production, we discovered a new dynamic that gave the song its airy, uplifting energy.”
A glimpse of what’s to come
The single offers a taste of The Fire That’s Tearing Through Our Home. Recorded at Evolution Recording Studios in Oxford with production from Willie J. Healey’s guitarist Chris Barker, and mixed by Tom Leach (Lewis Capaldi, Pa Salieu, Spiritualized) at Snap Studios in London, the album promises a huge sonic journey.
It’s the band’s third record, and it brings together everything they’ve been building towards: Melissa Marshall on synths and keys, Tim Lucas on drums, and Everton Barbato on bass all adding depth to James’s songwriting. The result is a collection that blends dreamlike textures, huge hooks, and melodies that move between haunting introspection and cathartic release.
This is a band that can sound expansive and intimate at the same time. The record looks set to explore the fragility and beauty of human emotion across its 50-minute span, with songs that invite listeners into both the quietest corners and the biggest stages.
Review
‘I Can’t Feel The Sunlight’ is nothing short of dazzling. From its first chord it shimmers, full of life and movement, driving forward on a rhythm that feels unstoppable. James delivers the vocal with conviction, his voice carrying both the weight of experience and the lightness of letting go.
The chorus is huge – one of those hooks that instantly takes hold and demands to be sung back at full volume. With Barker’s production giving it space to breathe and shine, every detail feels carefully placed yet effortlessly alive.
It’s also strikingly honest. Kanadia don’t gloss over the struggles that inspired the song, but they don’t get bogged down in them either. Instead, they’ve created something defiant, hopeful, and quietly celebratory.
If this is the most uplifting moment on the album, then listeners can expect The Fire That’s Tearing Through Our Home to hold contrasts just as striking. With dreamlike textures, massive hooks, and a voice that cuts through with conviction, ‘I Can’t Feel The Sunlight’ offers a clear glimpse of what’s ahead.
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