Edmonton’s Forester returns with Young Guns, a raw and restless new EP anchored by the lead single “You Were Born.” Balancing turbulent punk energy with brooding alternative rock grit, the record captures a band looking back on their scars, mistakes, and fleeting nights with both urgency and tenderness. It’s a reflection of growth and survival – an unflinching portrait of who they were and how far they’ve come.

While “You Were Born” may be the EP’s most urgent cut, Young Guns as a whole is about much more than fighting for the light. Written and recorded across studios, apartments, and rehearsal spaces – sometimes years apart – the collection pieces together moments of clarity, pain, joy, freedom, turbulence, and regret into a raw document of becoming. “The weight of past mistakes, friendships, and fleeting nights feel a little heavier now,” pianist Keenan Gregory reflects. “Writing and releasing these songs is our way of keeping them alive just a little longer.”

“You Were Born” is a storm of words and emotions, written about how an argument can spiral past the point of no return, leaving wounds that linger long after the silence falls. “It’s about the instant you realize that a line has been crossed, and the heavy silence that follows when love and hurt collide,” Keenan shares. Fueled by jagged guitars, pounding drums, and a defiant vocal delivery, the track distills rage, regret, and resilience into three frantic minutes.

Sometimes, though, songs take years to reveal themselves. “‘You Were Born’ was one of those songs we had to wait for,” says Keenan. “The second verse was written over email almost five years after the rest of the track. We had wanted that section to lift, but were at a loss of how to do it until one day James [Banks] sent over a guitar riff and drum idea that set the pace. I responded with the piano part instantly, Wayne [Axani] had the vocal locked in, and suddenly it was alive. Despite this song having a long gap in between writing periods, once that new idea had sparked, the final piece of the puzzle came together within an hour or two.”

Listen in here: https://open.spotify.com/track/6NjuaUnqC9nkKJUzp9QnbY?si=736c1de023584c25&nd=1&dlsi=96b1067f32d647af

Toronto songwriter and composer Neil Haverty (frontman of alt-folk ensemble Bruce Peninsula, and composer of the Wildhood soundtrack) is back with “Some Days,” a soulful and synth-driven single that dives into the quiet pressures of daily life – the aspirations we wake up to, and the grace we need to let go when things don’t go to plan.

Hitting the sweet spot between indie soul, alt-R&B, and synth-pop, “Some Days” brims with cloud-busting strings from Mika Posen (Agnes Obel, Timber Timbre), broken arpeggiated synths, and “drunk” drums – all filtered through Haverty’s distinctive lens. Produced and mixed with Leon Taheny (Owen Pallett, Fucked Up), the track blends analog and digital textures, pairing brash yet soulful vocals with a groove that’s both unbothered and motivated.

“I wanted to acknowledge the patterns and discrepancies in how a person can approach each day,” Haverty explains. “Some days are just off. Other days are full of promise and brimming with energy. I’m always interested in the spectrum of variables underneath a topic, and mood is an especially broad playing field for that.”

Lyrically, “Some Days” sits in the space between self-discipline and self-trust, wondering whether today is one of those “rise to the challenge” days or a “stay in bed” one. “I sometimes like to remind myself that society doesn’t expect anything from me by default, except maybe that I get dressed before I leave my house,” Haverty elaborates. “When you reset the expectations of your day to just putting your clothes on, everything else you do from there is a bonus.”

Best known as the frontman of genre-bending choral collective Bruce Peninsula (5M+ streams, Polaris long-list), Haverty also works as a screen composer, recently earning a 2025 Canadian Screen Award nomination for his score to the doc series Who Owns The World. “Some Days” marks his third single of 2025, with a fourth on the way in October.

• WATCH THE OFFICIAL “SOME DAYS” LYRIC VIDEO HERE •
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj5K_IHUo_0

Toronto’s The Holy Gasp return with the video premiere for “Out of the Hands of the Wicked,” an award-winning live action puppet musical drawn from their critically acclaimed 2023 orchestral album …And the Lord Hath Taken Away. Rooted in good ol’ fashioned southern gothic, porch-stompin’ devil music, the track blends old time-y folk Americana, gospel fervor, and theatrical storytelling into something at once darkly comic and deeply human.

The cinematic counterpart for “Out of the Hands of the Wicked” has already racked up an impressive string of accolades on the festival circuit, including Best Music Video at the Regina International, Best Film Music at the Paris Film Art Festival, Audience Choice Award at Tiny Mountains Film Festival (Australia), and a Best Film Score nomination at Blood in the Snow. As Grimoire of Horror predicted, “it is the creativity and the memorability of [Benjamin] Hackman’s performance as Pa that are going to win this short some awards” – and they were right!

Lyrically, the song is part of composer Benjamin Hackman’s deeply personal reckoning with grief, conceived in the wake of losing his father, psychotherapist, best friend, and brother-in-law in quick succession. Seeking to comprehend such stacked tragedy, Hackman turned to the biblical Book of Job, mining its framing narrative to probe the age-old question: why do bad things happen to good people? “I’ve yet to meet a person incapable of seeing their own suffering in the Book of Job,” Hackman says. “These sorts of complex concurrent tragedies force us to take stock of reality, question what is right and holy, and perhaps ponder, too, whether some cruel puppetmaster is not manipulating our lives for the entertainment of a small group of celestial psychopaths.”

The video itself tells the story of a family of southern dustbowl puppets. After a harrowing journey home from hell, their patriarch, Pa, boasts of his triumph over evil and how he came to lock the devil in his heart. Against the protests of his family, Pa must return from whence he came to save the ones he loves from the hands of the wicked. But though his family may be safe from evil, how far does any one man get with the devil locked inside his heart? The piece captures the razor-thin line between tragedy and comedy, lacing Hackman’s cathartic songwriting with the gallows humour that’s become a hallmark of The Holy Gasp.

“...a delightfully subversive and entertaining romp.”

– Mary Ellen Cliff, Festival Director of the Makers’' Film Festival

Watch the video HERE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMel8zJdJ9I&feature=youtu.be

Pacific Northwest-based Americana duo Duke & Goldie return with “West End Queen (Abattoir)” – a free-spirited, heartfelt track inspired by the chaotic beauty of life in one’s early twenties. Blending warm folk storytelling with a mystical country twang, the single celebrates resilience, self-worth, and the power of community that lifts us up.

“I was living in Montreal, then Toronto, when I met Eric ‘the Duke’ Duquette – figuring out life as a young woman trying to build a stronger sense of self, community, and independence,” says Jena “Goldie” Gogo. “The verses reflect on my own life experiences and meeting Eric as he was also coming of age. The choruses feel like I’m looking back and singing to my friends from that time, as much as to a younger version of myself. It was a time of searching for purpose while also navigating love and desire.”

The song’s original working title, “Abattoir” (French for slaughterhouse), was meant to capture the emotional intensity of those years, but ultimately “West End Queen” won out, in tribute to the vibrant Toronto neighbourhood and chosen family that inspired the song’s heart: “It’s a great way to describe how powerful it felt to realize you can lift others up who might be struggling to see themselves the way you see them and, likewise, lift yourself up.”

Recorded with acclaimed producer Erik P. H Nielsen (City and Colour, Blue Moon Marquee), who also mixed and played bass, alongside musicians Scott Smith, Darryl Havers and Leon Power, “West End Queen (Abattoir)” almost didn’t make it onto the record. “We weren’t sure it would make the cut amongst the other tunes we were ready to record with our limited studio time,” Goldie admits. “But when we mentioned maybe not recording it, everyone in the room said, ‘What do you mean we might not do this one? It’s way too fun not to!’”

Listen to “West End Queen (Abatoir)” HERE
https://open.spotify.com/album/0UB1d5HW9rHaSpRgOhgESp?si=tAXaGL4HT2yP2lTP1pvcOA

Willem James Cowan’s new single, “You Will (A Brief Reminder to Look Up),” is a warm, Laurel Canyon–inspired ode to optimism – a gentle reminder that no matter how heavy life feels, things will get better. Breezy yet reflective, the track blends folk, rock, singer/songwriter, and Americana influences to create an uplifting space that feels both timeless and personal.

The spark for the song came in an unlikely place – a movie theatre. “A couple months after ending a long-term relationship, my brother and I went to see the movie Beau is Afraid,” Cowan recalls. “The movie as a whole didn’t have a huge impact on me, but I was really inspired by the dream sequence about three-quarters of the way through where a woman is prophesying a character’s life. Each sentence starts with the phrase ‘you will’ as she details the events to come, and I really liked the way it sounded. I had to pull my phone out and write the idea down (against theatre etiquette – sorry everyone). I went home and wrote the lyrics with the same idea. This song is a reminder to myself and others that no matter how down you feel, things will get better.”

From a production standpoint, Cowan set out to capture the comforting, easygoing essence of the Laurel Canyon scene of the ’60s. “There’s something really comforting and easy about a lot of those records and I wanted to capture that too. It’s definitely lighter and breezier than anything I’ve released before. Less wordy, maybe. I’m not usually so optimistic in my writing, so I wanted the production to reflect that.”

The song’s standout moment for Cowan is a personal one: a clever Joni Mitchell reference in the second verse. “It’s specific to someone in my life and a little more personal than I usually get. I like a lot of the lyrics in this song, though. It’s easy to get corny with songs in this theme, and I think I rode that line pretty well.”

Listen in here: https://open.spotify.com/track/5ByO0pwJhLjlHA3wyjB9jn?si=4b3a14fadc38429c

Toronto-based trio Next Week’s Washing make a bold statement with “Empty Pages,” their expansive, genre-blending new single. Drawing on elements of shoegaze, Britpop, and alternative rock, the track combines a nostalgic emotionality with forward-looking sonic ambition – pairing shimmering walls of guitar with front-and-centre, harmony-laced vocals. It’s a huge, euphoric number from a band you didn’t know you needed until now.

Written during their earliest sessions as a group, “Empty Pages” helped solidify the band’s collaborative spark. “It started with a nostalgic chord progression, and we built everything else around that feeling,” they explain. Lyrically, the track reflects on the idea of potential and perspective by seeing life’s “Empty Pages” as either a void or an invitation.

Engineered by Dylan Frankland (Tallies) and mastered by Noah Mintz, the song also highlights a rare sibling harmony moment between members Miles and Julian Duffy in the chorus, adding an emotional layer to the band’s widescreen sound.

Listen in here: https://open.spotify.com/album/6RrEnQsgmcfUDIVSxRAAlI?referral=labelaffiliate&utm_source=1011lBAS4W38&utm_medium=Indie_Distrokid&utm_campaign=labelaffiliate

Toronto’s No Breaks Jake returns with “I Don’t Want to Be Like Me,” a volatile, slow-burning alt-rock track that grapples with identity, guilt, and the longing for self-reinvention. It’s a heavy, emotional unraveling – one that begins in quiet vulnerability and erupts into a wall of fuzzed-out guitar riffs, cathartic screams, and sky-is-falling chaos.

The single marks a thematic cornerstone of No Breaks Jake’s upcoming Amygdalan EP, setting the tone for a project that doesn’t shy away from the harder truths. “This song evokes a state of mind that, honestly, I’m trying to leave behind,” says bandleader Jacob Kassay. “Actually doing that is definitely a little harder.”

Written and self-produced in Toronto, the song evolved through a dozen different iterations and multiple structural overhauls before landing in its final form. “It was all about telling the story effectively,” says Kassay. “I love how it builds from something intimate and restrained into a screaming mess. There’s something satisfying about it all coming apart.”

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J84eBVp6C4M&feature=youtu.be

Toronto alt-punk rockers Excuses Excuses return with “Nothing At All,” an anthemic, defiant, and raw rallying cry that questions the impact of social media on our increasingly divided world. The track cuts through the noise to encourage listeners to reject the curated smokescreens algorithms present and reclaim an honest, individual perspective on life.

Delivering a searing commentary on conformity, the emptiness of regurgitated online opinions, and the loss of original thought in the digital age, “Nothing At All” serves as a reminder that we don’t need to feed into the game that media and politics try to push on us – we still have a chance to be ourselves and to be united in this world.

“‘Nothing At All’ directly calls out the effects of social media on our brains and the flaws in our resulting actions as a society,” explains guitarist/vocalist Kyle C. Wilton. “Though a lot of people either don’t see it or choose not to realize it, the truth is that we have been changed by this modern way of life. I think this song sheds a much needed light on the reality of the situation.”

At its core, “Nothing At All” is about breaking the cycle – refusing to be just another voice in the echo chamber, and instead striving for a more positive, authentic, and united future.

Listen to “Nothing At All” HERE: https://open.spotify.com/album/06pfpVISfLvOOnBKRejJHK

Following the genre-defying sonic pivot marked by Beautiful Music and its remix sibling The Ruined Version—featuring collaborators like Shad, Saukrates, Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene), Moka Only, and Aquakultre—July Talk’s Danny Miles returns with a bold and sweaty new direction on his latest single, “All We Do Is Party!”
With this gritty, explosive track, Miles channels the wild abandon of the indie sleaze era and throws down a dance-punk anthem that’s equal parts chaotic and calculated. Imagine a basement party where Le Tigre and Jay Reatard meet up for a drink, and you’re halfway there.

The song’s foundation came from a completely different vibe: an indie disco version with a different bassline and beat. But something didn’t feel right—so Miles scrapped it, re-tracked the live drums, and turned the track into the raw, unruly monster it is now. The vocals stayed the same, but everything else snapped into place, harder and sweatier.
And those gang vocals chanting “P.A.R.T.Y.”? That’s all Danny. Every layer. Every shout.
“It sounds like a crowd, but it’s just me in the studio,” he says.

“I wanted to make a party anthem. I love indie sleaze era music and I was inspired to make something dirty and fun,” explains Miles. “I even pulled an AC/DC move and named the track after the chorus line—something you can scream and chant with your friends.”

Listen in here: https://open.spotify.com/album/3farHCCtddSnBUPtOrhTqc?si=jaFCjteMSAmAPSIpiYs9QQ&nd=1&dlsi=34f3eb9ed7e042de

Where do your thoughts go when the lights are out? In her deliriously raw new single, “Cold Little Fingers,” Hamilton-based indie rock artist Lisa SQ invites listeners into the restless space between dreaming and waking – a late-night freak-out where whispered voices, pounding hearts, and childhood boogeymen dance together in the dark.

“Cold Little Fingers” is where the shivers hide. “Cold Little Fingers” is tossing and turning. “Cold Little Fingers” is a dizzying whisper. “Cold Little Fingers” is making friends with the monsters under your bed. “Cold Little Fingers” is a late night thought spiral. “Cold Little Fingers” is trying to keep your composure on the verge of a meltdown.

Watch the official music video HERE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S7NVJwf6_0

The song’s inspiration came from Lisa SQ’s own life: her partner’s habit of talking, laughing, and flailing in his sleep. “I regularly wake up to him mid-conversation with me, unsure if he’s asleep or awake,” she says. “While disorienting in the moment, I find the whole thing pretty sweet and funny.”

Recorded live off the floor at Toronto’s Dwaynespace with an all-star crew of friends, the track captures the exhilarating chaos of a night terror in progress. Producer Tyler Kyte (Dwayne Gretzky) amped up the BPM to a heart-racing tempo, with drummer Michael Brushy (Dwayne Gretzky) delivering pulse-pounding beats, bassist Dave Dalrymple (Wax Atlantic) steering the track into Strokes-esque territory, and guitarist Jimmy Hayes (Harlan Pepper, Deseronto) slicing through with frantic, sharp-edged riffs. Engineered and mixed by Ian Docherty (July Talk), the result is a playful, panicked burst of indie rock energy.