Canadian independent artist and songwriter Tilsen shares “Train To Vienna,” a bittersweet and emotionally charged alt-pop single inspired by the true story of ending a relationship aboard a train bound for Vienna. Pairing intimate autobiographical storytelling with an arrangement that steadily expands into something bigger and more cathartic, the track captures the difficult realization that loving someone doesn’t always mean a relationship is healthy enough to survive.
While its title sounds like the setup for a film, its cinematic quality comes directly from real life. Turning the experience into a song allowed Tilsen to return to that pivotal moment with the distance necessary to see both sides of it, finding compassion and perspective within a decision that had initially been incredibly painful.
The setting is as literal as it sounds. While travelling by train to Vienna with her then-boyfriend, Tilsen reached a breaking point after realizing his insecurity had begun consuming too much of their relationship. Though she still cared deeply for him, she knew staying together was no longer right for either of them.
“The song captures that moment of knowing you have to leave someone even when you still care about them, and trusting that eventually, you’ll both be better off,” Tilsen explains.
That complexity is central to Tilsen’s approach to songwriting. Rather than reducing relationships to heroes and villains, she gravitates toward the complicated psychology behind the ways people love, hurt, need, and ultimately leave one another. “I’m rarely interested in making someone completely the villain or myself completely the victim,” she says. “Even in painful stories, I’m usually looking for some kind of understanding, growth or humanity.”
For “Train To Vienna,” that process was particularly collaborative. Tilsen wrote the song alongside Bryn McCutcheon and Kirstyn Johnson as well as Jules/444BOY, a close friend she met abroad who had been with her immediately before the fateful train ride and knew what was about to happen. Their proximity to the story helped transform an intensely personal memory into something larger and more universal.
The production follows a similar trajectory. Blending live instrumentation with electronic pop elements, the arrangement was designed to continually expand, allowing the intimate details of the verses to gradually give way to the scale and emotional release of a full-bodied pop record.
“We wanted the production to feel like it was continually expanding,” Tilsen shares. “I wanted it to feel organic and emotional without losing the scale and energy of a pop record.”
Ultimately, “Train To Vienna” isn’t about regretting a relationship or resenting the person left behind. Instead, it captures the courage required to recognize when love alone is no longer enough and to trust that walking away can sometimes be an act of compassion for everyone involved.
“I had a hard time leaving at the right time in previous relationships, but this time I really listened to myself,” Tilsen says. “I’m happy to have captured that moment for me.”Canadian independent artist and songwriter Tilsen shares “Train To Vienna,” a bittersweet and emotionally charged alt-pop single inspired by the true story of ending a relationship aboard a train bound for Vienna. Pairing intimate autobiographical storytelling with an arrangement that steadily expands into something bigger and more cathartic, the track captures the difficult realization that loving someone doesn’t always mean a relationship is healthy enough to survive.
The setting is as literal as it sounds. While travelling by train to Vienna with her then-boyfriend, Tilsen reached a breaking point after realizing his insecurity had begun consuming too much of their relationship. Though she still cared deeply for him, she knew staying together was no longer right for either of them.
“The song captures that moment of knowing you have to leave someone even when you still care about them, and trusting that eventually, you’ll both be better off,” Tilsen explains.
While its title sounds like the setup for a film, its cinematic quality comes directly from real life. Turning the experience into a song allowed Tilsen to return to that pivotal moment with the distance necessary to see both sides of it, finding compassion and perspective within a decision that had initially been incredibly painful.
That complexity is central to Tilsen’s approach to songwriting. Rather than reducing relationships to heroes and villains, she gravitates toward the complicated psychology behind the ways people love, hurt, need, and ultimately leave one another. “I’m rarely interested in making someone completely the villain or myself completely the victim,” she says. “Even in painful stories, I’m usually looking for some kind of understanding, growth or humanity.”
For “Train To Vienna,” that process was particularly collaborative. Tilsen wrote the song alongside Bryn McCutcheon and Kirstyn Johnson as well as Jules/444BOY, a close friend she met abroad who had been with her immediately before the fateful train ride and knew what was about to happen. Their proximity to the story helped transform an intensely personal memory into something larger and more universal.
The production follows a similar trajectory. Blending live instrumentation with electronic pop elements, the arrangement was designed to continually expand, allowing the intimate details of the verses to gradually give way to the scale and emotional release of a full-bodied pop record.
“We wanted the production to feel like it was continually expanding,” Tilsen shares. “I wanted it to feel organic and emotional without losing the scale and energy of a pop record.”
Ultimately, “Train To Vienna” isn’t about regretting a relationship or resenting the person left behind. Instead, it captures the courage required to recognize when love alone is no longer enough and to trust that walking away can sometimes be an act of compassion for everyone involved.
“I had a hard time leaving at the right time in previous relationships, but this time I really listened to myself,” Tilsen says. “I’m happy to have captured that moment for me.”
Alternative artist Em Armstrong returns with “Steal My Heart,” a sultry, energetic, and emotionally charged new single that captures the complicated aftermath of a breakup when someone who walked away suddenly wants back in. Driven by moody alternative production and Em’s powerhouse vocals, the track explores the tension between lingering attraction and hard-earned self-protection, turning emotional whiplash into something bold, direct, and cathartic.
Written in her early twenties following the end of a relationship, “Steal My Heart” came from the frustration of watching someone leave, only to return once Em had begun putting herself back together.
“You took my heart and shattered it, but now that I’ve fixed it, you want to steal it all over again,” she explains.
That push and pull sits at the centre of the song. Rather than romanticizing the possibility of reconciliation, “Steal My Heart” captures the uneasy realization that wanting someone back does not undo the damage already done. The title becomes both an accusation and a warning, reflecting the emotional contradiction of still feeling something for a person while knowing exactly what they are capable of taking from you.
Em first wrote “Steal My Heart” after winning She’s The One Canada, an opportunity that connected her with songwriter and producer Derek Hoffman. Their collaboration happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the pair to write remotely over Zoom.
“Derek sent me three instrumental snippets before the session and we just dove right in,” Em recalls. “It was a very therapeutic session that I have only replicated once before.”
For Em, instinctive honesty is less a stylistic choice than a guiding principle. Her songs function like open diary entries, capturing experiences as they felt in the moment rather than smoothing them into something safer or more palatable.
“I’m always going to write my truth,” she says. “My songs are like diary entries that I leave open on my nightstand so anyone can see how I’m feeling. I’d rather be open and honest than make things up when life is full of crazy stories.”
Continuing a run of adventurous standalone releases, Strange Plants unveil “You Say Falling,” a hypnotic and anthemic psych-pop single that challenges conventional ideas of success, stability, and what it means to truly thrive. Wrapped in dreamy melodies, bouncy rhythms, and the band’s signature blend of retro-pop hooks and psychedelic textures, the track offers an uplifting reminder that the lives others misunderstand are often the ones lived most authentically.
At its heart, “You Say Falling” is about embracing a path that may look unconventional from the outside. Rather than conforming to expectations, the song celebrates the freedom that comes from trusting your own instincts, even when others mistake that journey for failure.
“The idea is that what looks like falling to you is flying to me,” explains songwriter Matt Brannon. “It’s about living a life that might be uncomfortable for those who witness and don’t understand yet it’s how you thrive.”
That reversal of perspective forms the emotional core of the song. Instead of treating uncertainty as something to fear, Strange Plants present it as a source of possibility, reframing vulnerability as liberation. The result is a song that feels both reflective and quietly defiant, encouraging listeners to define success on their own terms rather than through someone else’s expectations.
Musically, “You Say Falling” continues the band’s distinctive sonic evolution. Rooted in retro-pop, indie, and psychedelic rock, the track balances infectious melodies with richly textured arrangements, blending vintage influences with a modern sensibility that feels unmistakably Strange Plants.
“Our sound is retro pop with lots of rock and psych influences,” Matt says. “There’s always a healthy dose of weird without robbing it of its fun and listenability.”
While “You Say Falling” stands confidently on its own, it also forms part of a growing body of work that may eventually become the band’s next full-length record. Together with their recent releases, it continues to expand Strange Plants’ kaleidoscopic musical world while pushing their songwriting into increasingly adventurous territory.
Canadian singer-songwriter Shiloh Lindsey shares “Failing Hail,” a tender, bittersweet, and quietly hopeful alt-country ballad drawn from one of the most personal moments on her forthcoming album, The Western Veil, set for release on November 6th, 2026. Blending the warmth of Canadiana, indie folk intimacy, and roots rock restraint, the single transforms a late-night message between siblings into a moving meditation on resilience, compassion, and the ways we carry one another through life’s darkest seasons.
The song began not with a guitar, but with a text message. While Shiloh was recovering from the devastating motorcycle accident that nearly claimed her leg, her oldest brother found himself awake at two in the morning wrestling with demons of his own. Hoping, as he later told her, to “fool them with some nicer thoughts,” he wrote a poem and sent it to his younger sister.
Deeply moved by his words, Shiloh eventually transformed the poem into a song. “It became about the quiet ways we carry one another through difficult times,” she explains, “Sometimes hope comes from someone else when you’re having trouble finding it yourself.”
Its title comes directly from one of the poem’s most striking images: The bad times will fail like melting hail. The metaphor immediately resonated with Shiloh, who saw something profoundly comforting in the idea that even life’s fiercest storms cannot last forever. “Hail can arrive violently and suddenly and feel overwhelming while you’re caught in it,” she says. “But it can’t sustain itself – it melts.”
That perspective makes “Failing Hail” unlike any other song in her catalogue. While much of Shiloh’s songwriting emerges from her own lived experience, this track began through someone else’s eyes. “I wanted to preserve the spirit and much of the language of what my brother originally sent me,” she explains. “It’s someone who loves me looking in from the outside and saying, ‘I see what you’re going through, and I believe you’re going to make it through.’”
The recording itself arrived just as unexpectedly. Originally absent from the sessions for The Western Veil, “Failing Hail” entered the picture after the band found themselves with unexpected studio time. Producer Jesse Waldman asked whether Shiloh had another song worth trying. The musicians had never rehearsed it together. Hearing the song for the very first time, they recorded only a handful of takes before discovering what would become the final performance.
“There was something really special about not having the chance to overthink it,” Shiloh recalls. “Everyone was simply listening to each other and responding to the song in the moment.” That spontaneity became central to the production. Rather than polishing away the imperfections, the band embraced the loose, organic performance, allowing warmth and emotional honesty to guide every decision. The understated arrangement leaves space for the lyrics to breathe, balancing melancholy with quiet optimism rather than dramatic catharsis.
David Diaz’s “Are We Gonna Talk?” began with a question that came from a very real place. After a friendship broke down and an attempt to ask for emotional support was met with silence, David found himself reflecting on a pattern of giving too much of himself to people who did not always give the same in return. Rather than leaving that frustration where it was, he turned it into a song, transforming hurt, anger and a few uncomfortable truths into something both personal and instantly relatable.
The video, however, takes that emotional story somewhere considerably more unexpected. Initially reluctant to make a video at all, David was persuaded by his friends and co-directors Abiesel “Abi” Baez and Kahlil Antonio to turn the song into an ’80s slasher movie, with David himself becoming the rather unlikely “Callback Killer.”
Shot over three days with a large cast and crew, the production became as much about collaboration and having fun as it was about telling the story. David describes the experience as feeling more like a camp getaway than a conventional music video shoot, with everyone from the directors and actors to the production and design teams contributing to the final result. Here, he talks about the personal experiences behind “Are We Gonna Talk?”, the unlikely inspiration for its horror-themed video, and why sometimes the best way to deal with being ignored is to become the killer everyone remembers.
Tell us the story of this song. Why did you choose to visualize the song specifically in this way?
“Are We Gonna Talk?” came from a falling out I had with a close friend of mine. Essentially, I came to understand that I was putting a lot more into the friendship than he was, and it wasn’t the first time that happened.
What initially brought everything on was that I was in a place where I needed something, and that one particular thing was just support. When I asked him for emotional support, it felt like it was too much or like I was an inconvenience to him, because when I asked him, he never answered me. Eventually, I found out he was prioritizing other things he thought were more important, and I felt like I wasn’t being prioritized.
In our relationship, I had given him a lot. I didn’t necessarily put everything on hold, but I did a lot for him and sacrificed a lot for him, and it just felt like he didn’t care about me at all. So I tried to reach out—nothing: no answer, no response, no conversation or explanation. I was completely in the dark.
At some point, I messaged him, “Are we gonna talk at all?” Still nothing. So I went home and made a song out of that line.
I felt like a complete idiot for putting myself in a position to be treated like that. It had happened to me a lot in the past because I was a people pleaser. I wanted people to like me, and I would do anything to try to keep them around, even if it hurt me. This was happening during a transitional period when I was starting to undo a lot of damage and unlearn things that didn’t benefit other people or me. So I got angry and made it into a song.
For the cover art and the general promotion, I knew I wanted it to be something along the lines of phones and people not getting a callback, and I wanted to be a little bit on the nose with it. Initially, it was going to be more modern—flip phones, smartphones, texting, whatever—but I was like, “That’s so boring.”
I want to say what I want to say, but I want to find a fun way to say it. If it’s going to be out there forever and people are going to hear this message, I think it’s more fun and more palatable for me, and hopefully for other people too, if it’s something familiar presented in a unique package. So, whenever you come back to it, see it or listen to it, you’re like, “Yeah, there’s that message that I know,” but you’re seeing it through this really unique, different lens of an ’80s world.
I really enjoy world-building, lore, and things like that, so that was really fun. My favorite color is blue, so I wanted to incorporate that into things too and put myself into the world.
It’s sort of a meta version of myself. It’s still David Diaz, the artist and the person, but more like a blank canvas so he can be whatever he needs to be for a particular song or situation. So yeah, it’s kind of me, but it’s also not at the same time. I had a lot of fun with it.
What was the inspiration behind this video? (visual, storyline, etc.)
I can’t take too much credit for the inspiration behind the video, because, initially, I didn’t even want to do a video for this song.
I usually find music videos to be very daunting and stressful. Even with shoots that I’ve really enjoyed in the past, they were still stressful for me because there’s so much involved and usually a very large crew. Mind you, these are amazing people who are so much more talented than I should be working with and have incredible vision and skill. It’s just such a different world for me. I appreciate it because I love films and movies, but these people actually know what they’re doing.
My friends and co-directors Abiesel “Abi” Baez and Kahlil Antonio came to me and asked, “If you were to do a music video for this song, what would you want to do?” And I was basically like, “I don’t really know.”
Then they said, “Okay, listen. Hear us out. What would you think about an ’80s slasher horror?”
And I was like, “Are you out of your f**king mind?” They know I hate scary movies. I can’t do anything involving supernatural horror because I will 100% get nightmares (I’m a lucid dreamer, so it makes them even a thousand times worse).
They were like, “Just think about it,” and I did. And I was basically like, “Yeah, no. Let’s do something else.”
Then, I think they showed me something, or showed me a plan with shots and different ideas, and somehow they managed to sell me on it, and I went through with it.
I remember one thing in particular. They were like, “Imagine this will technically be a sort of therapy for you.”
And I was like, “Uh, what do you mean?”
They said, “Instead of you being scared of anyone, you’ll be the one that’s scary.” And I was like, “You know what? I didn’t think about it like that. That’s actually funny.”
I’m so glad I listened to them because these guys absolutely know what they’re doing. They were incredible, and they came up with a lot of the story. I gave them the general direction I wanted and the inspiration behind some of the more specific parts of the story that inspired the song.
Even though the song was inspired by that one particular situation I mentioned, it’s happened to me multiple times with different people. So it’s really a collection of all of these different experiences. That’s why there are the friends who die and me as the killer – it’s the dramatization of the consequences of the actions of those particular people.
Visually, I really wanted to stick to the ’80s, and our entire production team did an amazing job. They were so much fun to be around and so much fun to watch and work with. I can’t wait to show everyone the behind-the-scenes footage, because what that place looked like before is absolutely not what it looked like during the shoot.
Abi and Kahlil came up with the rest of the sequence, the shot order, and everything along those lines. They would flesh everything out and run it by me. 99% of the time, I would approve everything on the first go because I really admire and respect their creativity and vision. I entertain it and run with it because I’ve learned to trust them and their process, and they’ve done the same with me.
They really understand me as a person, my art, and how I communicate artistically. I feel like we make a really good team, and I love working with them, even when it’s on fun little side projects that nobody might ever see, something you might see in the future, or things we’ve done in the past that I’m really happy we did.
I think this is the best thing we’ve done together, and I plan to work with them more in the future, whether it’s a music video or one of their projects, because they’re so much fun to be around and work with, and they’re awesome people overall.
The same goes for the crew and everyone they brought on and worked with on these projects. There’s a whole list of people who did amazing work on set during the video shoot, and I wish I could mention every single one of them by name here (which I will in the video credits, for sure). Abi and Kahlil were definitely the driving forces behind the storyline and the characters. Visually, I came in with ideas that the art and production design team, captained by the talented Ross Widener, brought to life so, so beautifully. Just wait until you see my blue scrapbook they made for the video; it’s hilarious.
What was the process of making this video?
The process of making the video was absolutely so much fun.
As I said before, we had already done multiple videos together, and I had done other videos before meeting them as well. The song itself had been finished for a long time, so by the time we started seriously talking about doing a video – and after they convinced me—we started booking everything far in advance.
Everything you see in the music video, including the location, was locked in about a year in advance. We had everything planned out to the day. We were ready.
They, along with my manager, Amanda Do Nascimento, got everyone on the crew on board, organized the schedule and logistics, and when we got there, it was a three-day shoot. Because we booked the location for multiple days, those of us who chose to stay could room there for the duration of the shoot, which was really cool. They were actual cabins that you could live in.
I really wanted to make sure that while we were shooting the video, everybody had a good time and that it was low-stress. I wanted it to feel more like a camp getaway than a job.
I was constantly taking people’s temperatures and asking how everybody was doing, if people were enjoying themselves, or if anybody was stressed out. Everyone kept saying they were having a really fun time, which I was relieved to hear.
Some people were coming off other shoots and really noteworthy projects, and working on some amazing things. They were tired or spent, and even though they still decided to come work on this, they were having a blast because the environment on set was very laid-back. That was really, really nice to hear, especially since I was internally freaking out because I felt responsible for everyone and everything. After all, my name was on it.
More than anything, I wanted everybody to feel comfortable and have a good time. I know this is a visual extension of my song, but I don’t have to make a music video. I’m doing it because it’s fun. After all, I love the art form and the medium, and I love the vision everyone brought to it.
Even though I’m responsible for the music, the song, and the basis of where the video came from, everything else is because of this crew, Abi, Kahlil, my manager, and every single person involved – from catering, to the production assistants, to people who came to visit, people running to get food or coffee, somebody getting me water, wardrobe, costuming, makeup—everyone. Everybody did such an incredible job, and I had such a blast. I’m so glad I got to meet everyone who was there. They all deserve so much credit.
The killing scenes were absolutely hilarious. Honestly, it wasn’t just those scenes—any time we were shooting, we would forget we were filming a music video because it started to feel like we were making an actual film. You’ll really see that more in the behind-the-scenes footage. These actors are screaming their heads off and acting their faces off. They did such an amazing job. If you muted the song and just listened to what was happening on set, it could have been a movie.
I absolutely want to highlight the actors because they were incredible and some of the most talented people I’ve worked with in my life. They brought so much life to these characters without having much to work with. Our main four are Carolina Lopez, who plays Gina, Jacob Stutchman, who plays Scooter, Marlene Zapien, who plays Wilma, and Sebastian Ortega, who plays Fernando, and then Joslyn Guzman and Christina Castillo play the other two characters, Daniela and Ellen, who get killed at the beginning of the video.
They all did an incredible job. They had to adapt and work through things with us at the last minute because we sometimes needed to change things around, and they were amazing. They also had fun with it, which was great, and they made really cool and funny choices that I’ll remember forever and always come back to the video to rewatch.
I also really want to highlight our director of photography, Carlos Irazabal. He did such an incredible job with these shots. I could not have asked for anything better visually. I don’t know anything about cameras, but Carlos absolutely knows what he’s doing, and he is so good and so talented. He’s also such a real person, and I could say the same about everybody else on the crew. Abi and Kahlil did such an incredible job directing everything together, and Carlos captured it all so beautifully. He really managed to let the characters shine and let the actors’ talents and interpretations come through. They took direction so well, and everyone did such an outstanding job.
I know this answer is already long (sorry), but everyone involved made this production what it was, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out. I feel so lucky to have been part of this production because of the people I got to work with. No artist can do something like this all alone. It takes a village, and everyone involved knocked it out of the park.
I’ll always remember the shoot fondly. At the end of every day, we would chill out, drink, eat, talk, be loud, and have a great time. Some of my favorite parts were sitting out in the grass or on the porch, stargazing, talking about life, hearing about projects everybody was working on and their passions, and just having a blast.
I hadn’t met some of these people before, so it was really cool to get to know them. It genuinely felt like a getaway—like camp, but no one gets murdered by the Callback Killer.
I felt like a kid again, if I were alive in the ‘80s, haha. It was the best.
There are some heartbreaks that linger long after the person who caused them has disappeared. For award-winning Americana/Folk-Pop singer-songwriter Randie O’Neil, that feeling became the inspiration behind her latest release, “Ghost of Me”, a haunting song about loss, loneliness and finding your way back to the part of yourself that can feel lost when someone walks away. Released today alongside its atmospheric new music video, the track finds Randie exploring the darker side of emotional abandonment while still holding on to the resilience that has become such a defining part of her songwriting.
The video was filmed at dusk in New Hope, Pennsylvania, a town with its own reputation for ghost stories, making it the perfect setting for a song about being haunted by someone who is no longer there. Walking through the fading light and shadows, Randie captures the searching quality of the song, while the visual echoes the emotional journey at its heart.
Randie has never been afraid to explore the experiences that shape us. Here, she talks about the personal story behind “Ghost of Me”, creating the video without her usual team, filming at dusk in one of Pennsylvania’s most atmospheric towns, and turning an experience of rejection and hurt into something hauntingly beautiful.
Tell us the story of this track. Why did you choose to visualise it specifically in this way?
I was literally ghosted on my birthday. I felt so empty and lost. You think you found someone, take that chance and they just can’t give it back.
What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
I just wanted it to be haunting, searching so we waited until dusk in New Hope PA (a truly haunted town).
What was the process of making the video?
I didn’t have my usual team so I took a chance and they were great. Two videos in one day. This was the end of the day dusk shot. Tried to emote as I walked. “Shadows know your name” is an angry line that he will get what’s coming.
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