Hamilton, Ontario singer-songwriter and guitarist Matty Simpson shares “Boxcar Baby,” a melancholic and introspective folk rock single rooted in empathy, observation, and the quiet resilience of people surviving on the margins. Blending organic roots instrumentation with vivid storytelling, the track paints a portrait of loneliness and perseverance while reflecting on the fragile balance between hardship and hope.

Inspired by real interactions in his neighbourhood, “Boxcar Baby” emerged from Simpson’s reflections on the bottle collectors and unhoused individuals he encountered regularly. “Songwriting is a cathartic experience for me, and events and situations that are happening in my daily life often come out when I’m writing,” he explains. “This song portrays a vagrant type character living in desperation.”

The title itself carries symbolic weight. Drawn from a spontaneous lyrical phrase that surfaced during one of Simpson’s meditative songwriting sessions, “Boxcar Baby” references a Great Depression-era term for train hoppers searching for a better life. “Often lines in songs just come out of me, making up sounds and words in a meditative-like state when playing my guitar,” Simpson says. “When I look back on what I was doing, I can get pieces of the puzzle that I’m putting together.”

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically? 

This song is for the restless wanderers. It’s a tribute to the legends of train hoppers that fought for a better life during the Great Depression. It’s an acknowledgment of the resilience and desperation carried by those hiding out in the dark corners of the world; in the broken buildings and lonely alleys; living in uncertainty, with deep longing and tireless dreams of hope and love.

We chose to visualize this song specifically because the imagery and the lyrics portray a vagrant type character and a very specific time period that we were inspired by in the moment, that we felt we could recreate. Hamilton has a lot of railroads and scenic spots that we could choose from that lent itself to the theme of our video and song. 

2. What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)? 

We wanted to make it look like it was from the time of the Great Depression. We had also just recently watched the movie, “Sinners”, and were inspired by the visuals and wardrobes of that film, which we tried to recreate ourselves the day of the shoot. 

We drove around town and chose the settings that we used because they were exactly what we had imagined when envisioning the background of the video. Hamilton has a lot of beauty and character, which we were able to capture. There are also a lot of train tracks and great spots to choose from for capturing railroad visuals, so we had a lot of fun playing with that. We also wanted to include some older train footage to pay homage to the era we were referencing, as well as keeping with the theme of making the video look like it was from a specific time period. 

3. What was the process of making this video?

We wanted to keep the video low budget, and so we used an iPhone camera to capture the whole video ourselves. We shot it vertically and initially thought it was a mistake, but then chose to run with it and really liked how it turned out. We scoured through old footage of train videos that were from days gone by, that we picked and chose parts of to insert into the video to add some action between scenes and make it more visually exciting. Overall, we are very happy with how the whole thing turned out!

Montreal-based multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Alanna Sterling (they/them) shares “Down,” an energetic and emotionally charged pop/indie rock single that transforms a moment of uncertainty into one of resilience and release. Upbeat, empowering, and full of forward momentum, the track captures the strange clarity that can emerge when everything seems to be falling apart at once.

Inspired by a real-life experience while travelling, “Down” began after Alanna found themselves stranded and alone with a dead phone battery, no money, and no way to reconnect with friends. Armed with only a skateboard and guitar, they sat outside a strip mall busking for spare change before being confronted by police and threatened with a hefty fine for performing on private property.

“After reviving my phone, I called my friends, found a secluded area under a palm tree, and wrote the whole song in 15 minutes while I waited for them to pick me up,” Alanna explains. “My songs come from an emotionally charged space, so when I feel intense emotions, I get them out in a song to process.”

That immediacy pulses throughout “Down.” Rather than dwelling in frustration or defeat, the track channels instability into movement, balancing emotional honesty with uplifting energy. Bright instrumentation and driving rhythms mirror the feeling of pushing forward through uncertainty, while Alanna’s vocal performance carries both urgency and optimism.

The song’s official music video expands on that rebellious spirit. Since the opening lyric references “the coast of California,” Alanna felt it was only right to film the video there, bringing the song’s imagery to life against a fitting backdrop. The visual was created alongside longtime filmmaker friends Courtney and Ashley, collaborators Alanna first connected with through Twitch years earlier.

“I raised several thousand dollars to finance it during my eighth anniversary Twitch stream marathon,” she shares. “The fans were so eager to see their favourite song come to life.”

Leaning into a skater-punk aesthetic, the video portrays a playful rebellion against authority while introducing a surreal emotional counterbalance through the appearance of a “maiden of the mist” character; an ethereal spirit symbolizing support and renewal during moments when getting back up alone feels impossible.

Working with trusted collaborators made the experience feel effortless. “Everything ran smoothly, and we wrapped at golden hour, just in time for me to catch Lady Gaga’s live show that same night,” Alanna says. “A perfect end to a perfect day.”

Stylistically, “Down” continues Alanna’s evolving blend of pop sensibility and indie rock spirit. Self-produced and deeply hands-on, the song reflects the artistic independence that defines their wider body of work. In the studio, they co-produce and write all of their material while performing the instrumentation themselves.

Toronto’s Victoria Staff unveils her debut album Pink Magnolia alongside its lead single “Take Me Home,” arriving together as a fully realized introduction to her world. Equal parts playful and reflective, the record captures both the thrill of being young and untethered and the quieter, more complex process of figuring out who you are.

Written and recorded alongside producer Will Crann, Pink Magnolia embraces collaboration and imperfection. From spontaneous studio moments to trying ideas with no clear outcome, the process was guided by curiosity rather than precision. “It reminded me why I fell in love with music,” Victoria notes. That sense of freedom runs through the record, giving it a loose, lived-in quality that mirrors its themes of growth and self-acceptance.

Speaking on “Take Me Home,” Victoria explains that she “…wanted to embody the excitement of meeting someone new and that mutual attraction. Dating gets a bad rap, but there’s a lot of fun in a young, single era.” Built around a simple, instantly memorable chorus, the indie pop track leans into spontaneity and connection, offering a snapshot of youth in motion. A song that has already become a live favourite, its singalong energy taps into something immediate and communal.

While “Take Me Home” captures a single, vivid moment, Pink Magnolia expands that lens outward. The album explores the broader emotional landscape of coming into yourself; searching for peace, sitting with uncertainty, and learning to accept where you are. “It’s about hunting for peace, looking for ease, and maybe always having it evade you,” Victoria says. “It’s not really a happy or sad album. It just is.”

Together, the album and its lead single reflect two sides of the same experience. Where “Take Me Home” is fun, immediate, and full of energy, Pink Magnolia provides the context; a deeper exploration of identity, change, and the messy in-between. Both are grounded in Victoria’s signature storytelling, capturing specific moments while hinting at something larger underneath.

Alternative artist Em Armstrong returns with “Unapologetic,” an edgy, powerful and campy new single that refuses to shrink, soften or explain itself. Honest, upfront and full of attitude, the track is a rallying cry for anyone tired of apologizing for who they are.

At its core, “Unapologetic” is about self-acceptance in a world that often rewards conformity. “It’s for anyone who’s sick of having to apologize for being themself,” Em explains. “People are so caught up in trying to be something they are not, which in turn makes them frown upon other people who are comfortable in their own skin and being themselves unapologetically.”

That message of self-possession runs through every part of the song. One of Em’s favourite lines, “twisted copacetic,” captures the spirit perfectly. Playful and sharp, the lyric flips the meaning of “copacetic” on its head, suggesting that everything might be fine, just not in the way people expect. It’s a small phrase that says a lot about Em’s perspective: embracing what feels true even if it doesn’t fit neatly into anyone else’s idea of order.

“Unapologetic” also marks the beginning of a new chapter. Following the re-release of “Maybe Probably Never,” the single sets the tone for where Em’s music is headed next. “As always, we’re keeping it honest, upfront and real,” she says.

The track carries the same unfiltered spirit that defines Em’s wider body of work. Her songs are meant to feel like a safe space; a place where listeners can show up exactly as they are. “There’s only one ‘you’ in the world,” Em notes. “Better to be that person than someone else.”

A key part of bringing that vision to life was the trust of collaborators LESS KILLJOY and Lucky West. “They let me make it my own,” Em says. “I feel so unapologetically me.”

Salt Spring Island singer-songwriter Nicky MacKenzie shares Morals, a deeply introspective and emotionally layered EP that traces the tension between distraction and self-awareness, chaos, and growth. Blending sleek pop production with confessional singer-songwriter honesty, the project captures the internal conversations people rarely say out loud; the dark thoughts, quiet revelations and uncomfortable truths that shape personal evolution.

Developed over several years, many of the songs on Morals first began as fragments written when Nicky was in her early twenties. Voice memo ideas and unfinished thoughts eventually resurfaced years later, allowing her to revisit them through the lens of lived experience and emotional maturity. “It’s kind of a cool marriage between my younger self and my present self,” she explains. “Taking old experiences and sprinkling them with the learned lessons and flavours of my current life.”

Morals is helmed by its reflective and soulful lead single, “Lost and Found,” a raw pop ballad that captures the emotional comedown after distraction fades away.

“‘Lost and Found’ is about the feeling after the party, when all the lights and noise have died down, and all you have is yourself and your loud thoughts,” Nicky shares. “It’s the lonely feeling of realizing you’ve been acting willingly delusional, and you’re aware of the fact that you still want a distraction from yourself.”

That emotional honesty sits at the centre of both the song and the wider EP. Rather than focusing on romance, Nicky’s writing turns inward, exploring self-awareness, emotional avoidance, and the difficult process of confronting what lives beneath the surface. “The theme in most of my music is more about self awareness and growth,” she says. “The curiosity about what’s really going on beneath the mask, and the internal dialogue you have with yourself that you don’t share with anyone else.”

Written on her grandfather’s old classical acoustic guitar, “Lost and Found” carries an atmosphere shaped by imperfection. The instrument refused to stay in tune, but that flawed texture became essential to the song’s emotional identity. “It was kind of the perfect flawed sound I needed to inspire the feeling of this song,” Nicky explains. That raw foundation is contrasted by atmospheric production choices, including a thick, angelic vocoder hook designed to feel suspended above the track like a drifting thought.

Across Morals, Nicky embraces an instinctive songwriting process untethered from rigid structure. “Every feeling has a different colour palette, a different flavour and a different sound,” she says. “I find having a step by step writing system puts my creativity in a box personally.” The result is a project that feels emotionally fluid and deeply human, balancing melancholy, and reflection with moments of clarity and release.

Hamilton, ON’s Thomas Duxbury and New Mother Nature unveil Night is Young, a sprawling and deeply personal garage rock album released alongside its optimistic title track. Rooted in blues rock grit and indie rock exploration, the record captures the disorienting, often contradictory experience of navigating change, distance, and identity while learning to embrace both the chaos and beauty of the journey.

Written across years of transition (from busking through Spain to living abroad in Scotland), Night is Young documents a period of movement and emotional upheaval. “This album is about being on a journey,” Duxbury explains. “A lot of it comes from that feeling of being in the passenger seat of your own life sometimes. It’s that weird space where everything is kind of moving whether you’re ready for it or not.”

The album unfolds as a loose narrative arc, moving from early excitement and possibility into isolation, uncertainty, and eventual grounding. Themes of loneliness, mental health, and disconnection run throughout, but so does a persistent drive toward exploration and self-discovery. Rather than resolving neatly, Night is Young leans into contradiction as a reflection of real life in motion.

At the centre of the release is its title track, a song that encapsulates the album’s emotional core. Originally written in 2018 following a formative trip to Spain, “Night is Young” began as an upbeat, carefree anthem before evolving into something more complex. Years later, while living abroad, Duxbury revisited the track after receiving a distressing call from home; a moment that reshaped the song’s meaning entirely.

“It became a conversation between two versions of myself,” he says. “One that’s optimistic and ready to see the world, and another that’s a bit more worn down, trying to make sense of everything that comes with that.”

That duality defines the track. Bright, beachy garage rock textures and buoyant, singalong-ready energy collide with heavier lyrical undercurrents, creating a tension that feels both immediate and honest. The result is a song that holds two truths at once: carefree and burdened, open and uncertain.

Musically, both Night is Young and its title track embrace a raw, exploratory approach. Recorded over several years with a rotating cast of collaborators, the LP blends analog warmth with digital experimentation, incorporating recordings from multiple spaces and moments in time. From cassette-tracked textures to drums recorded in the attic of a Scottish pub, the album reflects a patchwork of lived experience.

“There’s a lot of different parts of my life in this record,” Duxbury says. “It really felt like bringing everything together and trying to make sense of it.”