Ottawa, ON/Gatineau, QC pop-punk/alternative rock band Chapter 33 share their self-titled debut album, released alongside lead single “Trust,” an energetic and introspective collection that transforms years of personal growth into anthemic, emotionally honest songwriting. Blending pop-punk urgency, alternative rock grit, and classic melodic influences, the project explores relationships, accountability, purpose, and the ongoing challenge of becoming a better version of yourself.

Years in the making, Chapter 33 brings together songs written across different stages of lead singer/guitarist Jacob Collins’ life, with some ideas tracing back to his high school years. Inspired by the music that shaped him growing up, the album captures the spirit of bands like Green Day and Blink-182 while incorporating The Beatles-inspired harmonies and a reflective lyrical perspective.

“This album is the culmination of years of songwriting,” Jacob shares. “The songs explore personal growth, relationships, accountability, purpose, and the challenges of navigating life while staying true to yourself.”

Recorded over several years, Chapter 33 evolved through multiple iterations before reaching its final form. What began as a collection of demos gradually transformed through collaboration with producer, engineer, mixer, and mastering engineer Mitchi Dimitriadis, while Jordan Robinson handled drum tracking. Jacob performs every instrument.

Across the record, a clear thematic thread emerges: growth through self-reflection. Each song approaches that journey from a different angle, examining unhealthy patterns, questioning assumptions, and learning to move forward without losing optimism.

“Even when the subject matter is serious, the goal is to leave listeners feeling empowered rather than defeated,” Jacob explains.

At the centre of the release is “Trust,” an energetic anthem about learning to open yourself up again after disappointment. Written from a place of vulnerability and resilience, the song explores the tension between self-protection and the willingness to embrace uncertainty.

Musically, “Trust” balances upbeat energy with emotional honesty. Anchored by soaring hooks, dynamic guitars, and an undeniable sense of momentum, the track channels classic pop-punk influences while delivering a message of perseverance and renewal.

“At its core, the song is a reminder that growth often comes from uncertainty,” Jacob shares. “Even when life doesn’t follow the plan we imagined, there’s still beauty and opportunity waiting if we’re willing to take a chance.”

The process of making Chapter 33 ultimately reinforced the importance of patience and collaboration. After years of handling ideas independently, Jacob learned to trust the people around him and allow the songs to evolve beyond their original form.

Guitarist, singer, and a founding member of New York City’s Spin Doctors, Eric Schenkman shares “Recipe,” a groove-driven rock inflected single that expresses the enduring story of the electric guitar and the role it plays as a cultural and emotional archetype. The electric guitar’s pedigree is due to innovators like Charlie Christian, Albert King and, of course, Jimi Hendrix.

At its core, “Recipe” is about every guitarist’s contribution to this legacy. “We inherit a long history of sound,” Eric explains. “It explores the psychic debt associated with the electric guitar.”

“It’s the mixture of elements that lead people to have their own unique expression through an instrument with a pedigree,” Eric says. 

Inspired in Little Rock, Arkansas at the home of musician Cody Dickinson, the song’s origin is rooted in a deeply musical environment. Eric’s connection to the Dickinson family – through Cody and his father, renowned Memphis musician and producer Jim Dickinson – helped shape the song’s broader reflection on lineage and artistic inheritance. “The idea of exploring the guitar pedigree grew out of that trip,” Eric shares.

The recording emphasizes feel over precision. “No click track so the music can breathe and be free,” Eric notes. With the badass rhythm section of Al Cross on drums and Stan Miczek on bass, the result is a performance that moves naturally, prioritizing groove, interaction, and spontaneity.

“Essentially,” says Eric, “…in its current incarnation, the electric guitar has become (to reference Jimi Hendrix) a ‘public saxophone’ with which you can do whatever you want.”

Toronto singer-songwriter and guitarist Nelson Sobral shares “Searching For A Higher Love,” an upbeat and soulful rock single that reflects on humanity’s enduring search for meaning, purpose, and connection. Blending blues-rock grit, Americana warmth, and classic soul influences, the track channels a universal longing for something greater than ourselves while delivering an irresistible groove driven by soaring harmonies and heartfelt conviction.

Inspired by contemplating humanity’s place within the vastness of existence, “Searching For A Higher Love” explores the many ways people seek answers to life’s biggest questions. “No matter where we come from or what we believe, we all seem to be searching for something greater than ourselves,” Sobral explains.

The title itself reflects the song’s central theme. For Sobral, a “higher love” extends far beyond romance. “It can mean truth, purpose, God, consciousness, connection, or simply a deeper understanding of life,” he says.

Musically, the song draws from a rich blend of influences, marrying the infectious grooves of classic Motown and Stax records with the swagger and soul of Southern rock. The result is a driving and uplifting track that feels equally indebted to classic rock, blues, and soul traditions while remaining distinctly contemporary. Fans of Marcus King, The Black Crowes, and Tedeschi Trucks Band will find plenty to love in its blend of grit, groove, and emotional depth.

One of the song’s most memorable moments arrives unexpectedly at its conclusion. After hearing his four-year-old son singing a melody after school one day, Sobral recorded the performance on his phone, initially believing it was an original creation. When he later discovered the song was “I’ve Got Peace In My Fingers,” written by acclaimed children’s songwriter Susan Salidor, he reached out directly to share the track. “She loved it and gave me her blessing to use it in the song,” Sobral recalls. The recording remains intact on the final version, adding a touching and deeply personal layer to the song’s message.

Lyrically, “Searching For A Higher Love” embraces questions rather than easy answers. Its themes of faith, self-discovery, free will, and human connection align closely with the ideas that have long informed Sobral’s songwriting. “Love, time, free will, and all the other timeless things poets and musicians have written about for centuries,” he says.

The single follows Sobral’s recent release “Built To Last” and offers another glimpse into his forthcoming fourth studio album. Together, the songs continue a creative period defined by reflection, growth, and a renewed commitment to exploring life’s enduring mysteries through timeless songwriting.

Hamilton, ON folk duo Michael Antelope (Doug McBrien and Lenny McGowan) unveil their debut album Calls Out The Window, a reflective collection of songs shaped by youth, friendship, and the passing intensity of early creative life. Rooted in harmony-driven folk songwriting and inspired by the natural world surrounding their hometown, the record captures a period of writing that spans years of late-night sessions, early sketches, and formative live performances across Ontario.

At its core, Calls Out The Window is a document of looking back. The songs reflect a time when music was created instinctively and collaboratively in the margins of daily life: after school, between rehearsals, and in the quiet hours of the night. “It’s a reflection of a period in time when we were younger and going through all the things you experience in your teen years and early 20s,” the duo share. “There’s a general sense of joy that comes through when we play together, even when the themes are more melancholic.”

Recorded across two studios (Gold Standard Recorders with Aaron Goldstein and the Dwayne Gretzky Studios with Ian Docherty and Tyler Kyte), the album was captured over the course of three days using a live-off-the-floor approach. The sessions prioritized performance chemistry over isolation, with Doug and Lenny positioned across from each other to preserve the natural communication that defines their playing.

The album’s focus track, “The Falconer,” expands the duo’s storytelling lens into metaphor and character study. Inspired by Lenny’s time working at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage, where a falcon named Tony Hawk is used to deter geese, the song explores the fragile balance between control and release.

The figure of the falconer becomes a symbolic anchor: someone tasked with guiding something inherently unpredictable. “Being a falconer is a very difficult profession,” Lenny explains. “One day, they can decide to fly away and not come back. You always have to be ready to lose them without any sign.”

Structurally, “The Falconer” evolves across perspectives, shifting from third person into first, mirroring the instability of the relationship at its centre. Sparse instrumentation (guitars, bass, and a single sustained keyboard chord) gives each sonic element narrative weight, with even the briefest musical appearance acting as a character within the story.

Building upon this year’s previous releases, “Lay Your Mind,” “Ground Falls Away,” and “Time Killing,” Strange Plants share “What A Time,” an upbeat and driving alternative rock single that disguises sharp social commentary beneath an infectious, pop-leaning exterior. Balancing propulsive grooves with tongue-in-cheek lyricism, the track examines the accelerating pace of modern life and the growing sense that many people are being left behind economically, culturally, and technologically.

At its core, “What A Time” reflects the strange contradictions of contemporary living. While the music surges forward with energy and momentum, the lyrics paint a more complicated picture: one where endless scrolling, rapid change, and increasing disconnection have become defining features of everyday life.

The title itself serves as the song’s central punchline. “It’s slightly sarcastic,” explains songwriter Matt Brannon. “The verses aren’t describing a world that’s super great right now, so the chorus becomes this tongue-in-cheek ‘what a time to be alive.’”

That contrast between optimism and unease became one of the song’s defining characteristics. Strange Plants intentionally leaned into the tension between the verses and chorus, creating a dynamic push-and-pull that mirrors the subject matter itself. The verses ride atop a driving groove inspired by artists such as Fleetwood Mac and Future Islands, while the chorus shifts into a brighter, synth-forward landscape without abandoning the song’s underlying momentum.

The recording process also brought together an impressive group of collaborators. The band connected with producer John Mullane after sharing a bill with a project he was producing, immediately recognizing a creative chemistry that felt right for the song. Drums were performed by Loel Campbell (Wintersleep, Billy Talent), while Robbie Crowell (Sturgill Simpson, Deer Tick) contributed keys and synthesizers that shape the track’s expansive sound.

Lyrically, “What A Time” captures the quiet absurdity of modern habits and digital dependency. The song’s central tension builds around the feeling of watching time disappear while remaining trapped inside systems designed to keep attention endlessly occupied.

Following the May 2026 release of his latest album, Walk Right Through, Nova Scotia-based singer-songwriter Jont returns with “Another World.” Chill, uplifting, and emotionally expansive, the single traces the full arc of romantic love from connection and separation to reunion and renewal. Blending indie, alternative, rock, and shamanic folk influences, the track feels both timeless and transformative. It captures the beauty of love not as a destination, but as an ongoing journey.

Originally one of the oldest songs in Jont’s repertoire, “Another World” found new life after relocating from the UK to Cape Breton. Long written but never fully realized, the track suddenly revealed itself through the region’s rich Celtic musical traditions. What had once been a straightforward love song evolved into something more communal, celebratory, and alive.

“I suddenly felt the 3/4 time signature come through,” Jont explains. “The singalong ‘la da da da da’ chorus outro arrived, and I imagined a heaving, sweaty dancing crowd singing at the top of their lungs.”

At its core, the song seeks to capture the entire emotional landscape of romantic love while refusing to define it as something effortless. “Love isn’t all honey and roses,” Jont says. That reality emerges during the song’s breakdown bridge, where the central couple part ways before ultimately finding their way back to one another. Their reunion is elevated by a soaring synthesizer performance from longtime collaborator George Hoyle, whose contribution became one of the song’s defining moments.

The recording process itself was equally serendipitous. Captured live off the floor with Jont’s band, The Fish, at Soundpark Studios in Sydney, Cape Breton, the session embraced spontaneity at every turn. That spirit of discovery extends throughout the production, which marks an evolution from the piano, strings, and horn arrangements of Jont’s previous work. Here, electric guitar hooks from ECMA–winning guitarist Jonathan Andrews intertwine with George Hoyle’s atmospheric synthesizers, creating a sound that feels both grounded and expansive.

Recorded by multi award-winning engineer Jamie Foulds and later mixed by Grammy–winning Montreal engineer Mark Lawson, the track balances intimacy with cinematic scope while retaining the live energy of its original performance. As with much of Jont’s songwriting, vulnerability and honesty remain at the heart of the piece. Yet “Another World” arrives as a reminder that joy, reconciliation, and hope deserve their place in the story too.