Toronto-based Anishinaabe singer-songwriter and producer Natasha Fisher returns with “The Motions,” an emotionally charged pop-punk track that explores a rarely examined kind of heartbreak: realizing you’ve fallen out of love in a healthy relationship. Energetic, nostalgic, and aching with longing, the song captures the internal chaos of choosing yourself when nothing is overtly “wrong,” and leaving becomes the hardest option of all.
Inspired by adulthood breakups, “The Motions” pushes back against the dominance of young-love narratives in pop music. Instead, Fisher turns her focus toward the quiet devastation of building a life with someone only to recognize that the relationship no longer serves who you’re becoming. “This makes the decision to leave even harder,” she explains, “to the point where you wish that they had done something significant to make you feel the way you do.”
Blending early-2000s pop-rock nostalgia with modern alternative production, “The Motions” feels both familiar and freshly lived-in. The track’s driving energy contrasts with its emotional weight, mirroring the tension between outward momentum and inner doubt. Fisher and her producer Keegan Grebanier intentionally shaped the song’s dynamics to reflect that push-and-pull, with the bridge standing as the emotional breaking point; a surge of internal conflict finally boiling over.
At its heart, “The Motions” continues Fisher’s ongoing exploration of emotional honesty, self-trust, and release. Her recent work centres on navigating the complexities of relationships (romantic, personal, and internal) while learning to let go of connections and self-talk that no longer serve growth. It’s music about honouring yourself, even when it hurts.
Bilingual electro-pop duo Beau Nectar (singer-songwriters Marie-Clo and éemi) share “Tulip,” a sharp, historically rooted meditation on beauty, value, and collapse, featuring Vancouver’s acclaimed electro-pop duo Vox Rea.
Taken from their upcoming Dandy LP (out May 2026 via Indica Records), the song draws inspiration from 17th-century tulipomania. A moment when flowers were traded for fortunes and even family members, it reframes history as a mirror for modern, ever-shifting beauty standards.
“In the 1600’s, people went to war for the tulip and could even trade their daughters for a simple bulb; that’s how valuable it was,” Beau Nectar explains. “Shortly after its fame, the tulip contracted a virus that caused its colors to go from monochromatic to multiple colors. And just like that, tulipomania was dead.”
Blending pop, rock, and electro textures, “Tulip” balances playful swagger with dark thematic weight. Layers of synths and guitars support stacked harmonies and processed vocals, creating a sound that feels both fun and quietly confrontational. As the song edges toward brightness, its subject matter pulls back to highlight how quickly obsession curdles once ideals mutate beyond recognition.
The title “Tulip” also nods inward. It’s a linguistic callback to Beau Nectar’s debut francophone album Two Lips, a play on words that reflects the duo’s shared vocal identity and the collaborative nature of the track. Alongside Vox Rea, the song becomes a meeting point between two duos, both sonically and symbolically.
The collaboration with Vox Rea felt organic and inevitable, inspiring Beau Nectar to pen “Tulip” during Marie-Clo and éemi’s residency at the Banff Musicians in Residence program. The result is a song that feels strong, sassy, and deceptively educational; a darkly playful reminder of how quickly we discard what we once worshipped.
Produced with Jace Lasek, alongside collaborators Olivier Fairfield and Philippe Charbonneau, the track leans into contrast by fusing rock energy with electronic elements. “We wanted to amplify harmonies, play with vocal effects, and just have fun in the studio,” they note, while still respecting their artistic vision.
Toronto’s Victoria Staff returns with “Sweet Blue Moon,” a reflective, romantic single that traces a relationship from its first spark through its unraveling, and finally into the quiet space of looking back. Rather than framing love as something purely good or bad, the track lingers in the in-between and honours the rare moments that mattered, even when everything else fell apart.
The name came late in the process. “This song didn’t have a title for a long time,” Staff explains. “It was just ‘that song without a name’ that my producer Will Crann and I were making.” While listening back, the phrase “Sweet Blue Moon” surfaced as a subtle twist on the familiar idiom. “This song isn’t just about rare moments,” she says. “It’s about rare moments you enjoyed, and being happy you have them to hold onto.” Structurally, the song mirrors the emotional arc it explores. “There really isn’t any part of this song that repeats, because it’s not about any one thing,” Staff notes. The track unfolds in three distinct choruses, each reflecting a different phase of the same relationship. The first is rooted in confidence and possibility, written with straightforward major chords. The second shifts into collapse, moving through relative minors that intentionally create tension and unease. By the final chorus, the song returns to major chords but with variations that introduce uncertainty, echoing the unresolved nature of memory and reflection.
Lyrically, “Sweet Blue Moon” captures the fleeting thoughts that surface when revisiting the past. “It’s the short train of thought that blows through when you think about your past,” Staff says. “You were with someone, it ended badly, but you hope they think about you and they think nice things.”
Pursuing a long-held talent for literate, place-based songwriting, singer-songwriter Allen Dobb unveils his new single “At the Bridge,” a Canadiana-leaning folk and roots composition inspired by the life and legacy of James Teit. Teit was a Shetland-born, self-taught anthropologist who formed deep relationships with Indigenous communities in British Columbia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The first single to be shared from Dobb’s forthcoming album, The Afterlife Sessions (out April 24th, 2026), “At the Bridge” was sparked after attending a performance by longtime friend and songwriter John Gogo, whose work often brings historical figures vividly to life. “After the show, a friend suggested I try writing a song about James Teit,” Dobb recalls. “I was familiar with him through Wendy Wickwire’s biography (the song’s namesake), but felt it would be challenging to bring his life story into song given Teit is a largely unknown historical character. Still, I was inspired by the suggestion and his remarkable life.”
While writing the song, Dobb traveled to Merritt, British Columbia, where Teit is buried in a cemetery overlooking the town and where a small archive dedicated to his life is kept. Visiting the gravesite proved formative. “It was impactful and ultimately inspired the lyrics,” Dobb says. “Those moments, along with stories shared by a friend whose mother worked as a health practitioner among Indigenous communities in the Nicola Valley, all figured into the song in subtle but meaningful ways.”
Musically, “At the Bridge” unfolds with a gentle rise and fall, ultimately resolving into a place of calm acceptance. The recording captures a particularly organic energy, highlighted by Ryland Moranz’s playing on Dobb’s 1927 Martin 00-21 guitar. “It’s light as a feather; Brazilian rosewood and delivers such character and bass response for its size,” Dobb notes. “It was perfectly placed.”
At its core, “At the Bridge” is a testament to trusting the songwriting process. “I was curious how a song with broader appeal might emerge, given all the rich details of the story that were there to work with,” Dobb admits. “But it makes me feel peaceful and at ease, ultimately, that means it’s right. All the pieces work together; the melody is persistent and once it has you, it’s hard to escape.”
Electro-pop heavyweight Lights drops the intoxicating new deluxe album A6EXTENDED featuring the new single “COME GET YOUR GIRL”. A supercharged deluxe treatment of her 2025 album, A6EXTENDED features eight brand new songs that take listeners to a new dimension of the A6 world.
Released Wednesday, to coincide with the announcement of the UK/EU leg of the “COME GET YOUR GIRL” Tour, Lights dropped the much-anticipated single of the same name, to the delight of her fans. “COME GET YOUR GIRL” is about realizing how deeply you care for someone—in this case, when it feels like it’s almost too late. The new single is sure to be a live anthem, driven by its massive singalong chorus. The music video is filled to the brim with throwback imagery, spanning her career. Lights wanted to look back and reflect on past versions of herself and show how each one walked, so the next could run. “Every version hands something forward, because every version of yourself matters in becoming who you are,” she explains.
The new expanded album also contains the singles, “LEARNING TO LET GO” and the synth-driven stand-out, “EDUCATION”. Both tracks were released alongside accompanying music videos that lean into this era. A6EXTENDED, builds upon Lights’ sixth studio album A6 released in 2025 alongside a stunning full visual album. The music is her most deeply personal yet – entirely written and produced by Lights.
Making this album, Lights pulled from the full, beautiful, range of experiences that make life what it is. “Past lessons, grief and loss, personal growth in a world that wants you to stay the same, the bliss of sensuality, and the recklessness of love,” she expands. “It’s everything you’d write down in a small A6-sized journal because saying it out loud is often somehow harder.”
Lights recently announced the ‘COME GET YOUR GIRL’ 2026 tour with support from Soft Cult, set to kick off on February 13 in Edmonton. The tour hits the USA, Canada, UK, GER, & NED and includes 23 dates across North America with six Canadian dates including Edmonton, Calgary, London, Ottawa, Quebec and Montreal. Full ‘COME GET YOUR GIRL’ 2026 tour dates below.
A6EXTENDED – Tracklist:
INTRO
DAMAGE
ALIVE AGAIN
SURFACE TENSION
YOU’RE KILLING ME
WHITE PAPER PALM TREES
GHOST GIRL ON FIRST
TAKE IT EASY
DRINKS ON THE COAST
CLINGY
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR
PIRANHA
DAY TWO
EDUCATION
COME GET YOUR GIRL
LOVE IS A GAME
THE CITY IS FALLING
THIS TIME TMRW
LEARNING TO LET GO
FINAL ROUND
ANGELINA
*NEW TRACKS indicated in BOLD
‘COME GET YOUR GIRL’ 2026 TOUR DATES
February 24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall
February 25 – Denver, CO – Summit
February 27 – Austin, TX – Empire Garage
February 28 – Houston, TX – White Oak (Downstairs)
March 1 – Dallas, TX – Trees
March 3 – Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre
March 4 – Minneapolis, MN – Amsterdam Bar & Hall
March 6 – Chicago, IL – Concord Music Hall
March 7 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall
March 8 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Café & Music Hall
Experimental duo Allegories return with “The Next Life,” a bleak, immersive shoegaze-inflected indie rock single that stares directly into existential despair without flinching. Teetering on the edge of an anthem but refusing release, the track explores nihilism, deferred hope, and the hollow promise that meaning will arrive somewhere beyond the present moment.
“There’s no way around it,” Adam Bentley, one half of the duo, explains. “This is the most pessimistic reflection on life and existence I’ve ever put forward.”
Originally written on ukulele, “The Next Life” underwent multiple transformations before reaching its final form. What began as a skeletal folk sketch was first recontextualized through electronic instrumentation, then reshaped again using the organic, analog tools most associated with a rock band. Layers of guitar, bass, and drums form the foundation, while swirling electronic textures bind everything together to create a dense, emotional atmosphere that feels simultaneously expansive and suffocating.
Sonically, the track gestures toward transcendence, brushing against the possibility of uplift before deliberately collapsing inward. “Just as it feels ready to lift its skinny fists to the heavens and brush against hope, I instead dig deeper into a nihilistic, defeated worldview,” Bentley says. In the next life, we’re told, our prayers will be answered. Our dreams are achieved. The world is at last in harmony.”
The result is a song that weaponizes contrast: anthemic momentum undercut by existential resignation. “The Next Life” doesn’t offer comfort or resolution; it interrogates the idea that relief is always postponed, always elsewhere. “Because really,” Bentley asks, “what is the next life?”
Modern Mystery 
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