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.

New York–based alternative singer-songwriter Lauren Minear returns with “Ellie,” a warm, uplifting, and emotionally resonant new single that explores the complexities of neurodivergence, identity, and self-understanding. Balancing deeply personal subject matter with buoyant, liberating production, the track transforms a moment of recognition into an anthem of compassion for both ourselves and the parts of us we may have spent years trying to understand.

The song was sparked by an unexpected emotional reaction. After listening to a podcast exploring eight different presentations of ADHD in girls, Lauren found herself profoundly affected by one particular profile. Diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, she immediately recognized something familiar in the story.

“I had a very strong emotional reaction to one of the profiles,” she explains. “So I wrote her a song.” Though rooted in a specific experience, “Ellie” ultimately speaks to something much broader: the feeling of growing up without the language to explain who you are. 

Rather than leaning into melancholy, Lauren intentionally chose a more uplifting sonic direction. “For some reason, I always heard ‘Ellie’ as a dance track,” she shares. “The first time I listened to it, I was literally dancing in my closet.” Inspired in part by watching artist sombr build his breakout track “back to friends,” Lauren wanted the production to counterbalance the darkness of the song’s themes with a sense of movement and release.

That vision became a collaborative effort alongside Grammy–winning producer Scott Jacoby. Together, they constructed an expansive rhythmic foundation built from live-recorded percussion elements. At Mission Sound in Brooklyn, the team recorded kick drum, hi-hat, and shaker parts before looping and layering them beneath drummer Doug Yowell’s performance. From there, pianist Andrew Sherman expanded on Lauren’s original demo before additional textures were added by guitarist Ben Butler and bassist Richard Hammond at Jacoby’s Eusonia Studios in Manhattan.

“It was a really fun creative process for all of us,” Lauren says. “Each musician had time and focus to flex their respective genius.”

While “Ellie” stands confidently on its own, it also offers an early glimpse into Lauren’s next creative chapter. The single will appear on an upcoming album that explores the emotional complexities of being a millennial woman navigating her forties in a rapidly changing world. Like much of Lauren’s work, the song transforms intensely personal experiences into something universal, creating space for listeners to feel seen, understood, and perhaps a little less alone.

Furthering a string of emotionally rich releases, Scarlett Macfarlane shares “Ever After,” a warm, cinematic pop single that explores the quiet struggle of staying present in a life that always feels one step ahead. Uplifting, nostalgic, and gently anthemic, the track turns introspection into something expansive and hopeful, capturing the beauty of learning to slow down and simply exist inside the moment.

At its core, “Ever After” reflects Scarlett’s tendency to move quickly through life, always looking toward what comes next before fully arriving in the now. The song becomes a personal reminder to pause, breathe, and actually inhabit the experiences she’s spent so long chasing.

“I often feel like I’ve never ‘done’ anything because by the time I finish something I’m already thinking about the next thing,” Scarlett explains. “This song is meant to be a gentle reminder to stay in the present.”

The title draws inspiration from Scarlett’s relationship with storytelling and her love of books, particularly the idea of “happily ever after.” Rather than seeing it as an ending, she reframes it as a beginning; a place where conflict gives way to presence, connection, and appreciation for the quieter beauty of fulfillment.

“I love books with happy endings,” she shares. “But I hate that they often end right when everything gets good. I think the part when people have achieved their goals and attained happiness can potentially be the best part of the story.”

That concept becomes the emotional foundation of “Ever After”: a meditation on gratitude, stillness, and the overlooked magic of contentment.

Sonically, the track leans into its emotional lift through organic, evolving arrangement choices. A defining element of the production is its use of live drums, performed by Doug Yowell, whose dynamic playing allows the song to grow naturally from intimate verses into a soaring, full-bodied chorus.

One of the song’s most subtle but defining creative details lies in its structure: no two choruses are exactly the same. Each return evolves slightly, reflecting the idea that moments in life are never truly repeated, only experienced differently each time.