With a voice like worn denim and a songwriter’s compass pointed squarely at the truth, Emmett Jerome returns with “It Ain’t Me,” a dark, tape-warmed Americana track that exorcises heartbreak and hard truths in one raw, live-off-the-floor performance. It’s the sound of dust on boots, a heart in hand, and a young artist wise beyond his years.

Written in a quick flash on acoustic guitar, “It Ain’t Me” captures the emotional aftermath of love gone cold delivered from the voice of a character haunted by what once was. “I related the idea of an emotionally unavailable or heartbroken individual to that of a spooked horse,” says Jerome. “That tension, that jumpiness, is something I’ve known.”

From Springsteen-tinged lyrics to the swirling blend of vintage amps, banjo grit, and studio tape hiss, “It Ain’t Me” straddles the line between classic and contemporary. “It sounds to me like it could be some obscure 70s banjo-rock B-side or a Neil Young/Crazy Horse jam,” Jerome says. “We brought in great players rooted in blues, country, and rock. You can hear it.”

Tracked live off the floor at Vancouver‘s Afterlife Studios – a storied space packed with analog gear and old ghosts – the song barely touches a computer. “Aside from a few vocal overdubs and extra banjo, what you’re hearing is a band playing together in a room. That energy is everything.”

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically?
It Ain’t Me is written about a person who just can’t open up to the world, no matter the cost. I’ve always found a way to run when under pressure to open up in a relationship, and this song compares that to the character of a jittery horse who’s quick to bolt. We recorded the video at The Heatley, a local East Vancouver bar known for having a vibrant singer songwriter and artistic community. Whether onstage sharing new material or listening to my peers, The Heatley stage has been instrumental in my growth as a writer and performer and I’m proud to include it in the ongoing story of ‘It Aint Me.” 

2. What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
We wanted to capture the space as raw and natural as possible, and honor the values of simplicity and truth that command the Healtey Stage. 

3. What was the process of making this video?

The video was shot in an afternoon with Matt Miller, the in-house music video director at 604 records. Matt and I basically improvised the whole shoot, crushing Tim Hortons and letting our muse guide us around the dark lit bar. We ended up shooting in a few locations within The Heatley that caught our eye, and Matt stitched them together in a unique way that lets the story unfold. 

Edmonton punk rockers Forester channel late-night longing and the raw edge of memory in their latest single, “Daredevil Youth.” Fueled by adrenaline, angst, and aching nostalgia, the track is a shout-along anthem to the reckless abandon of being young, alive, and utterly unbreakable.

Honest and unpolished, “Daredevil Youth” doesn’t try to dress youth up in sentimentality – it drags it through the mud, slaps on a crooked grin, and raises a glass to everything that shaped us, scarred us, and made it all worth it.

“This one is quite literal,” says pianist Keenan Gregory. “It’s an anthem to our younger years, and being wild and free. The time we’ve spent playing music together has left its mark on each of us – it’s been formative.”

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically? 
While there has been an abundance of new amazing artists sharing their stories with the world, I also feel that visual media has become an underutilized artformm, carelessly thrown over the music like wrapping paper as if it were meant to be discarded. Personally, with visuals I always try to either push the song’s narrative further, or attempt to tell another side of the story entirely. It’s another chance for us to communicate with our audience and this song in particular felt like it needed that visual exploration. For us it ended up paying homage not only to the band’s previous members, Ben and Sean, but also to all the bands that we’ve formed over the years. 

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

The inspiration is pretty on the nose. As the band was soaking up the nostalgia we took many trips down memory lane. Luckily me and a few others have been documenting our journey over the years. The moment we decided this song would be a single, it felt like the most appropriate time to use that footage. 

3.What was the process of making this video?

A song’s chorus traditionally signals a change in perspective or narrative. It’s always important to me to select footage that matches that change. The entrance into each chorus was selected very carefully. Same goes for each transition into a new section. Other than that, the process was quite simple. I would review and assemble the footage while being mindful of the overall flow. It was however more emotionally charged than I expected. Some of the shots may seem silly and frivolous, but they represent moments in my life where my sides were absolutely splitting from laughter. It’s fun to look back on these memories, but the emotional toll comes when I recognize my distance from these moments. 

Nova Scotia raised, Ottawa-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Malia Rogers unveils her debut EP, Chameleon, featuring the vast and heartfelt centerpiece, “Indefinitely.” Chameleon merges her East Coast roots with folk, bluegrass, and Celtic traditions to explore themes of identity, growth, self-compassion, and enduring connection. With a storytelling voice rich in vulnerability and nuance, the six-song collection offers a layered portrait of transformation – pairing past hurts with their healing counterparts.

“Indefinitely” offers a barefoot love song for the deeply known – a sweeping meditation on partnership, evolution, and unconditional devotion. Built on rhythmic acoustic textures, lilting mandolin, melodic strings, and a heartbeat of bodhrán, the track captures the feeling of the tide coming in – calm, powerful, and enduring. “I told my producer Neil Whitford that I wanted it to sound like the tide,” says Rogers. “There’s ocean imagery in the lyrics, and as a Nova Scotian living away in Ontario, the water makes me feel like I’m home. So does the love this song is written about.”

Written on the seventh anniversary of her relationship with now-husband Matthew, “Indefinitely” reflects on the idea that we become entirely new people over time – and how rare it is to evolve in tandem with another. 

Hamilton, Ontario baroque-pop quartet Superstar Crush unveil their darkly romantic new single, “Fire Escape,” a vampirical, stampeding whirlwind of unrequited love and poetic disarray. Equal parts chaotic and cinematic, the track is their first new music since 2024’s Crushed to Meet You EP, and the latest preview of their debut full-length, due summer 2025.

Written during a spell of writer’s block and sparked by a melody tapped out on a plastic windowpane, “Fire Escape” embodies the band’s flair for dramatic imagery, magnetic hooks, and gloriously off-kilter structure. Anchored by a three-way vocal interplay and a wall-of-sound production that nods to Springsteen, Broken Social Scene, and Arcade Fire, the song builds to a psych-rock outro, complete with glockenspiel flourishes and cinematic string swells.

Lyrically, “Fire Escape” drips with disheveled longing and literary references, from RAW Magazine comic covers to Japanese and French romance films. Written in another friend’s vocal range as a songwriting experiment, the track demanded collaboration: “We all had to sing it together just to hit the notes,” the band jokes. The final result is uniquely theirs – a jarring, electric portrait of emotional freefall.

Produced by Tyler Kyte (Dwayne Gretzky), the song features a haunting violin arrangement by Helen Faucher, written so late in the process the band nearly forgot it existed until she brought it to life in the studio: “It was like déjà vu,” they say. “We just hoped it worked, and it did.”

Canadian indie singer-songwriter Andrew Spice continues on the momentum of his acclaimed comeback single, “High Park,” with a scorching new track, “Rage Stage.” A blistering gothic pop ballad laced with defiance and theatrical intensity, “Rage Stage” is a furious reckoning with betrayal and a radical embrace of righteous anger as part of the healing process.

Written by Spice and produced by JUNO–nominated collaborator Matthew Barber, “Rage Stage” builds from a whisper to a snarl, combining searing lyrical vitriol with sweeping, genre-bending production. Spice’s haunting vocals anchor the track with raw vulnerability, channeling grief into catharsis.

Too often, we are rewarded for being complacent in the face of injustice. Anger can actually be our best friend when it motivates us to fight back for the right cause. “Rage Stage” is about embracing my own fury, standing up for myself, and conquering an enemy. – Andrew Spice

With their 20th year in motion, Octoberman returns with “We Used To Talk of Death,” a nostalgic, tape-warmed indie rock single that meditates on aging, memory, and the inevitable weight of time. Recovered from a forgotten 2014 demo, the track now arrives fully realized – leaner, rawer, and more resonant than ever.

“One day I was going through old hard drives and stumbled upon the original demo,” says guitarist/vocalist Marc Morrissette. “It was meant for [2014 album] What More What More back in the day, but I wasn’t into the outro. I cut that section out, brought it to the band, and suddenly it clicked.”

Lyrically unchanged from over a decade ago, the song hits differently now. “Whether it’s losing a loved one or becoming a parent, life events shift how we think about death,” says Morrissette. “This song used to feel hypothetical. It doesn’t anymore.”

“We Used To Talk of Death” was the final song recorded during three days at Ottawa’s Little Bullhorn Studio with longtime collaborator Jarrett Bartlett (Howe Gelb, The Acorn, Jim Bryson), tracking straight to two-inch tape with no click tracks or computer screens in sight. “It was so refreshing,” says Morrissette. “Especially after spending so much time glued to screens in general.”