Kingston, Ontario band Kasador – Cameron Wyatt (vocals/guitar), Boris Baker (bass), and Stephen Adubofuor (drums) – have woven years of tumult through their mid-late twenties into something powerful and real: a tight-knit, sincere, and caring rock and roll band hitting full sprint, with their sophomore LP, Youth, about memory, relationships, and how the relentless passage of time shapes and constantly reshapes all of those things. 

Recorded at Bathouse Studio with The Glorious Sons’ Brett Emmons producing and Nyles Spencer (Half Moon Run, July Talk) engineering, it’s a bright, punkish, emotional guitar-rock record that ultimately tracks the process of learning to be okay with not being okay. Vic Florencia (Olivia Rodrigo, Jason Mraz, Five For Fighting) mixed the record and Peter Letros (Beyonce, Duran Duran) mastered. Hurled into uncertainty, Kasador embraced the fact that things won’t—can’t—last forever, working together to make sense of the gap between youthful dreams and very adult realities.

People often put up a hardened exterior to protect themselves, but underneath that exterior is a vulnerable and genuine human experience. “Quit Your Crying” is an unapologetic anthem delving into the very real frustrations that stem from watching a meaningful relationship crumble before your eyes and resorting to putting up barriers in response.

NYRE is a Toronto-based singer/songwriter who has been making waves in the alternative pop scene with her unique sound and captivating lyrics. Her music often incorporates dark and moody elements, combining electronic beats with enchanting vocals and introspective lyrics.

Her fierce new song, “Glitter with a Vengeance,” represents an enchantingly powerful and strikingly beautiful force that captivates all in its path. Glitter’s sparkle cannot be dulled and it uses the heartbreak of the past to shine intensely with even greater force, as if the glitter is determined to be noticed and cannot be ignored.

The song is a perfect representation of NYRE’s dark alt-pop style, while sprinkling influences from artistic neighbours like Halsey, Olivia Rodrigo, and Billie Eilish throughout the track. The vocals and music enhance each other entirely to create a truly mesmerizing and unpredictable storyline.

The Out Seer are a Vancouver rock band founded by guitarist, Ashley Pearce, as a means of pursuing creative projects and original music with friends. They are an active and educated group of young musicians, each holding diplomas from Selkirk College’s Contemporary Music & Technology Program in Nelson, British Columbia.

The band’s music is a fusion of rock, punk, prog, and alternative genres, which their bassist affectionately refers to as ‘Pronk’.

Their latest offering “Lost Again” is a dynamic rock track filled with expressive vocals from Ashley Pearce.  The title and song were derived from Ashley feeling left out from a friend group and being in an abusive relationship, being lost again both in emotion and thought but lost as well as being disregarded by those around you. 

A veteran of the Montreal music scene, Patrick Krief has been releasing music for nearly two decades, first as a member of The Dears then via his own projects including Black Diamond Bay and, most recently, as a solo artist.

His self-reflective song, “Eloise,” is about meeting someone at the wrong time, and looking back years later, wondering what might have been. The lyrics feel like a love letter to a long lost love, asking when the two lovers might meet again. It was partly inspired by his own parents’ love story. 

“My father followed my mother from Morocco to several other countries as her family moved from place to place in search of a better life,” Krief explains. “Ultimately they found a life together in Montreal in the early 60s. I imagined what it might have been like had my father lacked such persistence. And in that character, I imagined the longing he might feel for the rest of his life.”

“Eloise” was created with an all-star cast: featured vocals from Erika Angell from Thus Owls, drums by Liam O’Neill from Suuns, and bass by Mishka Stein from the band Patrick Watson. The music video was filmed in Montreal’s Chinatown and features Krief’s wife, Julie Krief, playing the titular Eloise.

After an abysmal breakup and many shifts working coat check at a Toronto concert venue, FRANKIE FLOWERS felt the sudden urge to use her voice as her main instrument. She began writing and creating alternative music as a release, merging her love for dark-wave and post-punk music to create a genre-bending sound.

The emerging artist evokes a dark, psychedelic, and eclectic vibe that urges you to escape reality and experience the unknown. “I JUST WANT TO DISAPPEAR” contains the thoughts of a negative headspace. It’s about chasing toxicity, repeating vicious cycles and how your mind can basically eat you alive if you choose to let it. 

Stanley Merent, a.k.a. SLAE, is a second generation Haitian musician who writes electronic-infused R&B, Afrobeat and Pop. Currently based in Montreal, QC, SLAE’s moody single, “Smile,” incorporates English and French lyrics. 

The song is inspired by his travels in the USA, and the fun, smiley moments he shared with his companions. In particular, it alludes to a sexual desire between the singer and a woman with a dangerously seductive smile.