The Mosfets unleash their self-titled EP alongside new single “Keith Is A Blues Artist,” a raw and unfiltered garage rock release that captures the band at their most instinctive and unapologetic. Blending fuzz-drenched garage punk, neo-psychedelic textures, and bluesy grit, the project embraces imperfection, spontaneity, and the kind of chaotic energy that can only come from making music purely for the love of it.

Written from a mix of dreams, jokes, and everyday absurdities, The Mosfets EP rejects overthinking in favour of instinct. “Most of it just came from my love of songwriting and collaborating with my friends,” says frontman Keith Mosfet. “We did it for ourselves, it was fun. I’d do this 100 times.”

That spirit carries through every track. Equal parts electric and defiant, the EP leans into rough edges and embraces the band’s natural chemistry rather than sanding it down. “It taught me not to worry so much about polish,” Keith explains. “Rough and raw is good. Our flaws are also our greatest strengths.”

At the centre of the release is “Keith Is A Blues Artist,” a hypnotic, blues-driven garage rock track that began quite literally in a dream. “I was at a party in my dream and put on a random vinyl,” Keith recalls. “This song is what played.” Waking up, he quickly recorded the demo, capturing the melody almost exactly as it had appeared.

The track channels the spirit of early ‘60s blues and garage rock while twisting it into something distinctly their own. Rather than drawing from modern revival acts, The Mosfets looked further back, pulling inspiration from artists like The Sonics, John Lee Hooker, and Them. “We’re not trying to sound like The Black Keys or The White Stripes,” Keith says. “We’re trying to sound like what they were listening to.”

There’s a tongue-in-cheek element at play, too. The title itself came from a band joke, with members Maarten and Ilari agreeing to record the song on one condition: that it be called “Keith Is A Blues Artist.” The result is both a loving nod to classic blues tropes and a playful jab at the band’s frontman.

Recorded on a Tascam 388 reel-to-reel, both the EP and its lead single fully embrace a mid-fi, analog warmth that prioritizes feel over perfection. Much of the project came together in the aftermath of a show in Hamburg, Germany, during a hungover but highly productive session at Yeah Yeah Yeah Studios. “We were very hungover, yet played magnificently,” Keith laughs.

Canadian singer-songwriter Ellie Heath shares her debut album Pushing Forty alongside its bright and empowering lead single “That Sunshine’s Mine.”

Rooted in joyful reflection and forward momentum, Pushing Forty captures a pivotal chapter in Ellie’s life; standing at the edge of change while embracing both the excitement and uncertainty that come with it. Blending pop, synth, indie, and rock textures, the record radiates with an effervescent energy that celebrates growth, transformation, and the beauty of stepping into something new.

“Pushing Forty began as a way to document a specific season of life,” Ellie explains. “I was entering the final year of my thirties, moving in with my partner, settling into a home and just about to welcome a dog into our lives. It felt like I was closing certain doors while opening others and I wanted to capture that emotional crossroads; the excitement and the nerves!”

At the heart of the record’s uplifting spirit is “That Sunshine’s Mine,” a playful yet powerful anthem about protecting your joy. What began as a lighthearted challenge in the studio quickly evolved into something more personal and resonant.

“We joked that writing a sunshine song was basically a guaranteed hit,” she says. “From there, it evolved into something more personal about protecting your joy and not letting others dim your light.”

Driven by punchy, high-energy production and a sense of uninhibited fun, “That Sunshine’s Mine” leans into a bright, confident pop-rock sound. Its fast-paced momentum and communal gang vocals create a feeling of spontaneity and release, tapping into a kind of childlike freedom. “It makes me feel like a kid in the best possible way,” Ellie notes. “It feels fun, empowered, mischievous and free!”

The song’s playful spirit extends into its creation. Originally opening with a rooster crow as a theatrical wake-up call, the track underwent a last-minute shift when Ellie agreed to strip it back and let the energy of the song speak for itself. The result is immediate, vibrant, and undeniably infectious.

Barrie, ON-based indie folk artist Rogan Mei shares “Don’t Look Twice,” a restless and emotionally charged indie folk/Americana single that drifts between late-night haze and uneasy clarity. Anchored in gritty storytelling and cinematic detail, the track explores addiction, avoidance, and the fragile negotiations that unfold inside a relationship slowly unraveling under the weight of denial.

At its core, “Don’t Look Twice” is about the moments where truth is seen but deliberately ignored; when one person chooses to acknowledge what’s happening while the other insists on silence. The song traces a relationship shaped by cycles of escape and return, where fleeting highs and emotional distance become a way of life rather than something to confront.

“It’s about these moments in addiction where one partner sees what’s going on, and the other tells them not to acknowledge it,” Rogan explains. “This guy is always coming back from a ‘flight,’ and running away from his baggage; trying to evade it, leave it behind, and pretend everything is alright without actually changing his lifestyle.”

Written through a lens of lived experience, the song captures the surreal humour and dark optimism often found in denial itself. Set against late nights, fleeting highs, and fragmented memory, “Don’t Look Twice” leans into the contradictions of self-destruction; where recklessness can feel almost normal, even strangely comedic in hindsight.

One of the song’s most vivid moments was born on the road. While travelling back to Calgary from Kelowna, Rogan pulled over in the Rockies and sat on a guard rail with his guitar, taking in the vast landscape. That in-between space, physically isolated yet visually expansive, became part of the track’s emotional DNA, grounding its haze in something real and reflective.

That sense of disorientation carries into the production. A standout guitar solo shifts into an effected, warped sonic passage before snapping back into focus, mirroring the song’s fractured perspective. Inspired in part by Supertramp’s “Goodbye Stranger,” Rogan and lead guitarist Jacob Diamond pushed the solo into a surreal, distorted space before letting it resolve naturally back into the arrangement.

Within the broader context of his upcoming Dickies Green Plaid Jacket EP, the track serves as a release valve. While other songs on the project lean more emotionally direct, “Don’t Look Twice” expands the palette; loosening the tension with chaotic energy while still circling the EP’s central themes of memory, loss, reinvention, and transformation.

Hamilton, Ontario singer-songwriter and guitarist Matty Simpson shares “Boxcar Baby,” a melancholic and introspective folk rock single rooted in empathy, observation, and the quiet resilience of people surviving on the margins. Blending organic roots instrumentation with vivid storytelling, the track paints a portrait of loneliness and perseverance while reflecting on the fragile balance between hardship and hope.

Inspired by real interactions in his neighbourhood, “Boxcar Baby” emerged from Simpson’s reflections on the bottle collectors and unhoused individuals he encountered regularly. “Songwriting is a cathartic experience for me, and events and situations that are happening in my daily life often come out when I’m writing,” he explains. “This song portrays a vagrant type character living in desperation.”

The title itself carries symbolic weight. Drawn from a spontaneous lyrical phrase that surfaced during one of Simpson’s meditative songwriting sessions, “Boxcar Baby” references a Great Depression-era term for train hoppers searching for a better life. “Often lines in songs just come out of me, making up sounds and words in a meditative-like state when playing my guitar,” Simpson says. “When I look back on what I was doing, I can get pieces of the puzzle that I’m putting together.”

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically? 

This song is for the restless wanderers. It’s a tribute to the legends of train hoppers that fought for a better life during the Great Depression. It’s an acknowledgment of the resilience and desperation carried by those hiding out in the dark corners of the world; in the broken buildings and lonely alleys; living in uncertainty, with deep longing and tireless dreams of hope and love.

We chose to visualize this song specifically because the imagery and the lyrics portray a vagrant type character and a very specific time period that we were inspired by in the moment, that we felt we could recreate. Hamilton has a lot of railroads and scenic spots that we could choose from that lent itself to the theme of our video and song. 

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

We wanted to make it look like it was from the time of the Great Depression. We had also just recently watched the movie, “Sinners”, and were inspired by the visuals and wardrobes of that film, which we tried to recreate ourselves the day of the shoot. 

We drove around town and chose the settings that we used because they were exactly what we had imagined when envisioning the background of the video. Hamilton has a lot of beauty and character, which we were able to capture. There are also a lot of train tracks and great spots to choose from for capturing railroad visuals, so we had a lot of fun playing with that. We also wanted to include some older train footage to pay homage to the era we were referencing, as well as keeping with the theme of making the video look like it was from a specific time period. 

3. What was the process of making this video?

We wanted to keep the video low budget, and so we used an iPhone camera to capture the whole video ourselves. We shot it vertically and initially thought it was a mistake, but then chose to run with it and really liked how it turned out. We scoured through old footage of train videos that were from days gone by, that we picked and chose parts of to insert into the video to add some action between scenes and make it more visually exciting. Overall, we are very happy with how the whole thing turned out!

Montreal-based multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Alanna Sterling (they/them) shares “Down,” an energetic and emotionally charged pop/indie rock single that transforms a moment of uncertainty into one of resilience and release. Upbeat, empowering, and full of forward momentum, the track captures the strange clarity that can emerge when everything seems to be falling apart at once.

Inspired by a real-life experience while travelling, “Down” began after Alanna found themselves stranded and alone with a dead phone battery, no money, and no way to reconnect with friends. Armed with only a skateboard and guitar, they sat outside a strip mall busking for spare change before being confronted by police and threatened with a hefty fine for performing on private property.

“After reviving my phone, I called my friends, found a secluded area under a palm tree, and wrote the whole song in 15 minutes while I waited for them to pick me up,” Alanna explains. “My songs come from an emotionally charged space, so when I feel intense emotions, I get them out in a song to process.”

That immediacy pulses throughout “Down.” Rather than dwelling in frustration or defeat, the track channels instability into movement, balancing emotional honesty with uplifting energy. Bright instrumentation and driving rhythms mirror the feeling of pushing forward through uncertainty, while Alanna’s vocal performance carries both urgency and optimism.

The song’s official music video expands on that rebellious spirit. Since the opening lyric references “the coast of California,” Alanna felt it was only right to film the video there, bringing the song’s imagery to life against a fitting backdrop. The visual was created alongside longtime filmmaker friends Courtney and Ashley, collaborators Alanna first connected with through Twitch years earlier.

“I raised several thousand dollars to finance it during my eighth anniversary Twitch stream marathon,” she shares. “The fans were so eager to see their favourite song come to life.”

Leaning into a skater-punk aesthetic, the video portrays a playful rebellion against authority while introducing a surreal emotional counterbalance through the appearance of a “maiden of the mist” character; an ethereal spirit symbolizing support and renewal during moments when getting back up alone feels impossible.

Working with trusted collaborators made the experience feel effortless. “Everything ran smoothly, and we wrapped at golden hour, just in time for me to catch Lady Gaga’s live show that same night,” Alanna says. “A perfect end to a perfect day.”

Stylistically, “Down” continues Alanna’s evolving blend of pop sensibility and indie rock spirit. Self-produced and deeply hands-on, the song reflects the artistic independence that defines their wider body of work. In the studio, they co-produce and write all of their material while performing the instrumentation themselves.

Toronto’s Victoria Staff unveils her debut album Pink Magnolia alongside its lead single “Take Me Home,” arriving together as a fully realized introduction to her world. Equal parts playful and reflective, the record captures both the thrill of being young and untethered and the quieter, more complex process of figuring out who you are.

Written and recorded alongside producer Will Crann, Pink Magnolia embraces collaboration and imperfection. From spontaneous studio moments to trying ideas with no clear outcome, the process was guided by curiosity rather than precision. “It reminded me why I fell in love with music,” Victoria notes. That sense of freedom runs through the record, giving it a loose, lived-in quality that mirrors its themes of growth and self-acceptance.

Speaking on “Take Me Home,” Victoria explains that she “…wanted to embody the excitement of meeting someone new and that mutual attraction. Dating gets a bad rap, but there’s a lot of fun in a young, single era.” Built around a simple, instantly memorable chorus, the indie pop track leans into spontaneity and connection, offering a snapshot of youth in motion. A song that has already become a live favourite, its singalong energy taps into something immediate and communal.

While “Take Me Home” captures a single, vivid moment, Pink Magnolia expands that lens outward. The album explores the broader emotional landscape of coming into yourself; searching for peace, sitting with uncertainty, and learning to accept where you are. “It’s about hunting for peace, looking for ease, and maybe always having it evade you,” Victoria says. “It’s not really a happy or sad album. It just is.”

Together, the album and its lead single reflect two sides of the same experience. Where “Take Me Home” is fun, immediate, and full of energy, Pink Magnolia provides the context; a deeper exploration of identity, change, and the messy in-between. Both are grounded in Victoria’s signature storytelling, capturing specific moments while hinting at something larger underneath.