Forester Ignite with Young Guns, a Fierce New EP of Punk Urgency and Alternative Grit

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Edmonton’s Forester are stepping back into the spotlight with Young Guns, a raw and restless new EP anchored by the defiant single “You Were Born.” Balancing turbulent punk energy with brooding alternative rock grit, the record captures a band reflecting on scars, mistakes, and fleeting nights with both urgency and tenderness. It’s not just a return, but a confrontation with who they once were and how far they’ve come.

The EP’s title carries more than one meaning. On one hand, it nods to the youthful chaos that fueled the group’s earliest songs, late-night rehearsals, and boundary-pushing energy. On the other, it’s a reclamation — a way of acknowledging survival, maturity, and the enduring need to create even when the past feels heavier than expected. Young Guns is a reflection of growth and survival, an unflinching portrait of the moments that shape people and the music that outlasts them.

While “You Were Born” may be the EP’s most urgent cut, Young Guns as a whole is about much more than fighting for the light. Written and recorded across studios, apartments, and rehearsal spaces — sometimes years apart — the collection pulls together fragments of clarity, pain, joy, freedom, turbulence, and regret into a living document of becoming. For Forester, the record was less about capturing a polished version of themselves than about preserving raw memory.

“The weight of past mistakes, friendships, and fleeting nights feel a little heavier now,” pianist Keenan Gregory reflects. “Writing and releasing these songs is our way of keeping them alive just a little longer.”

“You Were Born” stands as both centerpiece and lightning rod for the project. Fueled by jagged guitars, pounding drums, and a defiant vocal delivery, the track distills rage, regret, and resilience into just under three minutes. Lyrically, it’s a storm of words and emotions written about the moment when an argument spins past the point of no return, leaving wounds that last long after the silence settles.

“It’s about the instant you realize that a line has been crossed, and the heavy silence that follows when love and hurt collide,” says Keenan. His words capture the tension at the heart of Forester’s music — moments where confrontation and catharsis live side by side.

But sometimes, songs take years to reveal themselves. “‘You Were Born’ was one of those songs we had to wait for,” Keenan admits. “The second verse was written over email almost five years after the rest of the track. We had wanted that section to lift, but were at a loss of how to do it until one day James [Banks] sent over a guitar riff and drum idea that set the pace. I responded with the piano part instantly, Wayne [Axani] had the vocal locked in, and suddenly it was alive. Despite this song having a long gap in between writing periods, once that new idea had sparked, the final piece of the puzzle came together within an hour or two.”

That story of delay and sudden resolution mirrors the emotional landscape of Young Guns itself. Some moments required patience, others demanded urgency, but each found its place. The result is an EP that doesn’t smooth over rough edges, but leans into them — allowing the bruises and the beauty to coexist.

In many ways, Young Guns is a love letter to perseverance. For Forester, the act of writing and releasing songs has always been less about chasing perfection and more about finding meaning in the fragments. Whether through the sharp immediacy of “You Were Born” or the reflective tones of the record’s quieter moments, the band invites listeners into that process: raw, unfinished, but undeniably alive.

The EP confirms that Forester are not only survivors, but storytellers still willing to risk honesty in pursuit of connection. With Young Guns, they remind us that punk urgency and alternative grit aren’t just sounds, but survival strategies — a way of holding on when life threatens to slip away.

And in that restless balance, Forester have found their voice once more.