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), 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.
With Calls Out The Window, Michael Antelope presents a debut that feels both intimate and expansive. It’s a collection of songs that look backward with clarity while quietly pointing forward.
Streaming: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/michaelantelope/calls-out-the-window
