Fernie’s here, and he’s finally ready. At 26 years old, the Montreal singer has gone international: fighting back his doubts and embracing his history, transforming seasons of pain into unflinching, cinematic R&B. Now signed to Secret City Records—after catching the ear of Patrick Watson—Hopeless Dreams is the proof that this exciting new talent here to stay, singing dark songs that light up the night.

“These are my stories, our stories,” Fernie says. Sad stories, hard stories, memories of heartbreak and hurt. In 2021, the musician self-released his breakthrough project, Aurora—propelling him onto global stages, including Osheaga, le Festival d’été de Québec, The Great Escape (UK), MaMA Festival (France) and SIM São Paulo (Brazil). Hopeless Dreams is a kind of “prequel” EP, he explains—an A-side to Aurora’s B—exploring where Fernie came from and how those stories changed him. Across these seven songs, “there’s no holding back,” he says, as Fernie confesses it all: honest, brutal, “but beautiful because it’s art.”