Awake & Dreaming’s “Something to Believe In” Rebuilt by Juno Winner Jay Dufour
“Something to Believe In” was always a song about refusing to quit. Now it sounds like it. Canadian alt-rock band Awake & Dreaming announces a newly mixed and mastered version of their second single, rebuilt from the ground up by two of the country’s most accomplished audio engineers.
The single’s self-directed music video—10,500+ views on YouTube—was filmed in the Canadian winter. Kristoff appears in a bright red dress against snow-covered landscapes—wearing custom waterproof white stockings to survive the shoot. In the video, she moves through the snow discovering coloured notes left behind by strangers: Keep Going. Prove Them All Wrong. You Control This. It’s All Possible. At her most exhausted, there is no note waiting. So she musters her strength and writes her own—bright red, like her dress—and leaves it for the next person to find. Every note she discovered was someone else’s struggle before hers. Now she’s left her own for whoever comes next.
Originally released in May 2025, the track channeled that urgency into a guitar-riff-driven arrangement at 141 BPM—piano cutting through as relief against an increasingly driving rhythm. Each chorus adds weight: the guitar work grows more complex, more epic, more urgent with every pass. The new version sharpens every element. The guitars hit harder. The build is tighter. By the final chorus at the three-minute mark, the full force is unleashed—the moment the song stops asking for permission and starts demanding it.
The new mix was engineered by Jay Dufour, a 9-time Juno Award winner with 18 Billboard #1 singles, whose credits include July Talk’s Juno-winning Touch, Finger Eleven, and Billy Talent. Mastering was handled by João Carvalho, the legendary engineer behind records by Rush, The Tragically Hip, Death From Above 1979, Alexisonfire, and Broken Social Scene.
This is the second Awake & Dreaming single to receive the Dufour/Carvalho treatment—following the January 2026 re-release of “I U Me.” Together, the two tracks signal a band investing in the same production caliber as the artists they admire, building toward their debut album Inevitable, due summer 2026.
Review
“Something to Believe In” leans into an upbeat, anthemic alt-rock sound that’s built for turning up and singing loud. Right from the start, the energy is there—driving guitars, a steady pulse, and lyrics that feel personal but instantly relatable. Even when the verses touch on doubt and struggle, the delivery keeps things moving forward, giving the track a sense of momentum that never lets it feel heavy.
The chorus is where it really shines. “Give me something to believe in” isn’t just a hook—it’s the kind of line that begs to be shouted back. It’s catchy, repetitive in the best way, and easy to latch onto after just one listen. That sing-along quality gives the song a live-show feel, like it’s made for a crowd moment with hands in the air and voices all in.
By the final chorus, everything clicks into place. The energy builds, the emotion lifts, and what started as searching turns into something more confident and unifying. It’s the kind of track that leaves you feeling a little lighter, a little louder, and ready to hit replay—exactly what a strong, upbeat alt-rock single should do.
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