This new album is going to surprise you. And it’s an album, not a bunch of random songs. On Paris or India, The Midway State have aspired to make music that matters, challenging themselves as musicians and storytellers and thereby cementing their path as one of the most exciting and important new bands in Canada.

Their gift for creating music with honesty and soul has never been more evident. Paris or India is big, lush, sad and joyous. It is also the sound of a band not letting anyone dictate who they are. “The album’s about coming-of-age, my transition from boyhood to manhood,” says singer Nathan Ferraro, 25.

Hailing from the drowsy Great Lakes resort town of Collingwood, Ontario, the Midway State are informed by nature, friendships and the lake behind their parent’s houses where the boys grew up. The group — Ferraro with Daenen Bramberger, Mike Wise and Mike Kirsh — approach their second record from an unusual vantage-point: they were only in their teens when they first moved to Toronto and basically become stars while still learning their craft.

In 2008, they released their debut album Holes, which wowed and won over fans and critics alike. Since their debut, the band won a pair of MuchMusic Video Awards for Favourite New Artist and Best Independent Video; were nominated for two JUNO Awards for Pop Album of the Year (for Holes) and Songwriter of the Year for frontman Ferraro; received a GOLD single for their hit ‘Never Again’ and even collaborated with Lady Gaga.

Their new album Paris or India oozes an audible, celebratory delight at Ferraro’s many self-discoveries. “I’ll be leaving in the morning, I just don’t know when it’s coming,” he sings on ‘Paris or India,’ a song that turns the prospect of “where do I end up now?” into a goosepimply rush of good feeling. The album’s first single ‘Atlantic’ is the type of song that can literally transform your emotions and alter your entire day. Another standout, ‘All Anew’ is an engulfing, ecstatic electro-pop thriller brimming with enthusiasm at the prospect of a fresh start. While ‘St. Paul and the Wolf’ finds Ferraro sizing up his experiences of the past few years – “Everybody’s gotta lose sometimes / So maybe I’m lost and I like that” – and smiling with newfound perspective atop an exuberant, percussive clutter - add in a public school music class choir and you’ve got pure magic.

The result is an album that is celebratory, emotional and aimed towards the rafters. Paris or India wears its hope on its sleeve.