"I will not sing a hateful song," Bryan Webb proclaims in a song of the same name on Constantines' latest album Kensington Heights. "I will not sing a hateful song/Though it's in me to sing."

It is, Webb claims, "a really direct statement" from the man whose band has embraced the energy and aggression of its punk roots since first joining forces in Guelph nine years ago. The latest Constantines album kicks off with a song called Hard Feelings, but the sentiments that dominate these 12 slices of life are for the most part positive.

"We came from punk rock backgrounds and played that network," Webb says. "We took a lot from punk music and hardcore. It had an anger to it, a hostility to it -- but I think sometimes that hostility is misdirected.

"I'm at a point now where I don't want that in songs anymore. Generally, I write songs for people that I believe are surviving in an interesting way -- friends, family, people that have made their way through something in an inspiring way."

Granted, Constantines have never been known as a band prone to fomenting hatred. And through three fine albums and a handful of EPs, it has been hard to hate Constantines, a band that has fought hard to shed dismissive early comparisons to punk predecessors like The Clash and Fugazi.

Kensington Heights is the latest, eclectic step in Constantines' ongoing musical evolution. And it reaches us as Webb and bandmates Steve Lambke, Will Kidman, Doug MacGregor and Dallas Wehrle's personal evolution has seen members indulge in side projects and the quintet's guitar tandem relocate to Montreal from the band's adopted hometown of Toronto.

"I think we get to see enough of each other on the road," Webb jokes when asked whether his and Lambke's defection to the 514 has affected Constantinal activity.

"When we're on tour we're always together, in close quarters. So we get our burst of togetherness. Then we have a nice time apart, which I think we all enjoy.

"I think Steve and I moving helped us to get organized and to figure out when we were going to make a record and to plan things out more. It's good for the band to throw that kind of a change into things."

Of course, now that Kensington Heights (the title a tribute to the band's Toronto practice space) is out, change will be Constantine's constant over the next several months. Even as Webb and his fiancee prepare for a July wedding.

Which, Webb says, is as it should be.

"One of the greatest things in my life is the fact that I get to relate to people through live music on a regular basis," he declares. "That's my livelihood and it's a fortunate thing to have. Touring is for sure a trying thing at times (but) playing music for people is a very good thing."

Very good? Try positive and inspiring. This, after all, is Constantines.

"I will not sing a hateful song," Bryan Webb proclaims in a song of the same name on Constantines' latest album Kensington Heights. "I will not sing a hateful song/Though it's in me to sing."

It is, Webb claims, "a really direct statement" from the man whose band has embraced the energy and aggression of its punk roots since first joining forces in Guelph nine years ago. The latest Constantines album kicks off with a song called Hard Feelings, but the sentiments that dominate these 12 slices of life are for the most part positive.

"We came from punk rock backgrounds and played that network," Webb says. "We took a lot from punk music and hardcore. It had an anger to it, a hostility to it -- but I think sometimes that hostility is misdirected.

"I'm at a point now where I don't want that in songs anymore. Generally, I write songs for people that I believe are surviving in an interesting way -- friends, family, people that have made their way through something in an inspiring way."

Granted, Constantines have never been known as a band prone to fomenting hatred. And through three fine albums and a handful of EPs, it has been hard to hate Constantines, a band that has fought hard to shed dismissive early comparisons to punk predecessors like The Clash and Fugazi.

Kensington Heights is the latest, eclectic step in Constantines' ongoing musical evolution. And it reaches us as Webb and bandmates Steve Lambke, Will Kidman, Doug MacGregor and Dallas Wehrle's personal evolution has seen members indulge in side projects and the quintet's guitar tandem relocate to Montreal from the band's adopted hometown of Toronto.

"I think we get to see enough of each other on the road," Webb jokes when asked whether his and Lambke's defection to the 514 has affected Constantinal activity.

"When we're on tour we're always together, in close quarters. So we get our burst of togetherness. Then we have a nice time apart, which I think we all enjoy.

"I think Steve and I moving helped us to get organized and to figure out when we were going to make a record and to plan things out more. It's good for the band to throw that kind of a change into things."

Of course, now that Kensington Heights (the title a tribute to the band's Toronto practice space) is out, change will be Constantine's constant over the next several months. Even as Webb and his fiancee prepare for a July wedding.

Which, Webb says, is as it should be.

"One of the greatest things in my life is the fact that I get to relate to people through live music on a regular basis," he declares. "That's my livelihood and it's a fortunate thing to have. Touring is for sure a trying thing at times (but) playing music for people is a very good thing."

Very good? Try positive and inspiring. This, after all, is Constantines.