Rat Scabies P.H.D. (Prison, Hospital, Debt) Cleopatra Records It is hard to believe, but it has been forty years since the Damned released their debut album, Damned Damned Damned. Rat Scabies (born Christopher John Millar) was of course, the [...]
Paul McCartney Thrillington MPL/Universal Music An odd album by Paul McCartney and an even odder choice for rerelease. Over the past few years, Paul McCartney has been rereleasing his catalogue. Usually this takes the form of a box set or [...]
Damien Jurado w/ Naomi Wachira @ The Great Hall, Toronto May 16, 2018 Damien Jurado returned to Toronto on May 16, 2018, and it was a welcomed return. Accompanied by Joshua Gordon on guitar, Jurado performed most of his new, brilliant album, [...]
Françoise Hardy (translated into English by Jon E. Graham)- The Despair Of Monkeys And Other Trifles: A Memoir Feral House Publishers May 15, 2018 Françoise Hardy has had quite a career. She rose to fame as a singer-songwriter in the 1960s. She [...]
MARTIN POPOFF – THE CLASH: ALL THE ALBUMS, ALL THE SONGS VOYAGEUR PRESS – MAY 15, 2018 BOOK REVIEW BY AARON BADGLEY This is the kind of book about musicians that I love. Martin Popoff has written a book about the studio output of The [...]
HERE WE GO LOVE A CONVERSATION WITH DAVE WAKELING OF THE ENGLISH BEAT “I was close to being a Canadian,” says Dave Wakeling during our recent conversation. “My Granddad, after World War One, wanted to be a Mountie. So he applied, but he was too [...]
Tim Muddiman And The Strange Domino Blitz Gun Street Music In many ways, this is what Woody Guthrie would have sounded like if he was young and alive today. That is not to say that Domino Blitz is folk, or even close to the sound of Guthrie, but [...]
Spray Anthologised By Cherry Red Banoffeesound/Ninthwave Records Spray is a synth-based duo from the U.K., made up of siblings Ricardo Autobahn and Jenny McLaren. Both were originally in the band Cuban Boys (of “Hampsterdance” fame, which was [...]
Loreena McKennitt Lost Souls Quinlan Road Lost Souls is Loreena McKennitt’s tenth studio album, and her first album of original material since 2006’s An Ancient Muse. She has released albums since An Ancient Muse (2008’s A Midwinter Night’s [...]
LOST SOULS A CONVERSATION WITH LOREENA McKENNITT In 1985 an album was released on an independent label, Quinlan Road, entitled Elemental. Great title, but even better album. The artist who released that album, Loreena McKennitt could not have [...]
WHY ANYTHING? WHY THIS? A CONVERSATION WITH CARL MARSH OF SHRIEKBACK In 1981, Barry Andrews and Dave Allen formed Shriekback. Carl Marsh joined the duo, and shortly thereafter Shriekback formed Y records. It was through Y Records that they [...]
Shonen Knife Alive! In Osaka Good Charamel Records Shonen Knife is a Japanese punk band, formed in 1981 in Osaka, Japan. Their classic debut album, Minna Tanoshiku, was released in 1982 and since then they have issued an astonishing 21 studio [...]
Frank Turner Be More Kind Xtra Mile Recordings In late 2017, Frank Turner released a career spanning album, Songbook, which included old songs, some reworking of the old songs, and some deep cuts from his catalogue. As this was being issued, he [...]
Arthur Alexander One Bar Left Dead Beat Records Arthur Alexander formed Sorrows in 1977 in New York City. They released two solid, now classic power pop albums, then promptly broke up. He resurfaced on the revered Bomp record label with another [...]
STAYING HUNGRY A CONVERSATION WITH THE ZOMBIES SINGER/SONGWRITER COLIN BLUNSTONE Colin Blunstone has been performing professionally for a very long time, and he shows no signs of slowing down. He was part of the original British Invasion of [...]
SEEKING HOPE & SEEKING PEACE A CONVERSATION WITH PAUL ARCHER BURNING CODES Burning Codes is not so much a band as it is a concept. It is really the work of one man, Paul Archer, who gets help from friends and family to produce some of the [...]
BREAK APART, LOOK TOGETHER A CONVERSATION WITH WILD MOCCASINS Zahira Gutierrez and Cody Swann, both from Houston, Texas, began playing music together in 2007. It was mostly for fun, but this musical partnership bloomed into the wonderfully [...]
The Dark Live. Create. Destroy. Independent The Dark was formed in Los Angeles in 2015. The band is the brainchild of Brandon Ashley who is the leader of the band. They recorded their debut album, Live. Create. Destroy. in lead singer, Ashley’s [...]
Flesh Eating Foundation We Are Fucked Sonic Entrails Records Flesh Eating Foundation have been recording since 2008, and since then they have amassed quite a catalogue. We Are Fucked is their seventh album, and their best yet. The band consists [...]
Chris Squire Fish Out Of Water Esoteric Records/Cherry Red Records Fish Out of Water was released in 1975, when Yes was on a hiatus. Following 1974’s Relayer, the band took a break while members pursued solo projects. Fish Out Of Water was [...]
Jennifer Warnes Another Time, Another Place BMG Jennifer Warnes released her debut in 1968 (I Can’t Remember Everything), and although the album was critically acclaimed, it failed to chart. However, that album and her second one came to the [...]
Cup Jitter Visions Aagoo Records Cup is Tym Wojcki, based in Brooklyn. Jitter Visions is the eighth studio release under the name Cup, and this album is not for the weak of heart. This is a full on audio assault on the senses, and it is quite [...]
Jonas Bonnetta All This Here Idea Of North Recordings Jonas Bonnetta usually records under the name Evening Hymns, and although Bonnetta usually includes an ambient track on the Evening Hymns albums, All This Here, is his first ambient album. [...]
Okkervil River In The Rainbow Rain ATO Records This is Okkervil River’s first album since 2016’s Away, and their ninth album in total. Leader Will Schiff is back with an album full of strong melodies and stirring lyrics. Usually the band changes [...]
