IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO TURN AROUND SAM ROBERTS DISCUSSES ALL OF US There is an unmistakable feeling that comes with the music of the Sam Roberts Band, an unmissable energy that propels all that they do and all that they create – a [...]
Elliott Smith Elliott Smith (Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition) Kill Rock Stars No one sings like Elliott Smith. His vocal style, all whispered gravitas and unrestrained emotion, is without compare, but it is also the sheer depth of his [...]
Fontaines D.C. A Hero’s Death Partisan Records A Hero’s Death, the followup to 2019’s highly acclaimed Dogrel, is an introverted, thoughtful, and oftentimes melancholy album that was shaped largely by the months of touring and promoting of [...]
Rival Consoles Articulation Erased Tapes Records Ryan Lee West, aka Rival Consoles, is so adept at crafting sonic landscapes, so talented at building beautifully layered songs, and so intuitive at constructing an album that moves the listener [...]
Muzz Muzz Matador Records There is something, a feeling or perhaps even a perception, that goes beyond most reviewers’ abilities to explain adequately when an album resonates deeply, emotionally, with the listener. The self-titled debut by Muzz, [...]
Car Seat Headrest Making A Door Less Open Matador Records Such is the restless spirit and the waves of creative energy that accompany all of the Car Seat Headrest’s releases that for this album every song has been recorded twice separately: once [...]
Sarah Harmer Are You Gone Arts & Crafts As is often the way with relationships, they get complicated and sometimes you aren’t able to realize how much you have missed someone until they step back into your life. Sarah Harmer’s return on Are [...]
Nathaniel Rateliff And It’s Still Alright Stax Records He is a journeyman and a musical omnivore, and Nathaniel Rateliff’s third solo album and first in 7 years is a testament to both his staying power and to his impressive vocal ability. [...]
MICHAEL KIWANUKA @ REBEL, TORONTO FEBRUARY 6, 2020 Considering the incredible success and critical reception of the release of his third album, KIWANUKA, it was no surprise that the venue was filled and buzzing in advance before Michael Kiwanuka [...]
Algiers There Is No Year Matador Records Imagine, if you will, a landscape that is simple but crushing in its portrayal of desolation – narrow alleyways, grimy streets, the clouds looming dark and heavy just overhead, all but completely blocking [...]
SPILL MAGAZINE’S BEST ALBUMS OF 2019 2019 was a year of incredible turmoil, change, and upheaval as the world came to grips with the global growth of political and social conservatism, mass social and environmental protests, ongoing and [...]
elbow Giants Of All Sizes Polydor Records/Verve Label Group Manchester-based quartet elbow have been crafting songs and soundscapes of such warmth, honesty, and poetry as to be almost beyond description for two decades. Built around both the [...]
Bodega Shiny New Model What’s Your Rupture? New York-based Bodega’s have released a brand-new EP Shiny New Model. It is a worthy follow-up to the genre-fluid five-piece’s 2018’s Endless Scroll, which was relentlessly quirky and sarcastic. [...]
The New Pornographers In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights Concord Records Long-time purveyors of hook-filled, harmony-layered alternative jams, The New Pornographers celebrate their 22nd year in the music business with the release of the [...]
Temples Hot Motion ATO Records The much-coveted musical sweet spot is an elusive one for bands and musicians of all genres and time periods. The almost alchemical confluence of musical inspiration and urgency may end up presenting itself for [...]
FONTAINES D.C. @ THE PHOENIX CONCERT THEATRE, TORONTO SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 In recent memory, there are few bands that have left me as excited by their debut as did Fontaines D.C. when they released Dogrel in April of this year. It is an [...]
Ezra Furman Twelve Nudes Bella Union I will be honest and say that I was totally unprepared for this singular fact – that on the day that Tool finally introduced us to their first album in 13 years, theirs would not be the most urgent, [...]
Keb’ Mo’ Oklahoma Concord Records It goes without saying that Keb’ Mo’s reputation as an influential and talented modern-day blues and Americana performer is well-established. He has four Grammy Award wins and almost 20 albums [...]
Priests The Seduction Of Kansas Sister Polygon Washington-based Priests returns with its sophomore release, the intriguingly-titled The Seduction of Kansas. Building a reputation for punk-soaked ferocity and memorable live shows, the band has [...]
Wintersleep In The Land Of Dine Alone Records Wintersleep have developed an interesting trend over the past sixteen years since their 2003 debut, self-titled album. Though they are now, with 2019’s In the Land Of, seven albums deep, they have [...]
Foals Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, Part 1 Warner Music Foals, like their Oxfordshire brethren Radiohead, are not just unafraid of reinvention but actively and consistently embrace it. They are fiercely unapologetic about their desire to [...]
OHMelectronic OHMelectronic Artoffact Records OHMelectronic is a Vancouver-based collaboration between producer Chris Peterson and musician Craig Joseph Huxtable. Dubbed the “perfect soundtrack for dark times” by the duo’s publicity team, the [...]
TRDMRK TRDMRK EP Hot Plate Records With so many rappers featuring on each other’s recordings, hip-hop supergroups have become rare, which makes TRDMRK—whose impressive lineup includes Jurassic 5’s DJ Nu-Mark, SlimKid3 from Pharcyde, and newcomer [...]
Dan Mangan @ New Vision United Church, Hamilton February 1, 2019 The New Vision United Church is located in the heart of downtown Hamilton and provides the perfect atmosphere for performances by singer-songwriters like Dan Mangan and his opener, [...]
