All posts by Bryan Williston
STEELEYE SPAN LIVE AT THE BOTTOM LINE, 1974 OMNIVORE RECORDINGS The English folk-rock group Steeleye Span was formed in 1969 and has been in existence, in various incarnations, ever since. The band enjoyed chart success a number of times in [...]
MARK D. DUNN – YOU GET BIGGER AS YOU GO – BRUCE COCKBURN’S INFLUENCE AND EVOLUTION FERMATA PRESS BOOK REVIEW BY BRYAN WILLISTON The writer, musician, and educator Mark D. Dunn has released a book which may be seen as the definitive [...]
VARIOUS ARTISTS HEARTS & MINDS & CROOKED BEATS: SONGS OF THE CLASH SHARED MEDIUM The Clash were a hugely influential band, whose music was the soundtrack of social justice in the late ‘70s and ‘80s. Fans look back fondly at the band’s [...]
DOTS OF HISTORY AND THE ARTFUL APPROACH A CONVERSATION WITH TOM ALLEN ON JS BACH’S LONG WALK IN THE SNOW The average modern listener probably gives little thought to music that was made 300 years ago. Even so, there is a long list of artists [...]
I’M STILL DOING MY THING A CONVERSATION WITH DON McLEAN “I’ve got a lot of albums, a lot of songs, a lot of appearances, because I only did one thing: exactly what it is that I’m doing. I never got diverted away into anything else. I only [...]
SKYDIGGERS @ THE DANFORTH MUSIC HALL, TORONTO DECEMBER 22, 2023 “It’s not really the holidays until Skydiggers play their Christmas show.” That statement was heard in various forms, as the veteran Toronto roots outfit prepared to hit the stage [...]
GIVE IT TO ME STRAIGHT, SANTA! I CAN TAKE IT! SPILL MAGAZINE EXPOSES SOME OF THE BEST/WORST 2023 CHRISTMAS RELEASES (PART TWO) As The Beatles once sang, “Christmastime is here again, it ain’t been around since you know when.” That means a whole [...]
BUILDING AN AUTHENTIC AND LEGIT MUSIC INDUSTRY A CONVERSATION WITH ANDREW CASH Andrew Cash is a man who has worn many hats over the years. From his early days in the 1980s Toronto post-punk band L’Étranger, to being a solo recording artist, to [...]
APAULL FOUGHT AND WON FURNACE ROOM RECORDS Dutch Canadian music producer apaull is back on our radar, this time with Fought and Won. This LP is an interesting turn for him, as the electronic music artist is best known for his series of EP [...]
FRÄNDER FRÄNDER II NORDIC NOTES Fränder is an acoustic family band from Sweden and Estonia, who play traditionally-inspired songs in a modern context. Formed in 2015, they released their first album (Fränder) in 2019. That album introduced the [...]
HELLO JUNE ARTIFACTS 31 TIGERS It is a rare thing when a newly released album is so strong as to defy genre categorization: a work which possesses the variety and quality of songs and sounds that has the potential to reach a truly wide audience. [...]
The Lemonheads Come On Feel (30th Anniversary Edition) Fire Records Admittedly, I am not a great fan of album reissues. For various reasons, their appeal is largely lost on me. That said, The Lemonheads’ just-released Come On Feel (30th [...]
Jerry Leger The Time Flew By Latent Recordings “There’s no rest for the wicked,” or so the saying goes. If that is true, singer-songwriter Jerry Leger is a ‘wicked’ man, indeed! Currently touring Europe and the UK, the Toronto-based roots rocker [...]
ON THE PRECIPICE OF SOMETHING DIFFERENT A CONVERSATION WITH TARA MACLEAN There is an old saying: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” This adage could certainly apply to Tara MacLean, whose star IS on the rise, [...]
Tara MacLean Sparrow Independent Sparrow is the latest album from Canadian singer-songwriter Tara MacLean. The music veteran has just released a memoir called Song of the Sparrow, and this album is the soundtrack to the book. Recorded in Lake [...]
apaull White LeBaron Furnace Room Records apaull is back with another EP of electronic music, a four-track collection called White LeBaron. With it, the Dutch-Canadian music producer has continued the stream of regular music drops that he began [...]
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE: THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM A CONVERSATION WITH BLAIR PACKHAM (THE JITTERS) “Music, for me, is a mystery. If you take the idea of a guitar and reduce it, you’ve got this box of wood. It’s shaped in a particular way, but it’s still [...]
The Heck On Your Nerves Soundflat Records Netherlands’ garage punk band The Heck are still knocking out the tunes, with their third full-length album release, On Your Nerves. With this offering, the power trio of Henri Keefman, René Katerbarg [...]
Jerry Leger Live From Paradise Latent Recordings Toronto singer-songwriter Jerry Leger is one of those artists who does not sit still for too long. With his solid motivation and work ethic, it’s little wonder that he is releasing some choice [...]
Ladytron Time’s Arrow Cooking Vinyl Time’s Arrow is the seventh album release from the UK electronic pop band, Ladytron. Formed in Liverpool in 1999, the band has regularly released new music since their inception. The album leads off [...]
Fighting Chance! Fighting Chance! Independent Is the world ready for a 1990s power punk revival? For James and Joe Flanagan, the answer would be a resounding “Yes!”. The brothers, who are founders of Toronto indie band Fighting Chance!, have [...]
THE ROCK AND COAL BREAKDOWN SPILL MAGAZINE DISSECTS SOME OF THE BEST/WORST 2022 CHRISTMAS RELEASES (PART TWO) Christmastime is here again, ain’t been around since you know when….that means new Christmas music. This year, there seems to be a lot [...]
apaull Sans Phobia Furnace Room Records Is it the future? Is it the present? Whatever it is, Dutch-Canadian electronic music producer apaull has seen it, and it ain’t pretty. With the release of the EP Sans Phobia, apaull compels us to look at [...]
NEIL YOUNG: HARVEST TIME – A FILM FROM 1971 SHAKEY PICTURES, TRAFALGAR RELEASING & WARNER RECORDS DECEMBER 1, 2022 It is fascinating to watch Harvest Time – A Film From 1971. Capturing the recording of Neil Young’s iconic 1972 album, [...]
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