RAINE HAMILTON BRAVE LAND INDEPENDENT Chamber folk never really became a sub-genre in itself. Usually, artists that pick up on that concept, and quite a few did go that route, usually have a song or two on their albums that can fall within that [...]
Clever Hopes Artefact Independent When a band (in this case a duo) takes its name from a W.H. Auden poem, you simply have to prick up your ears and listen. Sometimes such a build-up can be a big letdown, but in the case of Clever Hopes’ debut [...]
Len Mizzoni I Know Who I Am Independent I Know Who I Am is Len Mizzoni’s fifth album in five years. Every album by Mizzoni is different and unique, yet they all carry the Mizzoni stamp. He has released a couple of very strong, political singles [...]
Tall Folk Wiser Independent Having a good sense of humor in any kind of music, even more so in melancholy-oriented folk/roots genres certainly can further artists’ cause: “Lara is from a long line of long legs. Jack is an extension of [...]
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE OLD DEAD YOUNG: B-SIDES & RARITIES ARTS & CRAFTS It’s been almost five years since Broken Social Scene have released any new material, and though Old Dead Young is far from new, it quells the thirst of those who [...]
ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS THE BOY NAMED IF UNIVERSAL MUSIC CANADA “I’ve got my reputation to think about – I’ve got three, four, five songs to write before midnight…” This quote is fiction, but the words were actually uttered by [...]
The Weeknd Dawn FM Republic Records Toronto’s very own The Weeknd has returned with his highly anticipated album, Dawn FM. Following his acclaimed 2020 release, After Hours and his notable 2021 Superbowl half-time performance, The Weeknd has [...]
DEAD ECHOES TWIN FLAMES INDEPENDENT Ohio’s Dead Echoes have hurled themselves into the rock/metal world with the release of their debut album Twin Flames. Real emotions and experiences are what makes for some great writing, and the album has [...]
The All-American Rejects Move Along (Hyper Deluxe Reissue) Dark Operative Everyone remembers when bands like The All American Rejects began to surface in the rock scene early 2000s. A contagious earworm for the audio senses is an understatement [...]
Dope Lemon Rose Pink Cadillac BMG Three years after the release of Smooth Big Cat, Australian native Angus Stone is back with Dope Lemon’s Rose Pink Cadillac. Dope Lemon is the indie folk solo project started by Stone in 2016 where he saw [...]
Alex Albrecht Resolve Constellation Tatsu Sometimes, album covers can be deceptive, other times, they can be dead on. This is particularly true of albums that contain some form of ambient music and all the shapes and forms it comes in. In the [...]
Robin Guthrie Springtime Soleil Après Minuit On January 4, 2022, former member of The Cocteau Twins turned 60. To celebrate, he released a brand new EP titled Springtime, his third since November 2021. An interesting title, given it is being [...]
JOHNNY DOWD HOMEMADE PIE MOTHER JINX RECORDS Johnny Dowd has been making music for a very long time, and he continues to attract new fans with his own brand of country-rock. He went solo in 1995 after fronting both The Jokers and Neon Baptist. [...]
Revive The Rose Heartless Place Snareguy Records Welland, ON’s very own Revive The Rose has been absolutely killing it. From booking shows in support of The Trews to launching their own beer, Bar Down Lager, it only makes sense that the hard [...]
AURA BLAZE OPEN MINDEDNESS INDEPENDENT There is a trend these days for solo artists working under a band guise to create their music based on the ‘everything, including a kitchen sink.’ Of course, more often than not that concept backfires where [...]
SEVENDUST BLOOD & STONE DELUXE RISE RECORDS A headlining tour has come to a close. A little over a year after their 13th studio album Blood & Stone’s release, Sevendust has released an expanded version of it, Blood & Stone Deluxe, [...]
The New Pornographers Mass Romantic (Reissue) Matador When A.C. Newman formed The New Pornographers 22 years ago, he seemingly had no high hopes that the project would make any serious impact. After all, Zumpano, his previous brilliant effort [...]
Robin Guthrie Riviera Soleil Après Minuit Robin Guthrie, the mastermind behind the ethereal post punk band Cocteau Twins, has returned for his third release of the year, Riviera. Although fans of Cocteau Twins may be looking for a similar sound [...]
LOWEST OF THE LOW TAVERNS AND PALACES WARNER MUSIC CANADA/YES BOY RECORDS Taverns and Palaces are the places to be for the Lowest Of The Low. 30 years since the epic release of Shakespeare My Butt… and 20 years since Nothing Short Of A Bullet, [...]
1st BASE RUNNER ELLIS INDEPENDENT Austin Texas electro-rocker Tim Husmann, aka 1st Base Runner has been on quite a roll this year. After two singles and a mini-album, Seven Years of Silence, he made a few videos with Matt Mahurin, who directed [...]
NEVILLE STAPLE FROM THE SPECIALS AND BEYOND CLEOPATRA RECORDS Former member of Two-Tone legends The Specials, singer Neville keeps alive the sound, approach, and energy of the late 70s – early 80s style, maintaining the love and respect [...]
Little Dragon Drifting Out Ninja Tune Little Dragon’s last full-length album, New Me, Same Us, was released in March of 2020. It was held back in its early days, preventing the band from taking the project on tour. The band released the New Me, [...]
Various Artists Home Warm Mood compilations have been around for a while, and with the advent of ambient and all that can be cramped within the lounge category the actually started dominating the ‘shadow charts.’ If you’re wandering what ‘shadow [...]
Jason Boland & The Stragglers The Light Saw Me Thirty Tigers I’m sure most of you who are reading this have heard all sorts of country music variations, conventional country, left-field country, country rock, Americana, roots, what not. [...]
