The Harringtons Change Is Gonna Come Independent Rock and roll’s default position tends to be the sound of the early to mid-60s when pop was young, the first flush of the music had passed and young musicians were enthusiastically taking up the [...]
John Murry A Short History Of Decay Latent Recordings Some artists suddenly crop up, come up with some brilliant music, get critical accolades, and then, as if there is an invisible border, they simply cannot cross it. It can be that the [...]
Black Needle Noise Lost In Reflections Independent Black Needle Noise is a project from John Fryer. If that name sounds familiar to you, it’s because he has been making music, usually as a producer, since 1979. Go to your record collection, [...]
Capital Cities Swimming Pool Summer Universal Music The new EP Swimming Pool Summer by the LA-based duo Capital Cities, comprised of Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian, delivers a hook-laden summer single on the title track, and is a worthy [...]
Dream Version Fight Fair Independent Punk is vague. It has always been vague. Ideologically, some punks are full-fledged antiestablishmentarians that veer into anarchism, while some are simply mad at “Big Pharma” and the American war [...]
Grim Streaker Girl Minority EP Independent They have been playing the New York City/Brooklyn scene for the past year, and here it is, the debut EP from Grim Streaker. They released a debut single, “Guts”, earlier in the year but here [...]
Dusty Springfield A Brand New Me: The Complete Philadelphia Sessions (Expanded Edition) Real Gone Music Originally released as a 10 song collection in early 1970, Dusty Springfield’s, Brand New Me: The Complete Philadelphia Sessions gets [...]
Bellevue Days Rosehill SO-RAF After amassing critical success in 2016 with the release of their album Sad Boy, Bellevue Days are back again with Rosehill, an overall impressive EP that reflects on both the adolescent and adult lives of the [...]
88 Fingers Louie Thank You For Being A Friend Bird Attack Records There seems to have been a resurgence of 90’s punk bands lately. New albums from Green Day, Rancid and Blink-182 have all found their way onto the airwaves (for the purpose of [...]
Mise En Scene Still Life On Fire Light Organ Records Things have changed for Mise En Scene since their 2012 debut, but only in the best ways. The Winnipeg-based duo, consisting of lead singer and guitarist, Stefanie Blondal Johnson, and drummer, [...]
Fruit & Flowers Drug Tax EP Little Dickman Records Out of the depths of alt rock, a gritty sound emerges with an edgy twist on traditional surf rock. Fruit & Flowers’ debut EP Drug Tax reels the listener through six tracks of haunting [...]
Dion Lunadon Dion Lunadon Agitated Records Dion Lunadon’s dedut album retains certain elements from his previous bands, the bouncy uptempo simplicity of The D4 and some of the slower songs have the spacey vibe of A Place to Bury Strangers, [...]
Stompin’ Tom Connors Stompin’ Tom Connors 50th Anniversary Ole/Anthem Legacy There is no better way to celebrate Canada Day and all things Canadian than listening to Stompin’ Tom Connors, and released just in time for Canada Day is this [...]
The Beach Boys 1967: Sunshine Tomorrow Capitol Records Following the devastating mental breakdown of Brain Wilson during the Smile sessions in 1966 and ’67, the band seemed to be in serious trouble. It’s principal songwriter, arranger and [...]
Future Lives Mansions Soft Magic Records There are a lot of players on Mansions by Future Lives. However, this huge ensemble is based around Brandon Taj (of King of Prussia fame). He is the centre point of this album, which features some of his [...]
Fleet Foxes Crack-Up Nonesuch Records After a six year absence, The Fleet Foxes return with their first album since 2011 Helplessness Blues. And their first album since the departure of Josh Tillman (aka Father John Misty). Even with the [...]
The Franklys Are You Listening? Hälta Hälta Records Are You Listening? is the debut album from The Franklys. The band is made up of guitarists/vocalists Jennifer Ahlkvist and Fanny Broberg (from Sweden) and bassist Zoë Biggs and drummer Lexi [...]
Triptides Afterglow Requiem Pour Un Twister Psychedelic and ethereal, Triptides’ newest album Afterglow proves to be a fantastic addition to this summer’s playlist. With a beach-pop sound, you’d never guess the band started in Indiana and not [...]
Fader First Light Blanc Check First Light is the debut album from Fader, which is the latest project from Neil Arthur (from Blancmange fame) and Benge (Ben Edwards) who is known for his work in electronic music, especially as part of John Foxx [...]
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Murder Of The Universe ATO Records If King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and J.R.R Tolkien had a lovechild from Mordor, Murder of the Universe would be as close as you could get to such a scenario. The [...]
Prince And The Revolution Purple Rain (Deluxe Expanded Edition) NPG Records/Warner Music First things first. I love Prince. I love Prince And The Revolution and I love Purple Rain. I loved it when it first came out on June 25, 1984 and it has [...]
Algiers The Underside Of Power Matador Records This album is not for the faint of heart. I think the opening lines from the first track, “Walk Like A Panther” sets the tone. ‘We won’t be lead to slaughter, This is self [...]
Catherine MacLellan If It’s Alright With You: The Songs Of Gene MacLellan True North Records Folk singer/songwriter Catherine MacLellan’s latest release is a personal, reflective homage to the work of her late father, Gene MacLellan, a man [...]
Portugal. The Man Woodstock Warner Music On Portugal. The Man’s eighth album, Woodstock, the band plays around with several different elements but never confidently lands its stride. The now electronic indie outfit had its sights set on creating [...]
