Damon Albarn Everyday Robots Parlophone/Warner Music Canada Damon Albarn has had a conflicted relationship with modern life for decades. As frontman for Britpop band Blur in the ‘90s, Albarn sang about the cultural homogenization that would [...]
Jerry Leger Early Riser Latent Recordings Early Riser marks Jerry Leger’s seventh album in less than 10 years and it’s clear that he’s a man on a mission to reinvigorate the Canadian Roots Rock landscape for the better. When [...]
Eels The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett E Works/Vagrant It’s hard to believe that this is Mark Everett’s eleventh album. Easy-listening and gentle, The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett is unlike his previous work and is [...]
Weaves Weaves Buzz Records It’s clear upon the first listen of their self-titled EP that Weaves have carved a compelling sound that can’t be easily pinned down. The brainchild of actor/producer/musician Morgan Waters and former Rat Tail [...]
Various Artists Ronnie James Dio: This Is Your Life (Tribute Album) Rhino In honour of Ronnie James Dio’s incredible music career and immeasurable influence on heavy metal and hard rock, the best of today’s metal bands congregated [...]
Tokyo Police Club Forcefield Mom + Pop It’s been four years since Canadian quartet Tokyo Police Club released their last studio-length album, and in the time since they have only continued to hone their signature pop-slash-post-punk [...]
Jessy Lanza Modcast Mix Modular Records This Hamilton, Ontario native caught my attention last September with the release of her slick, electrifying electro-R&B debut album Pull My Hair Back. Now Lanza has dropped a modcast mixtape for [...]
Jay Malinowski & The Deadcoast Martel Pirates Blend I was really excited when I heard that Jay Malinowski, the singer-songwriter and Bedouin Soundclash frontman, was releasing new music after listening to his latest project, Martel by Jay [...]
The Mary Onnetes Portico: Labrador Records The Mary Onettes have strayed. The Swedish band’s self-titled debut doubled, seamlessly, as ‘80s jangle-pop. If you didn’t know it was new, you might have gone crate digging for some dollar vinyl. Think [...]
Doomsquad Kalaboogie Hand Drawn Dracula With several similarities between them, Doomsquad has been compared to the psychedelic-pop purveyors group Prince Rama. While both sibling groups have a habit for enhancing their narrative with everyday [...]
Teenage Kicks Spoils Of Youth Rezolute Music Canada If I said that this is what I have been waiting for, I might not be very far from right. Time will be the true judge of that, but for now I feel warmth inside of a void that I didn’t [...]
USS Advanced Basics Coalition Music Advanced Basics is the fourth studio release from USS, the Markham-Stouffville-bred strum n’ bass duo Ashley Buchholz and Jason “Human Kebab” Parsons. Buchholz, songwriter/mad scientist-in-the-psych-ward [...]
Noah Gundersen Ledges Dine Alone Records After nearly two years of endless recordings and dubbing, Noah Gundersen’s debut full-length album has finally come into fruition. Self-produced, raw and emotionally driven, Ledges is a wonderful [...]
The Pack A.D. Do Not Engage Nettwerk Music Group Look down, look away. I am not responding to that. Do not engage. We all know it. It’s that vibe you send out when you don’t want to engage in conversation in public, or respond to [...]
Mogwai Rave Tapes Sub Pop Records Since they first introduced Mogwai Young Team to the world, this band has made the listening experience in itself an art form. With droning synths, creepy crescendos, and heartbeat drum thumps, Mogwai’s eighth [...]
Bonobo Flashlight EP Ninja Tune With Bonobo’s latest release Flashlight EP, we are once again graced by the subtle groovy sounds that seem to be designed to alter your state of mind and get your feet moving. Scott Green, AKA Bonobo, is one of [...]
Hundred Waters The Moon Rang Like A Bell OWSLA Hundred Waters is known for its experimental sound, and is featured under genres such as electronic, alternative R ‘n’ B, and club music. The release of its second album, The Moon Rang Like a Bell, [...]
Mastodon Live At Brixton Warner Music Live At Brixton is a punishing set of pure metal mayhem that only Mastodon can deliver. Having previously seen these guys live, I’m not at all surprised by their technical perfection. Mastodon was destined [...]
Sparks New Music For Amnesiacs Li’l Beethoven/Universal Music Looking for a last-minute gift for the glam rock/new wave/adventurous music fan in your life? Check out New Music for Amnesiacs, the five-disc box set and accompanying hardcover book [...]
Twin Forks Twin Forks Dine Alone Records The Twin Forks is a good band, but their album post-production work hinders their listeners in appreciating their real talent. Perhaps it is unfair to mention Mumford & Sons or The Lumineers, but it [...]
Islands Ski Mask Manque Music This is by far the ugliest album cover in the vast canon of popular music. It requires serious sustained effort to avoid making contact with its putrid qualities. The songs themselves, however, show a semblance of [...]
Ministry From Beer to Eternity 13th Planet After a break-up lasting a few years, industrial metal band Ministry re-emerged with their latest album From Beer to Eternity, declaring itself the ultimate Ministry comeback. Front man Al Jourgensen’s [...]
The Dodos Carrier Polyvinyl Record Co. “What does a song hold? Was it love?” is the opening question posed on Carrier, the latest LP from San Francisco-based band The Dodos. This opening lyric sets the tone for the album –solemn, thoughtful and [...]
Primitive Man Scorn Throatruiner/Mordgrimm Records Primitive Man is a huge, heavy lumbering beast of the Doom / Crust Metal variety, but completely lack any type of direction. The tracks are very vast, heavy and spacious, but the compositions [...]
