The Afghan Whigs How Do You Burn? Royal Cream/BMG When Greg Dulli and his The Afghan Whigs started out in the nineties they were dubbed as one of the progenitors of grunge. Yet, throughout their career, Dulli and his bandmates always had the [...]
Yungblud Yungblud Locomotion/Geffen Records There comes a time in every artist’s development where they rise above early influences and present themselves as fully formed entities. In his eponymously-titled third album, Yungblud (née Dominic [...]
The Orchids Dreaming Kind Skep Wax Coming back with their first release since 2015, the Glasgow band The Orchids present Dreaming Kind, 13 tracks of intricate, groovy indie pop centered around ideas of romantic futility, unintended [...]
Walter DeBarr Maybe There’s A Time Independent Some reviews are very difficult to write for many reasons. For me, this is a tough one, because not only was I a fan of Mr. Walter DeBarr but also a friend. His death came as a blow as we, his [...]
Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears Curation Records The debate on what constitutes Americana music, whether there are any connected genres (like Canadiana) and what else should be included and what not is still [...]
Avem Three Birds Stoned Mom’s Basement Records Ontario’s premier band of ornithologists, Avem, have released their first full-length album. Three Birds Stoned follows a series of singles released throughout the year from the fowl pop punk trio [...]
Julia Jacklin Pre Pleasure Polyvinyl/Universal Music Canada Australian singer songwriter Julia Jacklin has had no problems with words so far. It didn’t matter whether it was her lyrics, album and song titles, or interviews. No problem in [...]
Dendrons 5-3-8 Innovative Leisure Would you like to refresh your memory of the first phase Talking Heads combined with the mid-period Pavement, all brushed up for more current trends? Well, then, you don’t have to look much further than [...]
Various Artists We All Shine On: Celebrating The Music of 1970 Big Stir Records/Spyderpop Records 1970 was an interesting year for rock. Looking at it now, it is composed of bubblegum pop, radio friendly rock, prog rock, rhythm and blues, and [...]
Hot Chip Freakout/Release Domino Records Hot Chip or Hot Chic? The title of Hot Chip’s eighth album references Chic’s classic disco jam, “Le Freak,” as well as channeling Chic’s Nile Rodgers on “Eleanor” and “Down.” Chanking guitars, synth bass, [...]
Tiffany Williams All Those Days of Drinking Dust Blue Redbird If you think All Those Days of Drinking Dust, the title of the debut album by Eastern Kentucky singer songwriter Tiffany Williams sounds like a possible title of a novel or a [...]
Emily Elbert Woven Together Independent You have not have heard of Emily Elbert as a solo artist before, but there is quite a good chance you have heard her music. Elbert is quite a sought-out songwriter and guitarist who has already a series of [...]
I Prevail True Power Fearless Records Michigan’s I Prevail have emerged from a nearly two year break to deliver their third album, the highly anticipated follow up to 2019’s Trauma. True Power, their most aggressive album yet. In June, they [...]
Erasure Day-Glo (Based On A True Story) Mute Records Vince Clarke has been called “the Benjamin Franklin of synth music,” and his role as co-composer, arranger, and sound architect is unequivocal on Erasure’s experimental Day-Glo (Based On A [...]
Beastie Boys Check Your Head (4-LP Deluxe Edition) UMe In celebration of their seminal, multi-platinum record, the quintessential Check Your Head, the Beastie Boys have reissued the rare, 4-LP deluxe edition of the album. Check Your Head (4-LP [...]
Elaine Howley The Distance Between Heart And Mouth Touch Sensitive Records When singer songwriters decide to turn their written or recorded diaries into music, they are actually undertaking a very risky tactic. The results can be quite boring [...]
Danger Mouse & Black Thought Cheat Codes BMG Perhaps best known as the lead MC for acclaimed hip-hop band – and house band for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – Black Thought has partnered with producer Danger Mouse (Red Hot Chili [...]
Ciao! Scary Haha Independent Usually, when an artist takes on a working alias, the public still gets a chance to learn his birth given name. At least, at some point. Still, New York artist Ciao! has decided to remain otherwise anonymous for his [...]
Amon Amarth The Great Heathen Army Metal Blade Records With a Viking pop cultural moment in Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla series, it is an auspicious time for melodic death metal band Amon Amarth to release its 12th album. Plundering Norse [...]
The Cocktails Yippee F’in Hurray Independent Hot off of reaching the semi-finals of 97.7 HTZ FM’s annual Rocksearch competition, Niagara, Ontario’s The Cocktails are one of the provinces coolest punk outfits. Almost an exact year to the [...]
Bullet For My Valentine Bullet For My Valentine (Deluxe Edition) Spinefarm Records Bullet for My Valentine have just released a deluxe edition of their super intense, self-titled album Bullet For My Valentine. It includes the addition of 5 [...]
Roy Shakked Throwback Groove Gravy Records Since Steely Dan appeared in full force me 50 years ago, many other artists have tried to reach their almost inaccessible heights. They have sat with their combination of truly sophisticated infusion of [...]
Frances Chang Support Your Local Nihilist Independent It might be quite a task to locate New York artist Frances Chang on social media. One of the reasons might be that she is not a big fan of it. The other that so far, Chang has assumed and [...]
Paul Weller 22 Dreams (Vinyl Reissue) Island/Universal Records In June, 2008, Paul Weller released his ninth solo album, 22 Dreams. It was a massive album in the U.K. and Europe. In fact it made it to number one in the U.K., his third number one [...]
