Album Reviews: Ottawa artist special

 Cody Coyote — Debwe/Manidoo Dewe'igan (Ottawa) Ojibwe/Irish artist Cody Coyote hit us with some great singles this fall, playing with vintage hip hop and modern pop. "Debwe" hits an instantly infectious high from the start, with a bass hook that doesn't quit and a seamless groove to rap on top

Album Reviews: Idles, Deftones, Will Butler

 Idles — Ultra Mono (Bristol, U.K.) Fast and brutal is the way Idles has made their music stand out, and way they've evolved is finding the power of silence. Using the ups and downs of dynamics like a sharpened blade, this band is screaming out with an utterly satisfying punk

Album Reviews: Flaming Lips, Buttertones, Jouska

 The Flaming Lips — American Head (Oklahoma City) Regardless of the overall direction of any of their recent records, there's always a sonic journey to take on a Flaming Lips album. Though they're definitely more pensive at the moment, all the Soft Bulletin-era tones and vintage rock energy of American Head

Album Reviews: Hannah Georgas, Disclosure, Whitney Rose

 Disclosure - Energy (Reigate, England) With an ability to spin any great singer into a dance legend, Disclosure always have some fun surprises on their record. Despite a strange crossover of Gorillaz collabs from this year, the result is a totally unique record of club beats for after our current

Album Reviews: Bully, Bright Eyes, L.A. Witch

 Bully — Sugaregg (Nashville) Whether it's catch tunes with a grungy finish or emotional devastation coated in distortion, Bully's music has always felt impactful. This time around Alicia Bognanno's writing manages to deliver this sense of meaning on both fronts for a record that's constantly teetering between fun and dense walls

Album Reviews: Alanis Morissette, Buscabulla, Midwife

 Alanis Morissette  — Such Pretty Forks in the Road (Ottawa) With spells in acting amongst other new ventures in her career, it's been a minute since we've heard anything from local star Alanis Morissette. With a wondrously produced and often dark introspection, this latest effort from Morissette is a mature

Album Reviews: Chicks, Protomartyr, Illuminati Hotties

 The Chicks — Gaslighter (Dallas, TX) Simply speaking up and being honest about their politics rattled things for the Chicks (fka The Dixie Chicks) over a decade ago, but they're back to try and run with that spirit in their music. With an alt-pop sound that lets their country roots

Album Reviews: Margo Price, Lazy Eyes, Public Practice

 Margo Price — That's How Rumors Get Started (Nashville) With every album, Nashville singer Margo Price has evolved conceptions around modern country music into something beautifully complex and excitingly political. Her latest album offers some of her catchiest tracks yet, with a depth to the compositions that lets every infectious

Album reviews — Hazel English, Jack Pine and the Fire and more

 Hazel English  - Wake UP!  (Sydney Australia) Retro yet somehow of a totally different planet, Hazel English's music melds so many worlds into its desert pop sound. Crisp and full of wonder, this record is one to really get your mind racing. This is instantly palpable in the hazy synths of

Album Reviews – Fiona Apple, TOPS, Organ Eyes and more

 Fiona Apple — Fetch the Bolt Cutters (New York City) With the turbulent life Fiona Apple has seen, it's no wonder her music is so unique, though this kind of vision has meant it's been about eight years since a studio record. But if that's what it takes for a

Album Reviews – U.S. Girls, RyanGreenBlue and more

 U.S. Girls - Heavy Light (Toronto, formerly Chicago) It seemed like there was no way Meg Remy could meet the heights of In a Poem Unlimited a second time. By shifting to a more groovy, piano crooner energy on her newest record, she's done just that and made a huge

Album Reviews: March 2, 2020

 Cold Beat - Mother (San Francisco, California) Riding the lines of dance and riff rock with a touch of New Order, Cold Beat keep a constantly dark but bouncy energy. With a little more experimentation this time around, the band's music is still as soulful and fun, but now it

Albums reviews: February 3, 2020

 Harry Styles - Fine Line (Redditch, UK) After leaving One Direction, Harry Styles quickly defined himself as a potent solo artist not afraid to take the singer-songwriter genre meld its future and past into one. And here he manages to make a much more coherent record than his debut outing,

Album Reviews for November 11, 2019

 Jade Bird —- Jade Bird (Hexham/Croydon, England) Though I'd heard rumours and praise for Jade Bird's debut for some time, it was a revelation to finally sit down with her new record. With an emotional maturity and vocal brilliance many decades older than her lack, this young English songwriter is

Album Reviews: October 1, 2018

 Metric - Art Of Doubt (Toronto) After such a long departure and a divisive last record, Metric has truly returned to their roots on this album. By blending a career's worth of sounds and reinterpreting it, they make music that is powerful but not always the most accessible. You can

Album Reviews: September 17, 2018

 Paul McCartney - Egypt Station (England) With decades of music behind him it's cool to see Paul McCartney trying to reinvent himself and modern pop on his new record. Though he's not always pushing himself far enough, there's still a hunger in McCartney's music that makes it exciting. "I Don't

Album Reviews: July 23, 2018

 The Ophelias - Almost (Cincinnati, Ohio) There's so much samey indie-pop that it's truly intriguing to hear a band using the genre's conventions to try something new. For their newest release, The Ophelias bend the rules of arrangement and typical writing to make an album that lulls you in before

Album Reviews: July 2, 2018

 Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch (Cleveland) As Nine Inch Nails and Trent Reznor's music has changed, the intense and abrasive styles have taken so many shapes across the years. For his latest album however, Reznor makes something with a pop core, to let his more eccentric writing add flavour

Album Reviews: June 11, 2018

 Halo Maud - Je Suis Une Île (France) After her previous work with Melody's Echo Chamber, Maud Nadal has crafted her own music that fits the bill while also standing perfectly unique of anything that's come before it. With a masterful use of tone and addictive melodies, this album mixes

Album Reviews: May 28 2018

 Beach House- 7 (Baltimore, Maryland) After their last few albums, Beach House had reached a powerful sound while not really changing that much going forward. For 7however they are evolving once again and using all their signature sounds in ways we've never heard before. They open the record with a

Album Reviews – Lorde, Royal Blood and more

 Lorde - Melodrama (New Zealand) Few artists become as critically acclaimed as Lorde on a debut without a few stumbling blocks on their follow up, luckily Lorde has always been an anomaly. Taking her latest album to more bombastic and dance-focused territory, it nails both the fun and artistic qualities

Singer-Songwriter Royal Wood

 On the phone from his parents’ farm in Lakefield, Ont., singer-songwriter Royal Wood sounds bright, upbeat, albeit, a little out of breath. On a rare but welcome break from a blistering touring schedule for his latest album We Were BornTo Glory, Wood is already at work at a different task:

Quebec Indie Rockers The Strain Are Coming Home

 A fantastic Canadian group, The Strain, will be playing in their hometown of Wakefield, Quebec, on Friday February 22nd at the Blacksheep Inn. The band, which took home the grand prize for the Live 88.5 FM Big Money Shot this past October (www.live885.com), are getting ready to kick off their

Paul Brandt – Getting back to his gospel roots

 Paul Brandt's newest record Just As I Am, released in October, is an interesting departure for this Canadian country star and multi-music-award winner. Just As I Am is a reference to Brandt's gospel roots, and the record is a collection of traditional favorites. If you're not interested in an album with overt Christian