Album Reviews: Emma Anderson, Lost Girls, Priya Ragu

 Emma Anderson – Pearlies (London, England) In her first solo record, Emma Anderson brings the wonder of her bands Lush and Sing-Sing, while taking the actual emotion of the music somewhere different. Moody in its own way, the album sees Anderson blending experimental effects tones with retro alt-pop tones for

Alvvays strikes gold again and blows their previous work out of the water

 Alvvays – Blue Rev (Toronto/Charlottetown, PEI) It’s a rare feat for an indie band to essentially strike gold so consistently, but Alvvays have seemingly managed to emerge from another long break with their best music in ages, and a production scale that blows their previous work out of the water

Album Reviews: Gorillaz, Angel Olsen, Casper Skulls

 Gorillaz - Meanwhile EP (London/World) Damon Albarn seems to be thriving musically during the pandemic, perhaps able to tap into collaborations more than ever. As a wondrous taster release, this smaller release is the project's first of this nature in a while, but thrives in its ability to focus on

Album Reviews: Black Midi, Bachelor, PACKS

 Black Midi — Cavalcade (London, U.K.) Grime, freestyle and a furious melding of solo styles from both rock and jazz make every Black Midi record soar. Unpredictable as ever, this record wastes no time grabbing you and saying "Let's go all out!" This is immediately apparent as John L rolls

Album Reviews: Dua Lipa, Mack & Ben, and more

 Dua Lipa  - Future Nostalgia (London, U.K.) Pop is in a great place for feel-good jams and Top 40 artists like Dua Lipa who can mix the weird with infectious hooks. Though Canadians might find the album title confusing next to the The Sheepdog's own 2015 release, they will find

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: July 22, 2019

 Sasami - Sasami (Los Angeles) While Sasami has been playing and teaching music for years, it's strange to look at this new album of hers as a debut. With this background however, her record is a smooth and polished effort that knows how to execute its emotions however low-key they

Album Reviews: BTS, Jenny Lewis and more

 Broken Social Scene - Let's Try The After (Vol. 2) (Toronto) Given all the music they make in their own time, it's a wonder how Broken Social Scene seem to always evolve while sounding exactly how you remember. In this latest album they dive further into their strange ethers but

Album Reviews: September 3, 2018

 Blood Orange - Negro Swan (London, England) Over his last several albums Blood Orange (aka Dev Hynes) has made leaps and bounds for the world of hip hop and R&B. This latest record continues that energy by placing Hynes in a more guiding role as producer while he still brings

Album Reviews: July 30, 2018

 The Internet - Hive Mind (Los Angeles) With all the talent that the likes of Syd and Steve Lacy have delivered in their solo work in recent years, it's easy to forget how powerful their supergroup The Internet has been. As much a return to form as it is 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