Owen Maxwell

#10: Amyl and the Sniffers — Amyl and the Sniffers (Melbourne, Australia) It's nearly impossible to cut a new niche in hard rock these days, but by golly, Amyl and the Sniffers found a way this year. The whole album is like the intensity of a flame somehow converted into music, and through [...]

Beck — Hyperspace (Los Angeles) Never one to stay still genre-wise or writing-wise, Beck's latest venture feels of another time and dimension. Though it might feel a tad too inspired at times, this record is certainly the most coherent album he's put out in a while, and it's wonderful [...]

Girl Ray — Girl (London, UK) Following a record of indie guitar-pop with distinct voicing and exceptional song writing, it's certainly jarring to hear Girl Ray return on a glossy note. This time around however, it will be more about what you can find within the simplified compositions of [...]

Following their 2010 reunion, Big Wreck has been an unstoppable force of creativity and touring. Releasing their new record ...But for the Sun in the wake of guitarist Brian Doherty's death, the band carry on with a return to hard stomping rock. We caught up with member Ian Thornley ahead of their [...]

Aldous Harding - Designer (Lyttelton, New Zealand) Few singers can straddle theatrics, celebration and sadness quite like Kiwi songstress Aldous Harding. With rustic charm, unexpected arrangements and storytelling that can only be taken further by Harding's own evocative singing, this record [...]

Guerilla Toss - What Would the Odd Do? (Boston, MA/New York City) Guerilla Toss has become more fascinating with every subsequent release, as they've taken their punk-jazz fusion and slowly coloured it with lush, spacey soundscapes. Never ones to miss a chance for mashing dance-bops with something [...]

Though bagpipes may not play a large role in modern pop music, the tradition behind them is still alive and well. For over a 100 years, the Sons of Scotland Pipe Band have been bringing traditional music and education in that music to Ottawa and Canada as a whole. We caught up with member Bethany Bisaillion [...]

Not every record goes as planned. For Alexandria Maillot's Benevolence, a friend from British Columbia's offer to record in Montreal utterly reshaped a few songs into an album. With new players, songs and a process that went beyond her own creativity as well, Maillot came out with a record outside [...]

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 [...]

Music is a difficult career field, so Craig Stickland has kept surprisingly creative to keep his dream alive. In making his new record Starlit Afternoon, Stickland made a van to not only tour himself but record in the meanwhile. He's also acted, modeled and created furniture to subsidize his love [...]