Album Reviews: Dream Wife, Sparks, 070 Shake and more

 Dream Wife — So When You Gonna... (London) There was a delightfully unrelenting lyrical narrative to Dream Wife's last album, so for round two they holding nothing back. With gritty, danceable rock and vocals that constantly rotate styles in their delivery, this is a fiery follow up that doesn't slow

Album Reviews: Empress Of, Jockstrap, Phoebe Bridgers

 Phoebe Bridgers — Punisher (Los Angeles) There's always a deep emotional weight behind Phoebe Bridgers' music, one that leaves her albums heavy but rewarding. With a renewed sense of sonic exploration and an even more in-depth understanding of her own inner turmoil, this is  Bridgers most startling work to date. She's

Album Reviews: Jehnny Beth, Vagabon, Krista Hartman and more

 Jehnny Beth — To Love Is To Live (Poitiers/Paris, France) Ever since Savages, there's been a raw intensity in Jehnny Beth's performances that was too shocking to ignore. And firing on her own again, her music is a raw and often pounding listen to assault the senses while saying something

Album Reviews: Lady Gaga, Nicole Atkins, Andreya Casablanca

 Lady Gaga — Chromatica (New York City) Though it's been really powerful to hear Lady Gaga explore the various ends of her music, especially her jazz outings, a return to dance pop feels utterly satisfying. Whether it's symphonic sweeps, experimental effects or just high-octane synth energy, this record is Gaga

Album reviews — Carly Rae Jepsen, Tove Lo, Alma and more

 Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated Side B (Mission, British Columbia) While her last B-sides EP was a surprise hit, it's insane to think Carly Rae Jepsen could follow up a record of single-worthy material with another LP's worth of solid tracks. Though it's a step below the might of 2019's

Album reviews: The Bush, Leanover, Paragon Cause and more

 The Bush — Ricotta (Melbourne, Australia) It's been hard to relax during our isolation lately, but the subdued bliss of The Bush's helps us lie back and just take things calmly for a bit. More than this, they're one of the few bands with music already reflecting on how the

Album Reviews — Amyl, Austra, Pack A.D., Blank Sun and more

 Amyl and the Sniffers  - Live at the Croxton (Melbourne, Australia) With such a live fury and no live shows to play right now, Amyl and the Sniffers new live EP feels like the perfect offering for a concert-less time. Roaring and shifting up the dynamics from their album a

Album Reviews – Anna Burch, House in the Fall and more

 Anna Burch — If You're Dreaming (Detroit, Michigan) Despite all the fun melodies and snarky lyrics in her first record, Anna Burch's music always felt a little disconnected from her narratives. But with the overt romanticism in the compositions of her latest record, each song brilliantly turns its stories into

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: 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

Album Reviews: February 24, 2020

 Grimes - Miss Anthropocene (Vancouver, British Columbia) Grimes has made headlines for ditching albums worth of music and her surprising relationship with Elon Musk, so it's wonderful to finally get a full new release. For fans new and old, this is definitely an evolution sonically but one that hones in

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: September 9, 2019

 Caravan Palace - Chronologic (Paris, France) It's been quite a while since the electro-swing royalty Caravan Palace had graced us with a new album, and its seems like they've been morphing in this time. While it's certainly a notable adjustment from their strict dance-focus music, the sonic excitement of their

Album reviews: July 29, 2019

 Soak - Grim Town (Derry, Northern Ireland, U.K.) Stage setting is an oft-forgotten art is music as a whole, but in cases like the enigmatic Soak, they can really give your album a feeling that sets it apart from everything else. With murky train ride to place listeners, this record

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: July 15, 2019

 Metz - Automat (Ottawa) Metz have always nailed noise and anger with pop, but it's rarely been so fun yet compelling all at the same time. The space in a track like "Soft Whiteout" shows a new maturity in Metz as much as their writing and use of percussion does,

Album Reviews: June 17, 2019

 Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated (Mission, British Columbia) While so many pop artists slowly slip into more generic territory, Carly Rae Jepsen has somehow made consistently exciting pop records for everyone. Touching on different ends of vintage hits from her previous releases, this record revitalizes both her own style and

Album Reviews: June 10, 2019

 Aurora - Amyl and The Sniffers (Os, Norway) In a sea of modern pop singers, Norway's Aurora has always managed to bring the magic of folk-pop to her brand of electronic power-ballads. For a record that holds onto the tones of her 2018 Step I  release, this record is a

Album Reviews: June 3, 2019

 Amyl and The Sniffers - Amyl and The Sniffers (Melbourne, Australia) With the saturation of rock acts these days, hearing a band like Amyl and The Sniffers really go all out in their music is exhilarating. By injecting a fierce amount of energy and punk writing chops the genre only

Album Reviews: May 27, 2019

 Elton John & Taron Egerton - Rocketman (Music From the Motion Picture) Nailing Elton John's musicality and theatricality could be hard, but with the energy of a true musical this soundtrack does it. With a lot of promise for the movie coming next week, this album plays out like an

Album Reviews: May 13, 2019

 Vampire Weekend - Father Of The Bride (New York City) Without Rostam in Vampire Weekend the melodies still hit hard, but there's definitely a noticeable change in how they produce their material. While their previously sharp weirdness is now used like a switch, their powerful use of rhythm still makes

Album Reviews: May 6, 2019

 Laurel Halo - DJ-Kicks EP (Berlin, Germany) Between the utterly abrasive tones of the Aphex Twins of the world and something super pop-like lies the explorative tones of Laurel Halo. Though not always the most melodic music, Halo crafts a great record of slow-burning dance tracks that you can really

Album Reviews: April 29, 2019

 Partner - Saturday the 14th (Sackville, New Brunswick) As their goofy wit continues to make fans laugh, it's great to see Partner expanding into more varied instrumentation. Though this is definitely a simple and to-the-point record, Partner make songs you'll remember here. "Fun For Everyone" riffs on people's unreasonable hate

Album Reviews: April 15, 2019

 Anderson .Paak - Ventura (Oxnard, California) It's only been a few months since Anderson .Paak graced us with his last ambitious release, and he's managed to maintain a great supporting cast in his music. Though this latest release sinks back to his groove-based roots, there's still a lot of fun

Album Reviews: April 8, 2019

 Solange - When I Get Home (Houston, TX/New Orleans) Solange had found a wonderfully artful and pop-focused direction on A Seat At The Table, so her follow-up had a lot to live up to. Here she takes a lightly Stevie Wonder tone and plays around the margins of pop to