Album Reviews: April 1, 2019

 Ex Hex - It's Real (Washington, DC) With a Cars-like pop and some hard-rock riffs to grime it up, Ex Hex really set themselves apart as a fun but gritty band a few years back. This time around they're playing with a much more sonically diverse palette, but touching on

Album Reviews: March 9, 2019

 Stella Donnelly - Beware Of Dogs (Perth, Australia) Every once in a while you hear a record that can really shock you, whether it's a great sound or the emotional impact. This debut LP sees Stella Donnelly soothing you in her music while telling cutting stories that tap into modern

Album Reviews: Beirut, Bob Mould, Noi and more

 Panda Bear - Buoys (Baltimore, MD/Lisbon, Portugal) Though it goes without saying that Panda Bear has definitely maintained a specific sound and niche kind of writing, he's always carved infectious writing into this sound. For as often as he meditates on ideas in this latest release, Panda Bear makes a

Album Reviews: February 25, 2019

 Swervedriver - Future Ruins (Oxford, England) Those looking for furious rock that cuts through pop hooks with ease, Swervedriver give you that with a touch of anger and grit. With such a colossal weight to the sound Swervedriver bring to the table, it's only a shame they're not taking it

Album Reviews: February 18, 2019

 Charles Bradley - Black Velvet (Brooklyn) The world lost a legend when Charles Bradley died, and this posthumous record just hammers that point home more. With a range of what we love from Bradley and some unexpected sonic explorations, this album is a great sign-off for his career. We're hearing

Album Reviews: February 11, 2019

 Le Butcherettes - bi/MENTAL (Guadalajara, Mexico) While previous records from Le Butcherettes were all about raw punk fury and a little art-rock, they've blurred the lines of genre more and more with each release. Here singer Teri Gender Bender and her band craft poignant and immediate tracks that while not

Album Reviews: February 4, 2019

 Smashing Pumpkins - Shiny And Oh So Bright: No Past. No Future, No Sun (Chicago) Though it's been harder and harder to get into the Smashing Pumpkins due to Billy Corgan's bad attitude, they've turned it around recently. While this new album isn't the most revolutionary bit of writing, it's

Album Reviews: January 28, 2019

 Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow (New York City) After bringing a sense of weirdness and real heart to singer-songwriter music and folk, Sharon Van Etten is boldly walking into pop. While there's a lot of sonic exploration on this record, it's still the depth of Etten's own emotions

Album Reviews: January 7, 2019

 Foxwarren - Foxwarren (Regina, SK) Explorative writing but solid pop gives Foxwarren a strong drive that songwriter Andy Shauf has already been displaying on his own. Though their new album is definitely pulling from a lot of familiar ground, they keep their sonic-end glowing enough to feel new again. Slow as it

Album Reviews: December 3, 2018

 Thom Yorke - Suspiria  (England) Tackling a classic work is daunting, and it's often better focus on capturing a feeling of the original work rather than update or distort it. By doing so just like Luca Guadagnino's film does, Thom Yorke creates a piece that not only suits the film

Album Reviews: November 26, 2018

 Graham Van Pelt - Time Travel (Toronto) It's always interesting with certain solo spin-off artists to see how much of a driving force they are for specific sounds in their band. In the case of Graham Van Pelt, we hear many of Miracle Fortress's electronics and synths shining solo for

Album Reviews: November 12, 2018

 Art d'Ecco - Trespasser (Vancouver, BC) Through a complete artistic and aesthetic reinvention, Art d'Ecco has embraced glam-rock in a wonderfully colourful way. Through amazing textures and performances, this record shows off how fun rock can really be when you're earnest but a little unhinged. With keyboards flying furiously on

Album Reviews: November 5, 2018

 Marie Davidson - Working Class Woman (Montreal) Through her work as half of Essaie Pas, Marie Davidson has shown us how entrancing her music can be. This solo record however sees the electronic artist pushing expectations to the limits while blurring the lines between music and an outright sonic experience.

Album Reviews: October 29, 2018

 Cat Power - Wanderer (Atlanta) With the elegance and subtlety of a modern Patti Smith, Cat Power offers us an emotionally dense record this time, that focuses everything on her vocals. Though the album is sonically a little barebones, so much of the work from Chan Marshall is so devastating

Album Reviews: October 22, 2018

 Mini Mansions - Works Every Time (Los Angeles) Between their time in projects like Queens of The Stone Age and The Last Shadow Puppets, there's always something interesting on a Mini Mansions record. Though this isn't their largest step forward, they certainly bring a lot of pop fun on this

Album Reviews: October 15, 2018

 ∆ Alt-J  - Reduxer (Leeds, UK) As a rare dip for indie rock into remixes, Alt-J make for a surprisingly good fit. Retooling their sparse arrangements with some creative minds, the band's friends make totally new songs more often than they just offer up generic dance-versions. As Little Simz jumps

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 24, 2018

 Dilly Dally - Heaven (Toronto) After nearly falling apart as a band if the stories are to be believed, Dilly Dally has moved forward on their newest record. Though it rarely captures the same brutality of their last record, the mix of exploration and guttural moments really keep the record

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: September 11, 2018

 La Force - La Force (Montreal) With years in AroarA and Broken Social Scene amongst her numerous features, Ariel Engle makes a powerful solo debut as La Force. By taking her  past signature sounds and twisting them in the best way, Engle makes music that stands out. Engle cleverly provides

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: August 6, 2018

 Phantastic Ferniture - Phantastic Ferniture (Australia) If you were lucky enough to catch Julia Jacklin's heartbreaking indie-folk, her chipper new indie project is the perfect cure to her older blues. Working with friends Elizabeth Hughes and Ryan K Brennan for simple and fun pop, Jacklin crafts something exciting while still 

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: July 16, 2018

 Florence + The Machine - High As Hope (U.K.) Throughout the years Florence Welch has continuously evolved her writing to match where she is in her life. As she sheds many of her usual metaphors for this latest album, her arrangements vary enough to both excite and occasionally underplay her

Album Reviews: July 9, 2018

 The Gorillaz - The Now Now (U.K.) Despite his collaborator heavy release last year Damon Albarn's animated band has returned as a much more solo venture this time around. Stripping things down for more focused songs, Albarn makes an album with more distinct moments than distinct sounds. With the glossy