Caley MacLennan

For Wait for Me, Moby holed up in his New York flat and invited his friends over to make beautifully melancholic songs. The final product of Moby’s introverted and artistic endeavour is an album that paints an emotional picture of a time and place; a portrait of a cool but moody New York. Wait for […]

From the first moments of Grey Britain, it’s clear that the increased attention to production has only strengthened the band’s sound. Instead of relying on hardcore cliches like chugging guitars and gang vocals alone, Gallows has tapped into a diverse range of sound design to help paint a vivid portrait of a country that lies […]

While Coaster may not rival the seminal White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean, it does manage to offer virtually all of the great idiosyncrasies that have made NOFX famous over the years. Disrespect for disrespect’s sake? Check. Glorification of the underdog? Check. Clunky, sometimes surprisingly complicated arrangements, anthemic choruses and fun horn-driven songs? It’s […]

With plans to soon release a counter-point album, Senior, which will focus more on the down-tempo, brooding side of the band, Röyksopp’s current release remains decidedly upbeat. Not only does Junior maintain a pleasant, danceable groove across the album, it manages to stay that way without relying on a constant thump of cliche house beats. […]

Supporting Caste is in line with the band’s evolution—sped up by John Sampson’s departure to found The Weakerthans—as they seem to distance themselves further from the frenetic, stop-start sound that earmarked them as one of the they-all-sound-the-same fat bands of the 1990s. Unfortunately, this skate-punk sound is what they do best, especially in terms of […]

It has been over two years since the Hamilton duo released the internationally acclaimed So This Is Goodbye, and as can be expected, the expectations for Begone Dull Care are enormous. In comparison to their last two near-perfect releases, the Junior Boys’ latest is merely a great album. Jeremy Greenspan’s voice is as beautiful and […]

Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott recently told radio station Q104 that rock’s greatest singers don’t have great voices so much as great character. It would seem that the Black Lips not only wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment, but also extend the concept to the rest of the band as well. With its low-fi production, effect-heavy guitars […]

Given the luxury of Chili Pepper fame and a successful battle with heroin, John Frusciante has developed his solo career in a direction that allows him to explore the far reaches of his creativity. Most of his 10 solo releases have been dark and seemingly borne from a stream-of-consciousness. While that sounds self-serving, the results […]

A Cross the Universe is a good album simply for the fact that it’s a rehash of Justice’s incredible debut album (Cross). While this live album is criminally similar to their last, Justice maintains an energetic groove from beginning to end, making it a great soundtrack to a long walk or drive. All in all, […]

With their second release in under a year, the Campesino! family has proven what their persistent punctuation suggests: Los Campesinos! have an unshakeable formula. The harmonic chemistry and spry colloquialisms of vocalists Gareth and Aleksandra Campesino!, backed by catchy jingle-jangle and dauntless energy, have created a signature sound. The challenge Los Campesinos! now face is […]

It seems that following his filial and romantic losses last year, Kanye West received a large bag of weed and Auto-Tune for Christmas. The resulting stream-of-conscience jam session, 808s and Heartbreak, void of his characteristic wordplay, ends up sounding like a teenage vanity album. Unfortunately, Kanye didn’t wake from his cathartic haze in time to […]

LudacrisTheater of the Mind(Def Jam)If you are in the minority of Ludacris fans, you’ve seen Crash and his SNL guest spot, grooved to Release Therapy and have an expectation that Theater of the Mind is the product of an emcee with substance. With only a few exceptions, however, Ludacris’ smooth, sing-song flow and razor wit […]