Dave Hayden

Damien JuradoAnd Now that I’m in your Shadow(Secretly Canadian)Listening to a Damien Jurado album is like watching a full season of Six Feet Under in one sitting—gratifying but emotionally draining. The hard part arises from the stories he creates—dark character studies depicting emotionally painful experiences. Yet his ability to craft tender melodies and seduce the […]

At the Drive-InThis Station is Non-Operational (Fearless)Funny how it happens — the album that breaks a band into mainstream consciousness ends up being its last. In the case of At The Drive-In, that album was Relationship of Command. The band then splintered into the catchier, more accessible Sparta and the difficult-to-come-to Mars Volta. This single […]

The Wedding PresentTake Fountain(Manifesto)Eight years after Saturnalia, indie darlings The Wedding Present return with an album that sounds like a blend of classic WP and Cinerama (David Gedge’s softer side project). There are three or four tracks—most notably “Ringway to Seatac” and the extremely harsh break-up song “Larry’s”—that satisfy with sharp, dry guitar lines that […]

John and the SistersS/T (NorthernBlues)Kevin Breit’s credentials are impressive. As a session and live accompanist for the likes of Norah Jones, k.d. lang and Celine Dion, he has seen his fair share of glitz and has likely been told too many times how the music should be played. This disc—a murky and at times extremely […]

The ElectedSun, Sun, Sun(Sub Pop)The trend toward more constructed and tightly arranged songwriting continues on The Elected’s sophomore disc Sun, Sun, Sun, so immersed in sunny Californian textures it’s easy to miss the tales of broken homes and broken hearts that line its interiors. Along the lines of The Thrills or Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois album, […]

ZekeTil The Living End(Relapse) In the world where punk and metal collide in an apocalyptic square-dance, there are two acts that rule the roost: The Ramones and Motorhead. Zeke, hitting Stage Nine on November 19, has done its fair share to honour them both over the years, and Til the Living End is no exception. […]

Simon JoynerLost with the Lights On (Jagjagwuar)Simon Joyner’s world is not to be entered half-heartedly. Lost with the Lights On finds Joyner once again lurking around dark corners and deep crevasses. While he mopes with the best mopers (Elliott Smith and Nick Drake) he has a highly literate style of singing prose and a unique […]

Charlatans UKSimpatico(Sanctuary)The Charlatans UK is pretty much the only entity that remains from the late ’80s Manchester surge. This band has had a storied career: aside from the drugs and mayhem, they released some friggin’ stellar material over several great albums, peaking on 1999’s Us and Us Only. Even when they weren’t top notch, they […]

Thurston MooreTrees Outside the AcademyEcstatic Peace!Call it what you want—quiet is the new loud, maturing as a songwriter, alleviating tinnitus—but sometimes it’s more daring for a musician to turn down the volume from the cloaking effects of inaudible feedback. In the case of Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, who for almost 30 years has been synonymous […]

Broken Social SceneS/TArts & Crafts On Broken Social Scene’s fourth album the motto is Go Big or Go Home. Everything here is big — big production, big sound, big guitars, big choruses. It is as if they took the liveliest and grandest moments from You Forgot it in People and exploded them into the cosmos. […]