Dave Hayden

GhoststoryBefore the Nights Around Me(Sonic Unyon)Toronto art-country outfit Ghoststory is an indie super-group if there ever was one, featuring members of Hacksaw, Deadly Snakes, Fembots, The Weakerthans and Buck 65’s backing band. And with that kind of cred, it’s no wonder this album kicks ass. Well, perhaps “kickass” isn’t exactly the right term for an […]

Sonic YouthSonic Nurse(Geffen)New York’s favourite noise-makers return to a sonic palette that has already yielded two superb albums, New York Ghosts and Flowers and Murray Street. So why does Sonic Nurse feel lacking? Sure, it’s very good and there are many blissful moments—Thurston’s groovy “New Hampshire” and Lee Renaldo’s “Paper Cup Exit”—but Sonic Nurse feels […]

Chad Van GaalenSkelliconnection (Sub Pop)Calgary’s CVG has quickly become one of Canada’s most treasured musical secrets. And for this sophomore offering he digs even deeper into his bizarre fantasy world—albeit with a measure of optimism and a wider sonic palette—for an album that is a playfully idiosyncratic mixture of catchy indie-pop, traveling blues, ’80s electro-pop […]

Diana KrallChristmas Songs(Verve)All jazz musicians take their turn at Christmas standards. Some just toss them off. But the greats treat the material no differently than any jazz or American songbook standard, making it a showcase for their talent. Diana Krall has recorded a few seasonal numbers over the years , but this is her first […]

Josh RitterHello Starling (Signature)When Josh Ritter pulls into town in September with Sarah Harmer, it will be a welcome introduction to a man who just beat out Justin Timberlake as Ireland’s favourite international musician. And he doesn’t even play Celtic music. Instead, he performs folky singer-songwriter music that is as honest, innocent and pastoral as […]

Andre Ethier, with Chris-topher Sandes feat. Pick-les & Price(Sonic Unyon)If you can picture the cover of Bob Dylan’s The Basement Tapes (an unsubtle take on the cover of Thelonious Monk’s Under-ground) you’ll get a good idea of what to expect from Andre Ethier’s (Deadly Snakes) first solo disc. It is roughly hewn, ragged and full […]

Belle & SebastianThe Life Pursuit(Matador)Since its debut, Tiger Milk, launched in 1996, Scottish darlings Belle & Sebastian have had unwavering critical acclaim that has paralleled its rise to cult superhero status. And B&S influences abound — be they directly in other artists’ work (Swedish crooner Jens Lekman, for one, sound like he pines for Scotland) […]

Holy FuckHoly Fuck(Independent)Is there anything that Brian Borcherdt can’t do well? Between the Remains Of Brian Borcherdt discs and his Holy Fuck output, this guy is getting the reputation of being some sort of supergenius. And this new EP is no different, proving that the success of the first album is neither hoax nor fluke. […]

Hudson BellWhen the Sun is the MoonMonitorSometimes the easiest music to grasp — in sonic terms — is the hardest to write about without resorting to oft-abused cliches or making the review sound like an experiment in creative writing. And so is the case with Hudson Bell, a Baton Rouge- born songwriter who is creating […]

Peter Elkas Party of One(Maple)The strengths Peter Elkas demonstrated as principle songwriter for the Local Rabbits— catchy, strong, extended melodic lines—continue on his debut solo LP. But instead of the Springsteen comparisons of old, it sounds as if he has been spinning some 30-year-old white man soul albums while discussing the merits of minor-key ballads […]