Doug Taylor

The veteran trio from Minnesota enlisted Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy to produce this new album of understated intensity. Where Low’s favored tempo is languid, a little uptick like “So Blue” maintains the glow over Steve Garrington’s staccato piano. Mimi Sparrow’s singing on “Holy Ghost” holds some enthralling notes, then eases into mimicking the ghost itself. Her […]

What fun to have music to play for guests, guaranteed to evoke the response “What the hell is that?” followed by “shit!” or “It’s amazing!” Actually, New History Warfare Vol. 3 is at least as jolting as Vol. 2 and too frightening to be played in a restaurant. Pop fans’ only reference might be to […]

A caustic, key performer in 1970s UK pub rock that begat punk, Parker has never really stopped. He’s managed to reassemble the sextet from his best early albums, such as Howlin’ Wind. The playing on Three Chords Good is less fierce, as are his vocals. The songs are another matter. Parker skewers the military disconnect […]

Yarmouth’s dark-eyed honky-tonker has spent time in Nashville since the last album, raising his awareness of how valuable or debilitating uniqueness may be. On “Single in a Bar,” Cook sings, “I’m the reason they invented birth control,” a backfiring boast that’s good for a laugh every time—Roger Miller would approve. “Facebook Waltz” absorbs terms like […]

The lighter side of British New Wave lived in the Soft Boys, led by Hitchcock, whose oddness then charmed college rock fans Stateside in the 1980s with the Egyptians. Just turned 60, he still has a lot to say. Being a Brit shines through in production and lyrics. While cellos roil on “Be Still,” he […]

Following a good stretch in Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Fearing is back to doing what made his name. His first solo album in seven years should reclaim his status in the acoustic realm. The tune he was dying to get out there is “Cold Dawn,” concerning the tragic helicopter crash off Newfoundland in 2009. […]

This veteran bard of Guelph wants to be a hellraiser, but is he too nice? When Gordon sings “Why can’t we all just agree?” in “We’re on the Same Side,” he is the least cynical person alive. The late NDP leader Jack Layton’s farewell letter has been adapted into “Jack’s Dream,” which may strike some […]

Mining the sublime from a broad selection of music is the knack of Toronto multi-instumentalist Greg Jarvis and his aggregation The Flowers of Hell. When Neutral Milk Hotel and the Czech band Plastic People of the Universe each get a baroque trumpet and violin makeover, you know somebody’s given this some thought. Klaatu’s “Calling Occupants” gets […]

Ashley Moffatt is biology’s gift to music, citing her main influence as the late painter Tom Thomson. A job with Parks Canada at Kejimkujik National Park keeps her close to nature. She writes what she knows, quoting passages from text with subtle revisions for rhyme’s sake. Don’t you wish you had the sea cucumber’s defense […]

A solo EP earlier in 2012 by drummer/singer Erin Passmore has probably stoked anticipation for the third album by Saskatchewan’s Rah Rah as much as has the band’s previous output. Passmore’s voice has some sort of inner reverb that generates an extra tingle factor. The closest comparison would be to mid-’60s Marianne Faithfull. Four of […]

This Scottish DJ has written and produced a succession of UK dance hits. Five of them are on 18 Months. Only “We Found Love” with Rihanna has been a chart-topper on this side of the ocean, so far. Harris employs a rhythmic keyboard attack on the heels of repetitive chorus. You know it’s coming but […]