Gaspereau Press got an early Christmas gift this year when one of the Kentville publisher’s books, Johanna Skibsrud’s The Sentimentalists, was awarded The Giller Prize on November 9. The award normally translates to a huge increase in sales for a press, but high volume isn’t the small press’s specialty. Using old-fashioned letterpress equipment, a typical […]
Laura Kenins
Posted inArts + Music
Gianna Lauren moves closer
The Halifax music scene tends to steadily bleed talent into central Canada, so it’s always refreshing to find someone who’s moved here for the scene. Relocating from Ottawa in early 2009, singer-songwriter Gianna Lauren has no trouble remembering why she moved here. Meeting over wine on a rainy evening at the flat Lauren shares with […]
Posted inArts + Music
Great Georgas
Vancouver artist Hannah Georgas looks headed for fame. With her first full-length album, This is Good, released only this spring, she’s already had radio airplay across the country, her music featured on TV shows and in a Walmart commercial, and cover stories in Exclaim and the Globe and Mail‘s arts section. Yet Georgas seems to […]
Posted inArts + Music
Halifax Pop Explosion on parade
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21 Tasseomancy The Company House, 10pm, $10 Sisters Sari and Romy Lightman play the Pop Explosion in mid-transformation. They’ve already changed their band name from Ghost Bees to Tasseomancy, the title of their excellent 2008 release. The changes are going deeper, explains Sari Lightman by email: “We’re focused on developing our skills as […]
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Nocturne spotlight: Coast picks
Night Twitters The Letterpress Gang, Dawson Printshop, 1895 Granville street, Zone 1 “It’s an old technology that takes a long time to learn. We want to pass it on,” says Katie Tower, representing The Letterpress Gang. Tower is talking about the printing equipment at the Dawson Printshop, a teaching printshop that’s existed here for over […]
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Nocturne spotlight: Window Ballet
Artist and musician Lisa Lipton originally conceived of the idea of a performance art piece that would play itself out through the windows of a house four years ago, where each window would serve as one act of a play. She initially intended it as a long-term solo project, but following rejections for government funding, […]
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The Walkmen
With a stripped-down aesthetic, Lisbon presents a slightly cleaner, less distorted sound than earlier records, filled with laments and an ode to Lisbon, where the band spent some time being motivated to work on the record. Strong drum rhythms pervade the album, with subtle brass harmonies kicking in on some songs. Opening track “Juveniles” has […]
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A bushel of quick event picks
Dance SINS and Susie Burpee October 7-9, Sir James Dunn Theatre A killer night for dance fans, thanks to Live Art, starting off with a premiere by SINS (Sometimes in Nova Scotia). Xs is choreographed by Vancouver-based Daelik for SINS’ “Seven Deadly Sins Series.” Love watching these guys perform: Jacinte Armstrong, Susanne Chui and Sara […]
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Penny’s dropped
It’s back to school season, and thousands of young people in Nova Scotia are commencing degrees in the subjects their parents want them to study, or the ones they imagine will get them a good job—or just heading directionlessly to university because it’s the default option. Academic Laura Penny thinks it’s high time we looked […]
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Bloodhouse
Six sharp tracks from local favourites Bloodhouse, this self-released tape does justice to the band’s scuzzy garage rock. Sounding (and looking) a bit like something from another era scooped up off an old car floor, the fuzzy guitars and bass lines deliver with tracks like “Digital Village” and “Eerie Power.” The distortion and reverb are […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Get Outta Town!
Herring Cove If you’re looking for a rural area without getting too far out of the city, the 20 Herring Cove bus will take you from downtown to just far enough to feel like you’re on the coast, but can still get home for dinner. Get off by the end of the line and walk […]
Posted inArts + Music
Meat Curtains/Pompoir
A split between two bands taking their names from semi-gross sexual references, Halifax’s Meat Curtains and Vancouver’s Pompoir, this tape keeps the lyrics and sound dirty with sludgy punk rock. The Meat Curtains side features grungy guitars with a post-punk ethos. “Dream Pig” has all the brashness of Hole’s first album, and the scratchy vocals […]