Matt Charlton

Of MontrealHissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?(Polyvinyl)Following the release of the Inbreds’ brilliant Winning Hearts there was a review of the work in which the writer waxed on about how, for a music fan, there is nothing better than finding a pop songwriter when they hit their “moment.” It’s that time when an artist seems […]

Shout Out LoudsHowl Howl Gaff Gaff(Capitol)With their album released by Capitol Records, Shout Out Louds has been put in the undesirable position of being delivered as the next, next big thing. The bet is that with North America crushing harder on The Arcade Fire than a 11- year-old girl on Corey Haim in 1988, the […]

Marah20,000 Streets Under the Sky (Yep Roc)English novelist Nick Hornby has touted Marah’s 20,000 Streets Under The Sky to be “One of 2004’s most-loved straight-ahead rock albums.” It will not be. Marah takes the hammiest elements of early Steve Earle and Springsteen to produce a straight-ahead rock sound that recalls such wonders of modern music […]

Band of HorsesEverything All the Time(Sub Pop)In 2004, Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke rose from the ashes of chamber pop favourites Carissa’s Weird to create Band of Horses; indie scenesters haven’t caught their breath since. The group’s cathartic pop-rock sound blends yelping vocals with dynamic instrumentation to deliver songs of saints, sin and death. While […]

Q and Not UPower(Dischord)On Power, Q and not U sound like an art-punk band coming to terms with the realization that they like Prince more than Fugazi. While it would be easy to say the band is throwing their hats in the dance-punk arena just when it is paying off, Power is more than that. […]

Cooper Temple ClauseKick Up the Fire and Let the Flames Break Loose (RCA)This album is filled with great songs, the highlight of which is opener “The Same Mistakes,” which melds all of CTC’s peaks from See This Through & Leave into a smouldering and beautiful exhibit of prog rock. The problem is that the band […]

Shotgun and JaybirdTrying to get Somewhere(Sappy)Shotgun and Jaybird have slowly been building their own mythology. Burrowed away in Sackville, NB they periodically emerge with increasingly brilliant indie-rock offerings. Trying to get Somewhere shows the band delivering their songs with a heartfelt and sloppy honesty. Finally, they seem ready to be your favourite band.Matt Charltoncategories: Canadian […]

StarsSet Yourself on Fire(Arts and Crafts)After their album of sappy art school love songs, Heart, Stars has returned with Set Yourself on Fire. It’s apparent from the first listen that the disc is more mature, developed and pretentious (which, with The Dears’ Murray Lightburn involved, is a bit of a given). These characteristics suit the […]

Arcade FireNeon Bible(Merge)Some times are so good that you have to wonder how you’re going to ever recapture them again. It’s the dark cloud that lies just beyond every silver lining. Any artistic achievement that breaks ground and wins acclaim—or hearts—will eventually have to be followed up. In pop culture there have been two prime […]