Matt Charlton

The Soundtrack of Our LivesOrigin Vol. 1(Telegram)The Soundtrack of Our Lives has spent the last seven years releasing some of the best rock music of our time. While long adored by everyone from Oasis to Brad Pitt, it wasn’t until 2001 that the band made their stateside debut with Behind The Music. The album showed […]

MonoWalking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined (Virgin)There will be a point when the tiny-to-huge instrumental rock formula that is being exploited both by patrons of Zoloft and most of the inhabitants of Montreal will grow tired, but it hasn’t happened yet. Fitting into the scene somewhere between Explosions in […]

Neil YoungLiving with War(Reprise)Minutes after hearing the National Guard had opened fire on a student-organized anti-war protest at Kent State, Neil Young wrote the stirring classic “Ohio.” Forty years later, the venom in his voice is just as toxic on the brilliant anti-war opus Living With War. While the album has already been weighed down […]

Billy TalbotAlive in the Spirit World(Sanctuary)Who the hell would’ve thought Billy Talbot, the member of Crazy Horse who can barely play Neil Young’s songs, was capable of this brilliance? Alive in the Spirit World is nothing less than amazing. While its songs are firmly rooted in Young-isms, Talbot’s defeated voice and late-in-life ponderings combine to […]

The EvaporatorsRipple Rock (Mint)Sounding like Joel Plaskett pushing his voice to the limits of whine while singing campy Canadiana punk, The Evapor-ators are… interesting. The pet project of MuchMusic’s Nardwuar, here he drops his alternately witty/annoying persona to sing about cheese, poop and testicles. The results would be mediocre from a Clearasil-soaked teen; Nardwuar is […]

TV on the RadioReturn to Cookie Mountain(4AD)Sometimes something comes along that will affect everything that comes after it. No one who heard the fragile brilliance of TV on the Radio’s Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes thought it was merely a glance into a promising band’s potential. Somehow though, it was. Return to Cookie Mountain is […]

Iron & WineWoman King EP(Sub Pop)An album that holds lineage over influences, Iron & Wine’s Woman King EP is a dark and brilliant offering. While Sam Beam has backed his sound with a more commanding instrumentation than in the past, his songs are still as focused and pristine as ever. The result fuses the tones […]

Young Heart AttackMouthful of Love (XL)Whether you’re into the retro-rock appeal of Jet and designer trucker hats or are all old school about Burt Reynolds, Young Heart Attack is your new fav-ourite band. Mouth Full of Love is a raw stab of energy-packed, white-trash rock. Borrowing from predecessors with little regard for either copyright or […]

The Twilight SingersPowder Burns(One Little Indian)At this point, there is no good reason it shouldn’t be balls-out creepy listening to Greg Dulli sing about sex. The Twilight Singers’ rotund frontman looks more like the kind of guy that an official warning should be posted about a month before he moves into your neighbourhood than a […]

Dogs Die in Hot CarsPlease Describe Yourself(V2)Not a bad outing from this mid-’80s sounding, oddball pop-obsessed Scottish outfit. Combining heavy amounts of XTC with some Dexy’s Midnight Runners input, the band is what someone in the know might describe as “fun.” Their lyrics at times become a little hokey in concept, but overall, Please Describe […]