Think About Life has a lot to ponder over the next few months as the band approaches the release of its as-yet untitled third album. Forming in Montreal in 2005 as a side project for Miracle Fortress’ Graham Van Pelt and his friend Matt Shane, the band became a three-piece soon after with the acquisition […]
Matthew Ritchie
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Jon McKiel
From the opening strains of the Pavement-meets-Neil Young chords of Jon McKiel’s “Monster of the Miramichi,” you are in for a varied and complex indie rock record. On Confidence Lodge, 
McKiel’s new EP, which also acts as a preview for his forthcoming full-length, Tonka Warcloud, the Nova Scotian songwriter mixes Canuck rock and roots music […]
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Sandman Viper Command return
Sandman Viper Command, out of Burlington, Ontario are not named after a GI Joe play-set, surprisingly. “We were a little embarrassed getting our band name from the movie Outbreak,” says Rob Janson, singer and guitarist for the lo-fi rockers. “We have a couple movie buffs in the band and they don’t want to give the […]
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Jon McKiel’s house
It’s Valentine’s Day, and I am sitting in a diner talking to a man about goat penises. This is not the ideal day or place to discuss this kind of thing, but Jon McKiel is no ordinary musician. In his short time on the Canadian music scene, McKiel has dazzled critics by creating dynamic rock […]
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Mogwai
At this point in Mogwai’s 16-year career, the band has reached a pretty formulaic point. Loud guitars plus vocoders plus atmospheric tremolo picking plus post-rock drums equals epic music for BMX films. But the Scottish guitar army has never said it was anything but a slow-core band in post-rock shoes. With its new label home […]
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Hawksley Workman’s spectre
Hawksley Workman haunts my life. This isn’t due to some childhood trauma of watching to much MuchMusic countdown, or living in Toronto in 2002 when his album (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves was put on repeat at every good restaurant in the city. No, it is because that no matter where you turn […]
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Sowing Seeds
When people discuss a certain band, for whatever reason they generally talk about it in terms of geographical location. Ever since musical explosions in Seattle and Montreal, the general population assumes that where you’re from shapes your musical output more than other factors, like talent or musical influences. Which is why when you hear about […]
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A Peek inside
Halifax-based singer-song-writer Laura Peek wants to tour more across Canada in support of her sophomore record, Key, which releases at 1313 on February 4, but she has reservations about her success on the road. “It’s hard when no one knows who we are,” Peek laughs. Of course, Peek is being modest. After all, with her […]
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Old story, new theatre
Don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of Thomas Middleton, let alone a Jacobean playwright. A case can be made that ever since the British playwright’s run in early 17th century England, not many people outside of a theatre studies program could name one of his plays. “The Shakespeare brand kind of has a monopoly,” […]
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Skratch and win
Skratch Bastid, real name Paul Murphy, has lived in Toronto for two years, but it still feels like the Haligonian has never left. With a slew of shows in the city every year, it’s apparent that the Halifax DJ prodigy will always have one foot in the east coast, even when playing shows around the […]
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Smith Westerns
Who doesn’t like the golden nuggets of ’70s glam rock performed by the likes of David Bowie, T. Rex and Mott the Hoople? Although initially coined as a passing fad of sugary British pop, its heartfelt sentimentalism and rollicking guitars has left an indelible mark on pop music. It’s hard to believe Dye it Blonde, […]
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Mastering JFK
NOTE: This show is postponed, but a rescheduled date’s in the works. Refunds available at point of purchase. When Jesse F. Keeler picks up the phone in his Vancouver hotel room he sounds exhausted. This is because he spent a few days puking last week in the most un-rock ‘n’ roll way possible: food poisoning […]
