In a town of this size, it’s common for bands to share multiple partners. Nap Eyes is no exception. “I think we have the habit of just a lot of our bands sharing members,” says drummer Seamus Dalton, whose Nap Eyes mate, Josh Salter, also happens to front Quivers. “We’re pretty incestuous, you could say.” […]
Matthew Ritchie
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Kevin Smith’s movies
After his next release, the hockey epic Hit Somebody, Kevin Smith says he’s done being a film director. No more snootchie bootchies. If the popularity of his podcasts and spoken word engagements continues—this week he’s back in Halifax for the third time in four months—he won’t need to make movies anymore. If you’re wondering why […]
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Some Mo Kenney
Singer-songwriter Mo Kenney may have begun taking classical guitar lessons with the Royal Conservatory of Music at the age of 11, but like a lot of young musicians, that didn’t mean her taste in music was as mature. “I kind of listened to pretty generic music that didn’t have depth for awhile when I was […]
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Atlas Sound
Parallax is the third album by Deerhunter Bradford Cox’s solo outfit Atlas Sound, and if you’ve heard his previous releases, you know what to expect. The guitars are more toned down than in his work with Deerhunter and there are more synthesizers, but Parallax separates itself from his other releases due to the eclectic songwriting. […]
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Life in a Day
Life in a Day is a documentary filmed in a single day—July 24, 2010 to be exact—by people all around the world. The film explores the general themes that bind global societies such as love, death, birth, fear and our all-around attempts at survival in our daily life. As the film was made in partnership […]
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Long Weekends’ neurotic fiction
When it comes to the menacing sounds of post-punk, the theme of isolation shows up again and again as an inspiration for the anguished punk hybrid. From bands like Salford, UK’s Joy Division to Louisville, Kentucky’s Slint, the depressing states of remote towns act as an impetus to break out through music. But for Noel […]
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Writers’ rock
The First Aid Kit is a pretty good name for a band. But after singer-guitarist Darryl Smith started the band in 2006, he soon found out just how catchy a band name it was when people started to ask for tickets to his shows in Sweden. “People were asking for guest list spots to shows […]
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M83
In the 10 years since Anthony Gonzalez’s recording project M83 emerged from France’s shoegaze underbelly, the band has gone from ambient noodling to lush orchestration and ’80s synth-pop. The group’s sixth studio album may be their most concise and accessible yet. Which is contradictory, considering the album spans two discs and has Gonzalez experimenting with […]
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The Black Keys
Since the Keys’ self- produced releases of the early ’00s, the band has become more mainstream, and with each new release comes a new set of instruments for guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney to play with. El Camino may be their most varied album to date, with chiming bells, organs and wacky guitar […]
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Matthew Ritchie’s Top 11 Albums of 2011
Matthew Ritchie Coast writer since 2010 Bombay Bicycle Club, A Different Kind of Fix (Island) British 20-something shoegazers make ambient dance album with rock instrumentation. This is probably the best album you haven’t heard of. Expect big things from this young band. Friendly Fires, Pala (XL) Friendly Fires are kind of like LCD Soundsystem, except […]
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Best music of 2011
Alison Lang Coast writer since 2007 Bad Vibrations, Black Train (Brotherhood) Bad Vibrations has what businesspeople would call a “consistency of vision.” With Black Train, these straight shooters will take you on a ride that is continually ghostly, tenebrous and spaced-out—brain food for headbangers. Bike Rodeo, Oh Bla Duh (Independent) Some bands out there raise […]
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Top 11 of 2011
Settle in and read our critics’ picks of the year. Learn about yourself and our writers in the process. Possibly a two coffee read and at least one of those coffees should have whiskey in it. MUSIC BOOKS DVDS VIDEO GAMES THE LOT OF IT