Remember playing rock, paper, scissors during recess in elementary school? Well, Tim Crabtree’s project Paper Beat Scissors has little to do with childish games, but there is something youthful about his approach to music. Instead of locking himself in the ivory tower of song, he begins by tinkering around on guitar and making sounds reminiscent […]
Shannon Webb-Campbell
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Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution
During the days between Halifax’s monthly spoken-word event Speak!, lyrical minds can feast on Word Warriors, an anthology of fierce women writers. Edited by Alix Olson, this collection features a forward by legendary vagina warrior Eve Ensler. A large portion of Word Warriors explores narratives of struggle. Each writer fights for the language of expression. […]
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Joy Ryder
Serena Ryder toys with rhetoric on Is It O.K., her latest release. She brings her pathos, ethos, logos and big voice to Halifax for a two-night stand at Casino Nova Scotia, March 20 and 21. “It’s an internal question. I’m kinda leaving it open to interpretation,” says Ryder, calling on her cellphone from the Rockies […]
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How I Learned to Run
It’s been almost a decade since I first saw Kinnie Starr perform. Her resume now includes five albums, a Juno nomination, acting, Cirque du Soleil and The L Word soundtrack. Her latest creative endeavour, How I Learned to Run, is a patchwork of photography, illustration and poetry. To encounter Starr on the page is polarizing. […]
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Great Lake Swimmers’ out of water
Tony Dekker makes Ontario sound mythical. Both in lyric and location of the recording process, the Great Lake Swimmers’ latest effort, Lost Channels, explores the various caverns within the Thousand Islands region. From historic island castles to old-world churches, the album charts this mysterious terrain. “For songwriting, I usually try to get into a really […]
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Mongrel king of klezmer
Vancouverite Geoff Berner is touring his whiskey-soaked klezmer music to various watering holes across Canada. On February 20, he’ll drain liquor bottles and toast “mazel tov!” with The Whiskey Kisses and IDOW darling Amy Honey at Gus’ Pub to celebrate his latest album, Klezmer Mongrels. “The album is about the value of a good bar […]
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The Night Is A Mouth
Toronto-based Lisa Foad’s writing is lucid, intoxicating and original. Part poetry, part prose, The Night Is A Mouth tumbles through a myriad of sex, drugs and longing. The post-modern short story collection echoes works by Lynda Barry, Julie Doucet and Daphne Gottlieb, but is in a league of its own. An earlier version of “Violent […]
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Company calls on Ryan MacGrath
Ryan MacGrath doesn’t do anything half-assed. The night he released his EP, In My Own Company, he transformed the Seahorse into an opera house—heavy curtains hugged the stage, lanterns shone over mini-mirror balls hung like hot-air balloons and little white lights twinkled behind textured backdrops. The magical surroundings were mere accents, as he pulled out […]
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Ryan MacGrath
Some music merely soundtracks, but Ryan MacGrath’s solo collection creates atmosphere, mood and tone. Akin to the theatrical pop melodies of Rufus Wainwright, Hawksley Workman and Beirut, MacGrath opens In My Own Company with the whimsically romantic “Bell Boy.” With flourishes of glockenspiel, percussion and accordion, it’s hard not to be whisked away into this […]
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Precordial Thump
Toronto writer Zoe Whittall’s new poetry collection Precordial Thump packs a punch. It can be read back to front cover, beginning to end. Either vantage point showcases a divide: the honest and the dishonest. Both the liar and lied to emerge—action and reaction—all words have consequence. A fixation with medical language and the crucial aspects […]
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Love and Text
The Greek classic elements—earth, air, fire, water and aether—deeply influenced European thought and culture. Julia Kennedy believes the foundation of all art is based upon these five pillars. She compiled Sacred Texts, a patchwork of hand-scrawled and typewritten narratives from 10 local artisans, to commemorate five years spent creatively among friends. “The people included in […]
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Sarah Slean
Sarah SleanThe Baroness Redecorates(Warner)Paris unhinged Sarah Slean. She revisits the darker notes found in the city of lights. The album begins with a quirky theatrical outburst, “Parasol,” which directly contrasts the classical elements of this b-sides collection. “Lonely Side of the Moon” is part dream, part nightmare and could perfectly score a Tim Burton flick. […]