Sue Carter Flinn

SharePedestrianForward Music GroupShare, who played on Wednesday, had me at “Dance Dance Retribution,” one of my favourite Pop Explosion song titles. Moving from acoustic folk into a more electronic and experimental sound, New Brunswick-born Andrew Sisk, along with A.A. Wallace, Kyle Cunjak and Nick Cobham keep things interesting by not sticking to one formula. Instead, […]

The Just BarelysTop(independent)“When did I become a sketchy dude?” tops the list as the funniest self-reflective line of the year, thanks to this Halifax art-pop group. In just seven songs, all under three minutes, The Just Barelys establish a thoroughfare of head-bobbing harmonies, smart words and simple but plucky arrangements. Weird and wonderful.Sue Carter Flinncategories: […]

VariousThis Bird has Flown(Razor & Tie)Cover albums are a tough sell. This 40th anniversary tribute to The Beatles’ Rubber Soul is not without its charm and a great line-up of indie rock types, but the soul quotient is low. The Donnas play it straight for “Drive My Car” — cutesy and boring. The Fiery Furnaces […]

Royal WoodA Good Enough Day(Dead Daisy)This Toronto-based former child piano prodigy hasn’t squandered his natural talent or sweet tenor voice—A Good Enough Day is a pop delight, an old-fashioned train-car stocked with alternating riffs on love and heartache. Squeaky clean, but not overproduced, fans of Ron Sexsmith and Hawksley Workman—who plays drums on one track—will […]

Christine FellowsNeverthelessSix ShooterSometimes you hear an artist and just know that if you met, you’d become friends. I like to think that of Winnipeg’s Christine Fellows, one of the most artistic and literary musicians working. There are references to poems by Marianne Moore and Yeats, and she pays homage to Tim Findley. Many of the […]

GorillazDemon Days (EMI)Damon Albarn exorcises a few musical demons on the follow-up to the Gorillaz’ self-titled debut, mixing up a cauldron of hip-hop and dark pop, tossed with a few zombie movie and spaghetti western soundtracks for good luck. Thanks to the contribution of producer Danger Mouse, the colourful result is a spellbinding, if sometimes […]

The Bird & The BeeThe Bird & The Bee(Blue Note)Given lead singer Inara George’s coy Hepburnish looks and their home on Blue Note Records, it would be easy to mistake this LA duo as an innocent sunshine jazz outfit. That is, until you hear their electronica cover of Peaches’ “Fucking Boyfriend.” A mix of Burt […]

The Hidden CamerasAwoo (Outside)The Hidden Cameras’ ringmaster Joel Gibb pushes that “gay church music” out of the chapel. Toning down the harps and horns, a great pop album emerges, built on the Cameras’ sing-along melodies and Gibb’s distinctive voice. There’s more time on the guitar pedal and, dare we say, a few radio-friendly ballads. “Lollipop” […]

Christine FellowsNeverthelessSix ShooterFellows had me at the cover: a charming collage by Shary Boyle. Then it was true, swooning love, opening with a plucky, dramatic instrumental and a theatrical homage to Tim Findley’s Not Wanted on the Voyage. She even sends love letters to outsider shadow-box creator Joseph Cornell. Quirky and daring folk-pop, it’s no […]