Tara Thorne

VariousChristmas Remixed 2(Six Degrees)A surprise among the Chrismukkah cash grabs of last season was Six Degrees’ first Christmas Remixed disc, one that bridged the gap between kids and their parents by combining old, Burl Ives-style holiday renditions with new, Dan the Automator-style beats. Volume 2 is less interesting from a remix perspective — the requisite […]

Ben FoldsSupersunnyspeedgraphic(SonyBMG)Back in 2003/04, Ben Folds released three internet- and show-only EPs (Super D, Sunny 16 and Speed Graphic) with the promise of an official store release in the future. That time has finally arrived. Folds considers this album his rightful second full-length recording, between Silverman and his great Rockin’ the Suburbs. While this kind […]

Kathleen EdwardsBack to Me(Maple)Kathleen Edwards almost called her stellar second LP Nostalgia. The theme permeates as she sings of old neighbourhoods, old boyfriends and old grudges, liberally sprinkling the word “memory” over Back to Me’s 11 tracks. (Best usage: the classic Edwardsian line “You say you like me in your memory/ you’ve got to be […]

Dixie ChicksTaking the Long Way (Open Wide/Columbia)Full disclosure: Had lead Dixie Chick Natalie Maines never uttered the sentence that turned her innocuous country-pop trio into America’s prettiest punching bag—“We’re ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas”—and made it OK to, you know, like the Dixie Chicks, we never would’ve bothered to listen […]

Josh RitterThe Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter(Sony/BMG)Josh Ritter’s The Animal Years only came out a year ago. That he’s followed up with something just as rich and deep that sounds nothing like it is a terrific feat. Where Animal rolled out its war laments via lush, pretty melodies, The Historical Conquests is a raucous but […]

The Ladies and GentlemenSmall SinsBoompa Like the most confessional parts of The Remains of Brian Borcherdt mixed with the subtlest of the Postal Service’s blips, ex-Carnations frontman Thomas D’Arcy quite sensitively blows your mind with this solo project. In a year of arena-style bombast, it’s refreshing to learn that hardscrabble, honest bedroom recordings aren’t extinct. […]

Alanis MorissetteSo-Called Chaos(Maverick)Boasting a word count likely half that of 2002’s Under Rug Swept (and a quarter of the monstrous, rambling Supposed For- mer Infatuation Junkie), So-Called Chaos is a tight 10 pop songs. Morissette resists the urge to cram whole sentences into her lyrics, instead singing, practically sunnily, about how in love she is. […]

Dixie ChicksTaking the Long Way(Columbia)The blistering “Not Ready to Make Nice” still hits hard after months of airplay, as Natalie Maines wonders incredulously, “How in the world could the words that I said/send somebody so over the edge/that they’d write me a letter saying that I better/shut up and sing/or my life would be over?” […]

Great PlainsHome of the New TotemOut of TouchSean MacGillivray made his name as a Sean-of-all-trades—he played drums in Burdocks, backs up Jenn Grant on bass, has guested in too many bands to list and is a go-to sound guy. How lovely to see his own terrific songs and voice—especially the soaring “Unnatural”—finally get a showcase. […]

Sarah HarmerI’m a Mountain(Cold snap/Universal)Sarah Harmer is one perplexing national treasure. She makes us wait four years between the classic You Were Here (2000) and its more politically minded follow-up, All of Our Names. Then she hints that she is making a follow-up to her side project Songs for Clem, the LP she made for […]