Trevor MacLaren

LunasaThe Kinnitty Sessions (Compass)Recorded before an audience in the legendary haunted Irish Kinnitty Castle, The Kinnitty Sessions is an absolute treasure of modern Irish folk. Lunasa are an exciting collective to hear; their arrangements are invigorating and take a fresh look at traditional pieces. Fans of folk will be enthused by their amazing musicianship, daring […]

CarsickCarsick(Drip Audio/Maximum Jazz) Carsick — the band and their eponymous album — is an interesting exercise is avant-garde jazz taken from an entirely new perspective. A guitar and coronet is an odd combination, but it is a combination that works because the playing is well-executed. Dave Sikula uses the guitar quite often as a brace […]

Flaming LipsAt War With the Mystics(Warner)What makes the Flaming Lips so damn good is their adventurous nature to try new sounds. AWM is an absolute mesmerizing trip with the punk-prog-rock of the last two records with a ’70s/’80s funk vibe. It is playful yet sometimes dark, but a whole lot of fun from the last […]

MarahA Christmas Kind of Town(Yep Roc)At first this record seems like a joke, especially standing beside Marah’s new masterpiece If You Didn’t Laugh You’d Cry. But they really are serious about this venture. Marah mixes some standards like “Silver Bells,” “Holly Jolly Christmas”‰and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”‰alongside originals such as “New York is a Christmas […]

Sex MobDime Grind Palace (Ropeadope)Sex Mob can be a hard band to wrap your head around. Essentially a jazz combo that pounces over the ideology of Miles’s Bitches Brew and Hancock’s Headhunters, Sex Mob isn’t that easily categorized; they twist and turn free jazz and avant-garde eclipses like a deviant cousin of The Shuffle Demons. […]

Lucinda WilliamsWest(Lost Highway)West is unlike any record that Lucinda Williams has ever released. It has a jazzy vibe with a touch of Memphis soul. Taking four years between studio albums, West is all the better for it. Although it’s dark, primarily dealing with the desolation of lost love and heartbreak, it is an inviting record […]

Finn BrothersEveryone is Here (Nettwerk) It has been nine years since Tim and Neil Finn collaborated on a record. Just as their first post-Spit Endz pairing—Crowded House’s Woodface—was a cause to celebrate, so is this. Everyone is Here is a soothing record that contemplates the love and complexity of brotherhood and family. Although the heavy […]

Vienna TengDreaming Through the Noise(Zoë/Rounder)Vienna Teng works in folk-pop, but could fall into the dream-pop category as well. Dreaming Through the Noise is a beautifully constructed work with lush arrangements produced by Larry Klein. An accomplished pianist, there are dabs of Tori Amos, Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds in her sound. The genius arrangement of […]

GypsophiliaMinor HopeindieGypsophilia creates a cornucopia of jazz blasts, baroque bridges and blues-funk groove that all roam over a foundation in French gypsy jazz. Even without their unique vision, the chops and arrangements are killer. Minor Hope is a stunning debut from one of Halifax’s most eclectic ensembles. Trevor McLarencategories: Best of the year (2007)

Martha WainwrightI Will Internalize EPMapleI Will Internalize is the third release from the other Wainwright child this year. Following on the promise of the Bloody Motherfucking Asshole EP and her full-length eponymous debut, Internalize features more of Wain-wright’s quirky Joni Mitchell-meets- Tom Waits folk. The disc is rounded out by the title track “New York, […]