Trevor Savory

GradyA Cup of Cold(Warner)Big Sugar shredded speakers across this nation of ours with its blend of reggae-infused blues rock until 2004 when leader Gordie Johnson disbanded it. He went to Texas and formed Grady (with Ben Richardson and Billy Maddox) not long after. In 2005 Grady’s debut Y.U. So Shady? was released to minimal fanfare. […]

Gwen StefaniLove. Angel. Music. Baby. (Interscope)Gwen Stefani’s LAMB is inevitably going to disappoint No Doubt fans, but if you go in with an open mind, you might be surprised at what you find. Stefani steps away from the No Doubt shadow and emerges with an album best described as “Bubble Pop Electric” (an aptly titled […]

D12D12 World (Shady)Westside Connection has Ice Cube, G-Unit has 50 Cent and D12 has Eminem. All three have high powered hip-hop ties—so why does D12 come off as more of a novelty act? Maybe it’s because of their singles “Purple Pills” or “My Band,” which by hip-hop standards are light-hearted compared to the gamut of […]

Danko JonesSleep is the Enemy(Bad Taste)To paraphrase Occam’s Razor, the simplest answer to a problem is most likely to be the right one. Not that Sleep is The Enemy is a problem. It is, however, a straight-ahead no-frills rock record, brimming with testosterone-laden confidence. Even as far back as their indie EPs, Danko Jones’ primary […]

Pete YornNightcrawler(Red Ink)It’s aggravating the attention given to “artists” such as Paris Hilton or Kevin Federline while actual artists like Pete Yorn are out there making incredible folk-rock. It’s hard to explain why Yorn has gone largely unnoticed—Nightcrawler will be the best album of 2006 that no one heard.Trevor Savorycategories: Best of the year (2006)

Jon McKielThe Nature of ThingsindieJon McKiel’s latest release The Nature of Things shows just how diverse the Nova Scotia music scene actually is. McKiel invokes hints of Wintersleep, Joel Plaskett and Matt Mays, but ties them together neatly into a beautifully crafted sound that is his own. David Suzuki would be proud.Trevor Savorycategories: Best of […]