CBC Studio H has played host to many local artists’ album-making. Smokin’ Contra Band checked in as one of the latest to work with producer Glenn Meisner and Patrick Martin, who records and mixes. The Meisner/Martin sound favours a polished, balanced mix. On Slim Pickins, the ragged edges of a fun, feisty folk/traditional band disappear. […]
review
Posted inArts + Music
Darwin Deez
Self-described as “happy music for sad people, white music for black people,” Darwin gives a surprisingly accurate rundown—his music sounds like he’s trying to convince listeners to be happy, and it works. The events in his lyrics sound tempting, but don’t “ding-dong-ditch a Televangelist” until you finish dancing.
Posted inFood + Drink
Down and Durty
Honestly, when I think of Irish pubs, I generally think of establishments that have based their business plans on two things: a handful of stereotypes and a Celtic font. But—-barring an appearance by Colm Meaney or a musical tour of the restaurant by Anna McGoldrick—-it is pretty much impossible to cram any more authenticity into […]
Posted inArts + Music
BLK JKS
Out of Johannesburg, South Africa, arrives a quartet likely to scare you. Rock does register with Africans. At times, it seems the speakers or your head might explode from the layers of rhythm, noise and the unknown. The title and album images suggest an aftermath of some trouble when humanity has no toys to filter […]
Posted inArts + Music
La Roux
Absolutely everything about the Mercury Prize-nominated debut by British synth-pop duo La Roux screams retro. Anyone born before 1990 will recognize Elly Jackson’s Flock of Seagulls/Annie Lennox stylistic mash-up, the early ’80s new wave synthesizer and drum machine combination that comes directly from the likes of Yazoo and OMD and the emotional isolationism and lost-love […]
Posted inArts + Music
The Cove’s revelations shock
Part nature doc, part espionage thriller, part horror story, The Cove contrasts its dolphin character study (they’re self-aware, intelligent and highly communicative, according to the film) with shocking footage of the capture and slaughter of thousands of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. Director Louie Psihoyos, at the urging of former Flipper trainer turned activist Rick O’Berry, […]
Posted inArts + Music
9
What on Earth happened in 9, an animated post-apocalyptic adventure featuring a voice cast of Christopher Plummer, Elijah Wood and John C. Reilly? 9 (voiced by Wood), who looks like a burlap rag doll, wakes up in a world terrorized by machines out of the Terminator films’ Skynet nightmare, finds his goggle-eyed, potato-sacked brethren (Reilly […]
Posted inArts + Music
York Redoubt
If York Redoubt’s main vision was to make noise, they’ve succeeded. But there’s more than just noise here: heavy distortion and feedback play into a math-rock, post-punk aesthetic. Recorded partly in an abandoned schoolhouse, warping floorboards and haunted basements seem completely in line with the music. Arty, weighty but still accessible, the different elements of […]
Posted inArts + Music
Fringe review: Beyond the Road Less Gravelled
Ah, the staple of fringe festivals: the one-man show. A solo show gives audiences the chance to spend an hour or so with one character, learning the deep, dark secrets of a life. If done well, this can be entertaining and enlightening. But in the wrong hands, a one-man show is as much fun as […]
Posted inArts + Music
Fringe review: The unexpected pleasure of CHUG
The pleasure of watching the dancers of SINS (Sometime in Nova Scotia) perform their contemporary dance piece CHUG amongst the patrons at the Economy Shoe Shop is doubled by watching the reactions of the audience. As the gracefully athletic trio sprawl across the bar or chase each other playfully around tables and up steps, people […]
Posted inArts + Music
Fringe review: J-Tel Presents…a fun family show
I am a sucker for talented young people, and I have a thing for folk music, so the awkwardly titled J-Tel Presents…Canadian Folk Songs Super-Hits Sound Explosion seemed like it would be right up my alley. I was not disappointed! This show is a clever satire of both infomercials and the “raise a perfect child” […]
Posted inArts + Music
Halloween II’s killing machine
It’s possible to see the movie Rob Zombie wanted to make in Halloween II, but much harder to see the point. It’s Zombie’s prerogative to not want this sequel to amount to “fun” horror. But repeatedly, we’re seeing through Michael Myers’ perspective, observing victims’ prolonged suffering. That’s how Halloween II ends up fetishizing cruelty. The […]