Reviews

Three songs from the Yarmouth band’s two EPs appear with revisions on this debut full-length along with eight new ones. Robust rock rhythm transports each distinctive tune. “Walking Home” will make a good theme song for those nights when no cab can be found, touching off a quarrel. “How long can you run from me?” […]

Stoned, smooth, sexual and synth-heavy is Chop Trees Over Everything, the final installment in Mayne’s (understandably) popular mixtape series #ChopTrees. With a little help from featured guests Aux, Al Boogie, Thrillah and Earl B, Mayne kick pushes along through a lucky 13 tracks, waxing poetic about weed, his roots, partying, girls, skateboarding and Dartmouth. The […]

My reservations about electro-pop stem from the genre’s reluctance to offer anything beyond chilly synths or a detached melodic sheen. With its first two records, Crystal Castles subverted this formula by humanizing its songs with distraught shrieking and an unfettered adventurous spirit. This style continues on the band’s latest, III, albeit with less vigor and […]

Though we miss her dearly, Spectators proves Amelia Curran’s move to hometown St John’s seems to have spawned a happiness we’ve never seen before. Or, at least, so it seemed at her album release show last week. Spectators (her fourth album and apt follow-up to the Juno-winning Hunter, Hunter) stretches the boundaries of her signature […]

The widespread reverence for Neil Young gets mileage from his versatility, as he appeals to fans of pretty folk, solipsistic experiments and no-bullshit hard rock. Psychedelic Pill finds Young in the latter mode, enlisting his classic Crazy Horse line-up to grind out a record that, unfortunately, is an extremely tough slog. Despite some inspired moments, […]

Barely whispered vocals, layered instrumentation and atypical time signatures rule the roost on Panos Giannoulis’ debut, the self-titled PANOS. Giannoulis draws from his background in indie rock and his more recent involvement in avant-garde and improvised jazz, with a well-trained ear and stable of talented guests to give the album a Sufjan Stevens-esque feel. The […]

Odd Future’s Hodgy Beats and Left Brain get trappy for a minute on Numbers, an album free of club hits (with the possible exception of “Untitled L”) but chock full of nice tracks to bike around at night to. Admittedly, I’m not the biggest Hodgy Beats fan—my favourite tracks feature Left Brain or Frank Ocean, […]

Ben Gibbard is pretending his new LP does not reference his split from Zooey Deschanel, that it’s eight years’ worth of stray songs—and it does have that feel, with its mish-mash of styles ranging from a cappella to mariachi—but who else could he be singing “I just want you to understand/That love is only a […]

Regionality has always been a prominent theme in hip-hop, as rappers’ hometowns are often integral to their entire being. An example is N.W.A.’s association with Compton, CA, a city known for intense crime culture and gangster rap. For decades this reputation remained, but a new voice has emerged that challenges the city’s image. His name […]

Sickeningly prolific Ty Segall has capped off 2012 with a third full-length, following up Slaughterhouse and Hair (as Ty Segall and White Fence) with another psych-soaked banger. Third full-length. Has your band finished that EP yet? Twins is at times driving, at times meandering, but with a richer, more expansive sound than 2011’s Goodbye Bread. […]

Given how deeply Kenney has charmed live audiences with voice and acoustic guitar, anticipation for her debut recording has been keen. With steady support from Joel Plaskett, the album may be an anti-climax to some, a revelation to the uninitiated. Kenney’s fondness for imaginative arrangement of these extra sonic resources should save her from the […]

The Wilson sisters have proven adept at re-inventing and repackaging themselves without really changing what they do. Heart was the breakthrough female rock act of the 1970s. A decade later, it answered the call for video vixens and power ballads. While the band has not been exactly dormant, “Fanatic” marks an ambitious overture beyond the […]