Reviews

On its debut LP, Austin’s Pure X warbles and traipses its way through the reverberating valleys previously explored by the likes of Galaxie 500, The Jesus & Mary Chain and more recently, Real Estate. Their songs are bruised and tender, their playing is loose and hopeful. Recorded live off the floor, the album ambles gently […]

It may have been the fact that the lead single “Pumped up Kicks” had the same sound and feel of fellow indie-rockers Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks”—that will leave some feeling cheated. Torches is an album that could be considered to be a bait-and-switch of sorts: those looking for another indie rock record that […]

Fresh off of a stint on the Vans Warped Tour, progressive rockers We’re Doomed have unleashed their debut EP Like a Machine. The EP is an aural onslaught of technical guitar wizardry and an unrelenting percussive backbone. Over the course of the five tracks, they blend into each other without being clearly defined, this may be due […]

As a lifelong hip-hop fanatic, I sometimes consider what I’ll play in my ’40s, while driving my kids to school. Will The Roots constitute “oldies”? When do The Clipse become The Beatles? Phonte Coleman’s first solo effort eases my forward-thinking mind. Phonte’s always made mature hip-hop about grown-man topics (infidelity, love, mortgages) with Little Brother […]

Wilco has come a long way since the Chicago folk-rockers hit the mainstream with 2002’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. But after a brief foray into chilled out ’70s-inspired stoner rock with Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (The Album), the band is back to their more experimental roots with The Whole Love, a schizophrenic sound collage that […]

Bluesy and full of hooks, Stone Mary’s latest release is a must-own. Christine Campbell teases the mic with her seductive, soulful lyrics and her big voice; she is amazing even down on the boardwalk, where sometimes she can be found performing acoustically. From opening track “Ain’t No Lady” to the powerful ending track “It’s Alright,” […]

The Vaccines stormed North American shores with a press kit touting these Brit lads as the next big thing in rock. The album launches with a catchy opening blast of punk-rock (clocking in at 1:22): “Wrecking Ball” evokes a young Ramones. 
This is a decent album from a band that wears its influences proudly on its […]

In hip-hop right now, experts busy themselves with anointing the next big thing—Drake, J. Cole, Big K.R.I.T, your next-door neighbour. But what’s defined this generation of rappers so far is an absence of artistic integrity, from a hit-hungry B.O.B. to a characterless Wale. But Los Angeles’s Blu, whose 2007 Below the Heavens caused hype to […]

Nintendo’s eShop, on its 3DS platform, is probably one of the best examples of how to run a digital download store. One of the best games available there is Let’s Golf 3D. Using simple, but fun controls you command a variety of upgradable characters while golfing through unique courses from England to ancient Greece. Sometimes […]

Natsume Ono is a manga artist who can shift her art style from cartoony to detailed depending on the subject matter. For La Quinta Camera, the story of four middle-aged bachelors living as roommates in Italy, she goes the cartoony route, keeping things simple but expressive. The graphic novel is laid-back and episodic with much […]

For its third album, Toronto-based Ohbijou enlisted producer Jace Lasek (Besnard Lakes), ensuring a denser, more orchestral impact. Throughout, Casey Mecija’s pixie-like vocals play off a cascade of throbbing strings and keys. Melody and lyric can be overwhelmed. Metallic metaphors keep turning up, especially on “Iron and Ore,” where feelings are “wrought iron,” a heart […]

On its sophomore effort, Girls comes on all hot and bothered. Opening with the saccharine send-up “Honey Bunny” and working their way through to the fully-charged “Die,” Chris Owens and company are reticent, at first, to show their softer sides. However, the second half of the record tells another tale, gushing forth with sentimentality and […]