Whether it is sitting behind the piano, ratcheting a distorted electric guitar, or scratching a synthesizer, Mitski Miyawaki – or simply Mitski – has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to make personal vulnerability sound bold and, thus, something to not fear. Instead, as she showed on Puberty 2, she wore it like a badge of honor, revealing to the world she […]

Part two of The Matinee focuses on music outside of Australia. Six songs occupy The Matinee ’18 August 20th – ROW Edition (or Rest of the World), which features a wide selection of genres. There are the usual American outfits, but you’ll also find artists from Belarus, Sweden, and England. To hear the Down Under version, click here. Arc Iris […]

With all the great music coming out, we’ve divided The Matinee into two parts once again. We head Down Under with the The Matinee ’18 August 20th – Australia Edition. Granted, one artist now calls England home, but he’s Aussie born. Anyway, the six songs featured below span a broad section of genres – folk-pop, dystopian future rock, downtempo trip-hop, […]

Weekend Showcase 4.32 edition is the perfect end-of-summer playlist, featuring explosive rockers, groovy pop and disco tunes, intimate ballads, and some grand experimental fare. Eleven countries are represented, including: Australia, Austria, Canada, England, Greece, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United States. The playlist and tracklisting, as usual, follows the list of articles from the past week. The […]

The Matinee ’18 August 17th edition is a blustery affair – for the most part anyway. Raging rockers, hip-shaking pop anthems, and one dazzling ballad fill up the mini-playlist. We begin, though, with the return of one of the great singer-songwriters of the past decade. Kurt Vile – “Loading Zones” (Philadelphia, USA) RIYL: Kurt Vile The biggest surprise yesterday came […]

Several “newcomers” and a handful of indie stars make up The Matinee ’18 August 16th edition. There are rockers, there are some cosmic dreams, and there is some upbeat pop fare. We’re positive you’ll find a new band to love in this mini-playlist. Beverly Kills – “Fourteen” (Gothenburg, Sweden) RIYL: The Joy Formidable, Eagulls, YONAKA There is no shortage of […]

 I first discovered Wild Planes at a late-night show during Canadian Music Week in 2017 at The Painted Lady. It was crowded, it was late, but no one left early as the band entertained into the wee hours. When I saw they were playing Ottawa, I made sure to go out and see them. The band played Café Dekcuf […]

When in Montreal, you are never short of things to see, do, eat, or drink. That said, the weekend of August 3th–5th has something unique, namely the three-day music and visual arts festival, Osheaga. It’s appeal has grown, given the magnitude of the festival and the number of local and international artists it hosts. One of its many attributes is that the […]

Your mid-week just got a whole lot tastier thanks to the treats in the Melodic Tonic ’18 August 15th edition. These six tunes feature a bit of everything, from dream pop to gritty blues-inspired rock. First up is another sizzling delight from one of our favs.   Maribou State – “Nervous Tics” (feat. Holly Walker) (London, England) RIYL: Maribou State, […]

 For the past three years, The Beths gradually established themselves as one of new bastions of New Zealand guitar-pop, standing alongside rising artists likes Fazerdaze and Kane Strang. Like their fellow Kiwis, it was only a matter of time before a top-flight indie label signed them, which occurred when Carpark Records got Elizabeth Stokes (guitar/vocals), Jonathan Pearce (guitar/vocals), Benjamin […]

The Matinee ’18 August 14th – World Edition has a very strong Down Under flavor with four of the six songs coming from artists and bands residing in New Zealand or Australia. For the USA edition, go here. BROODS – “Peach” (Auckland via Blenheim, New Zealand) Alternative streams: YouTube, Spotify RIYL: Lorde, CHVRCHES, Little Dragon Lorde counts them as friends […]

The Matinee ’18 August 14th – USA Edition features some ferocious post-punk, intimate and driving indie rock, plus stunning synth-pop. We kick things off with not just a great tune but a great piece of storytelling. For the World Edition, click here.   Castle Pines – “Woo Hoo” (Corona, CA, USA) RIYL: Counting Crows, Patterson Hood, Jakob Dylan Sticklers for […]

Living In Symbol by Astronauts, etc. More than six years ago, Anthony Ferraro, under the name Astronauts, etc., casually and with little fanfare released “Mystery Colors”, which became one of 2012’s surprise hit. He followed that up with a few more singles, including one of the decade’s most outstanding tracks, “Coldboy”. For the long-time keyboardist of Toro y Moi, whose […]

Phantastic Ferniture by Phantastic Ferniture Before Julia Jacklin became one of Australia’s biggest singer-songwriters and released one of the decade’s preeminent indie-folk / alt-country records with Don’t Let the Kids Win, she fine-tuned her craft on a little band called Phantastic Ferniture. For a couple of years, they were best-kept secret in the Blue Mountains, where only those really tuned […]

The Matinee ’18 August 13th includes a nice variety for this Monday morning. For some, it’s the end of summer as many school schedules have already begun. A few of these tracks can help us to remember those summer vibes as well as a couple keeping us energized with new and exciting indie rock. Artists are representing Canada, the US […]

Hard to believe that the summer is almost over, but the music is still scorching. The Weekend Showcase 4.31 edition has 39 such tunes. Some are outrageous rockers, others are groovy dance tunes, and many are spine-tingling or breathtaking. The artists and bands represent twelve countries. They include: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, […]

It’s Friday, and usually we offer anthemic fare. However, for The Matinee ’18 August 10th edition, there’s a bit more melodic numbers in order to ease in to the weekend not to mention to calmly beat the summer heat. Oh, there are still some raucous numbers that will get the adrenaline rushing. Happy weekend everyone! The Dodos – “Forum” (San […]

The Matinee ’18 August 9th features a bit of everything – engrossing, intimate ballads; vibrant rockers; dark, mysterious enchantments; and catchy indie pop-rock. We begin with one of the great singer-songwriters today. Adrianne Lenker – “cradle” (Boston, USA) RIYL: Big Thief, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers Over the past three years, Big Thief have emerged as one of the most captivating […]

Just like every other year, picking the highlights of a jam-packed Newport Folk Festival is a difficult task because each performance usually has at least one. Given that the schedule is filled with conflicts, it is nearly impossible to see them all. The four of us – Ben, Darren, Dina, and our latest addition Adam – will attempt to do […]

A photo essay from Newport Folk Festival 2018 – Day 3. This is just one of four parts. The other articles highlighting this annual event are: Things We Loved at Newport Folk Festival 2018 Day 1 photo essay Day 2 photo essay Photos by: Darren Boucher, Dina MacLeod, and Adam Shanker.     MORE PHOTOS IN SLIDER