Almost three years ago to the day, four young men released their debut album that would not only change their lives but would shake the music world. Temples‘ Sun Structures made psychedelic rock cool again. The album was an ear-popping gem that brought audiences back to the era of technicolor. Not surprisingly, Sun Structures was among the most critically acclaimed albums, […]

Impeccable female harmonies in music aren’t a rare thing. Sisterly “girl bands” like First Aid Kit, The Staves, and HAIM have received critical acclaim and plenty of indie radio airplay in the last five years. It’s now time to add another group to that roster: the Closner sisters (Natalie and twins Allison and Meegan) – aka the band Joseph. Named after the […]

Band of Skulls have taken an almost two-year hiatus after relentlessly touring with the release of each album. They basically had not been home for more than one month at a time for two years straight. 2014’s Himalayan saw the band grow and evolve with perfectly executed hard driving rock which satisfied many rock fans who revere The Arctic Monkeys, […]

Damien Jurado has always been out of sync with his musical peers. He witnessed the nascent grunge movement from its Seattle epicenter – but as a singer-songwriter, not an angsty, rebellious punk. When the local, indie-folk revolution produced the likes of Fleet Foxes (then Father John Misty as a solo act) and The Head and The Heart, he was already […]

Since the release of High/Low twenty years ago, Nada Surf have been releasing consistently great records, and their latest release You Know Who You Are, is another great record in the band’s long catalog. For a long time, the band had a formula to rely on, the combination of singer/guitarist Matthew Caws, bassist Daniel Lorca, and drummer Ira Elliot defined […]

Today we have an album review with WOOF. whom we included as a hidden gem almost a year ago. We have followed him as he continues to post track after track on Soundcloud and there is finally an album, Bad Connection released on Tree Machine Records last month. We recently shared “Nothing to Say” which is included on the album. […]

Foals have just released their fourth studio album What Went Down. The UK quintet have mastered a myriad of different sounds including math rock, poppy rock and even disco and now with What Went Down, they have mastered in your face rock. Long time Foals fans might miss the tight math rockness from Antidotes, or the radio friendly pop rock […]

On Another One, Mac DeMarco’s fourth release since 2012, the Canadian songwriter continues the narrative he began on last year’s Salad Days. DeMarco’s last album saw him touching on more romantic subject matter than previous albums, and Another One is burdened heavily by deep heartbreak. The album begins with the spacey summer stroll of “The Way You’d Love Her”, a […]

Wolf Alice has been on my watch list ever since the epic videos for Blush and She came out. They told great stories of finding your true self and had the introduction to Ellie’s saccharine voice against grungy guitars. They have continued to evolve and did not disappoint live at SXSW this year. The anticipation of their debut album has […]

On May 5th Cody Allen will be releasing a new EP called ‘Ignite’ at Irene’s Pub in Ottawa. Recorded at Audio Valley Studios with Steve Foley, Allen branches away from his traditional country/folk sound with a more alt-country/pop feel, creating the best album he’s written within his 9 year published career. ‘Ignite’ is a collection of stories about courage, perseverance […]

Ok, Ace fans. In the 21 Century, Ace has reclaimed his title of geetar god, and had proven himself (finally!) as a album recording artist. 2009’s Anomaly was a fine return to form for a guy who shredded on all of Kiss’ earliest records, and found himself solo success back in 1978. The 80s and 90s were a tough haul […]

I first came to know of Orit Shimoni a few years back when she was in a Montreal-based duo called Little Birdie. The first song of the then-new album (Cinematic Way) was called Every Day I Fasten My Shackles. I was hooked. It was blues-inspired folk (perhaps folk-inspired blues), with soul to spare. Orit’s voice in particular connected so beautifully with […]

It’s been 50 years since that fateful day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. A lot has been written and a lot of movies have been made about it. Musicians, on the other hand, have rarely approached the topic. Cowboy Junkies aim to change that. Their sprawling epic record The Kennedy Suite (also being staged as a post-modern musical) doesn’t […]

When listening to a very talented artist, there is sometimes a disconnect between the album they’ve made and the album you wish they’d made. This does not happen to diminish what the record offers but instead to put the onus on the potential the artist has. This was my experience with Tall Tall Shadow by Basia Bulat. It is immediately […]

Certain bars have an ambiance about them. You often see these bars in movies – the air is smoky, the women are cheap but not easy and the whiskey is strong. The kind of bar where weathered men sit around and talk about their lives while a local band in the background provides the mood and the rock. Not many […]

There’s something to be said about music that sets a certain mood. Your mind drifts away and your thoughts and logic are replaced by a rush of emotion – sometimes positive, sometimes negative, sometimes neither. It may last for only a fleeting moment but when a mood is created, it leaves an indelible mark. Diamond Rough, the new record from […]