Author Archive
Bahamas – 3/29, Calgary
Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov It might have been the amount of people crammed into the impossibly small basement of The Palomino—where some people’s heads just barely clear the ceiling—but Afie Jurvanen, aka Bahamas, seemed impossibly large when he hit the stage in Calgary on Thursday night.
Posted in Music Reviews, Rock + Pop
Rich Aucoin – 3/8, Calgary
Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov While intermittently coughing into the mic, clutching his stomach and grimacing in pain, Rich Aucoin managed to fight his way through a 60-minute set in Calgary on Thursday night.
Posted in Music Reviews, Special Features
Islands – 3/6, Calgary
Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov The Ironwood Stage and Grill was a predictably strange set-up for Islands—with tables and chairs taking up the majority of the floor space close to the stage, a number of devoted Islands fans were confined to standing space near the back of the venue. With hair in his eyes and a stage [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, Special Features
Bahamas – Barchords
Rating: 4.5 / 5 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov Barchords is a crushing album about the fallout of a failed relationship – exactly the kind of thing that can feel deeply personal and universal at the same time. But it’s not exactly a revolutionary concept for an album.
Posted in Music Reviews, Rock + Pop
Hospitality – Hospitality
Rating: 3.5 / 5 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov Hospitality’s debut album is a collection of unsettlingly confident pop gems that squeak and squeal with cuteness. But cuteness, if you ask a band like She & Him for example, can only get you so far.
Posted in Music Reviews, Rock + Pop
Imperial Teen – Feel The Sound
Rating: 3.5 / 5 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov Rock and roll is often the domain of the young, and when the old try to inhabit it, they can come off looking desperate or, worse yet, clueless. Then there are some older bands who come along and show the kids how its done. Imperial Teen is one [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, Rock + Pop
First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
Rating: 4 / 5 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov Johanna and Klara Soderberg are First Aid Kit, a prodigious sister duo being hailed as the next great addition to the retro Americana movement currently housed by the likes of Fleet Foxes and others.
Posted in Folk + Roots, Music Reviews, Rock + Pop
Ani Difranco – Which Side Are You On?
Rating: 2.5 / 5 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov For those who have followed Ani Difranco’s career up to this point – 22 years and 16 studio albums – nothing will come as much of a surprise on Which Side Are You On?
Posted in Folk + Roots, Music Reviews
