TThe Great Lake Swimmers seem to possess and almost singular ability to exude Canadianism. The atmosphere their music creates coupled with Tony Dekker’s pitch-perfect voice could practically be used to define Canada.
Posted in Featured Review, Folk + Roots, Music Reviews
There are few things worse than most “price of fame†albums. Though there are doubtlessly many drawbacks to spending months on the road, being recognized at a fast food joint and having loyal fans endlessly scream their approval.
Posted in Featured Review, Music Reviews, Rock + Pop, Top Rated
After releasing the best rock albums of 2005 and 2006, expectations are suddenly high for a band whose members were, until recently, holding down second jobs. Stay Positive opens much the same way that ‘06’s Boys and Girls in America did – with two blistering bar-rock anthems. ‘Constructive Summer’ and ‘Sequestered in Memphis,’ are both full steam ahead rock ‘n’ roll, accompanied by Craig Finn’s bizarre and ingenious storytelling.
Posted in Featured Review, Music Reviews, Rock + Pop, Top Rated
“Can you imagine a world without rock and roll?†asks lead singer Dan Vacon of local Calgary band The Dudes. Well, if the unanimous boo’s of the modest crowd stationed in front of the TD Music Stage can be taken as an accurate sample size for the estimated 30,000 people in attendance at Calgary’s first Virgin Festival
Posted in Featured Review, Festival Review, Site News, Special Features
Multi-instrumentalist and former leader of Sufjan Stevens’ Illinoisemakers, Shara Worden continues her solo career as My Brightest Diamond with her sophomore effort, A Thousand Shark’s Teeth. Originally planned to be a string quartet album, Worden wisely allowed the album to evolve naturally in the studio, but the results are mixed.
Posted in Featured Review, Rock + Pop
Animal Collective did a lot of things they’ve never done before on their 2007 release Strawberry Jam. Notably, they relied more heavily on electronic soundscapes and samplers than on their earlier, folkier work they largely got rid of their slower, more free-form dirges and they allowed pure pop melodies
Posted in Featured Review, Hard Rock + Metal, Music Reviews, Rock + Pop, Top Rated
It’s easy to write off Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! early on – it comes across as a passive-aggressive war album, more about the horses than the soldiers. Vocally, Lund tries to avoid getting in his own way as he has on past releases, but he can’t help slipping into his put-on country drawl on occasion.
Posted in Country + Western, Featured Review, Music Reviews
Posted in Featured Review, Folk + Roots, Music Reviews
