High Violet is anxious, tense, laden with blurry visions that lead to crooked, lonely back streets to wander through while we try to grasp the emotion and reach of each song. It’s never a strain that becomes wearing or tiring, though; in fact, it’s exactly in that tension between depression and desire, anxiety and confidence …
Rating: 4 / 5 Reviewer: Michelle Kennedy
It easy to picture Zooey Deschanel in an old sepia toned boudoir surrounded by everyone’s grandmother’s pearls and lace gloves; her inexplicably beautiful eyes sparking in the fading light of a warm California evening. It’s less easy to picture M. Ward there. His retro is lo-fi: transistor radios and [...]
» Read MoreRating: 4 / 5 Reviewer: Connor Turner
The temptation to write a review for the awesome Blood Guts Bruises Cuts by abusing the term dude is far too rare of an opportunity to pass up. So do accept our apologizes for this low-brow review.
That being said, the latest from The Dudes is freaking dude-tastic.
From [...]
Rating: 5 / 5 Reviewer: Greg Hutton
Most Carolyn Mark records evoke images of a continuous party that would, in all likelihood, be the most fun party you ever attended. Red wine, new best friends, and food are a few common themes, especially on 2002’s Terrible Hostess and the excellent 2004 album The Pros and Cons [...]
» Read MoreRating: 5 / 5 Reviewer: Andre Guimond
Shrouded in the mystery of whether or not Hospice tells the real or imagined story of frontman Peter Silberman’s loss of a lover to bone cancer, this is a heart wrenching album undoubtedly full of the expression of real pain and misery, regardless of its back story. You [...]
» Read MoreRating: 4 / 5 Reviewer: Lukas Clark-Memler
The album commences with a whispered request for a story, and so begins the daring and mesmerising musical accompaniment to the timeless story, Where the Wild Things Are. Karen O, of Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame, put together an ensemble cast of indie superstars performing together under the moniker Karen [...]
» Read MoreRating: 4.5 / 5 Reviewer: Garth Paulson
It’s not often in today’s reunion obsessed musical landscape that the results of getting the band back together are better than the first time around. Today, people seem to be content with their old favourites getting back together for a string of sloppy, nostalgic shows. If they happen [...]
» Read MoreRating: 4 / 5 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov
Doug Martsch hasn’t exactly been prolific since forming Built to Spill in 1992. Under the BtS name, just seven studio albums have seen the light of day. But given how good those seven have been, it’s hardly a quality-quantity ratio argument worth having.
There Is No Enemy is [...]
Rating: 4 / 5 Reviewer: Jon Roe
By combining soulful harmonizing and light guitar backing, the Kings of Convenience have crafted the perfect soundtrack to staring longingly out a rain-spattered window with Declaration of Dependence.
The Norwegian folk duo of Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe have been together since 1999 and made a bit of a [...]
