This was a huge grower. On first listen I was ready to write it off as “better than Peep, worse than Wicca”, which I now see is wrong – he’s arguably the very best in this blossoming genre. Reaper has a highly polished sound that wears its influences in such a clear and effective way. […]
Clear, sweet vocals and a resourceful sense of seizing opportunity by the horns has gotten singer songwriter Lisa Nicole across the country a couple of times, and it’s done so again with a tour of Canada kicking off the release of her latest single. “Mad About It” is the third single from her 2016 release […]
Romaplasm is an album I’ve been waiting for for a long time. I don’t mean just as a followup to his landmark masterpiece, Obsidian (also my AOTY in 2013), but as well an album that so boldly embodies gay romance. It also happens to be set in a space-faring fantasy world, something I never realized […]
Corbin (formerly Spooky Black/Lil Spook) was my big surprise hit of 2017. His past material was enjoyable despite the laughable lyrics and aesthetic, but his low-pulse sadboi trap&B style wasn’t aiming very high. this rebirth on the other hand is truly something to behold. No way in hell was I expecting Spooky fuckin’ Black to […]
Listening to Anaïs Mitchell’s gorgeous Hadestown recordings is the perfect way to spend a dark cold winter’s night. As of 2017, there are two recordings of Hadestown, a folk musical take on Greek mythology: a 2010 concept album, and a recording of the off-Broadway cast who performed the show at the New York Theatre Workshop. (The […]
New York City-based David Jacobson and The New Space Wizards have released a new demo, a follow up to their 2016 EP Psychedelica Revisited. The new demo was recorded with the live band that has been performing all around their native Brooklyn, and it has a nicely organic feel to all the tracks. Let’s face […]
Rather than spend time writing a review of the new Converge album…
Roads to Rivers is the second release from indie pop-rockers Simcoe. The new EP sees the band continuing down the road of moody and melodic songwriting that they began on their eponymous 2015 release. From the five-piece band that put out their debut EP, the line up has been streamlined to Bobby Houston on vocals and […]
Nigerian-born King Ajibade describes his music as “world fusion” – a danceable style with a savor that’s definitely tropical, incorporating elements of Caribbean, Latin and African musical genres with classic RnB and rap. In Yoruba, his name means “one that wakes into royalty” and keeping that connection with his heritage is another important thread throughout […]
Bassett is a duo made up of multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Josh Bassett, and bassist Tak Ozaki. Josh brings along a background in orchestral percussion and jazz guitar along with years spent as a session player in L.A. A native of Kobe, Japan, Tak spent some time in Ireland and toured Europe with another band […]
From the New Hampshire Seacoast, the smallest coastline in the US, comes Almanac Mountain, the brainchild of Chris Cote, a classically trained composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist. Cryptoseismology – which means the study of hidden or secret quakes – is the third full-length album from Almanac Mountain, out October 21st. While his previous work was more […]
Strange Moon is the second CD for Los Angeles based indie artist Katie Burden and it’s been getting a fair amount of buzz since its release on September 15, and with good reason. Amid the plethora of indie releases out there, she generates a unique musical energy in the over crowded world of guitar driven […]
DownTown Mystic is the alter ego of songwriter Robert Allen, a New Jersey native with a penchant for rock in the classic –aka Americana/roots rock – vein. Rock ‘N’ Roll Romantic is the follow up to 2010’s well received Standing Still and 2013’s eponymous release, DownTown Mystic. The latter spent 10 months on the US […]
David Jacobson and the Space Wizards are based out of Brooklyn, New York…
Hello again, and welcome to the second instalment of this spotlight series on some things you probably missed from last year. Today I bring you Kodak to Graph, the stage name of electronic producer Michael Maleki. Kodak to Graph – Isa [Chillhop/Trap/Ambient] My first encounter with Kodak was mere fortune. I was catching a Slow […]
Hello My Entertainment World! I’m brand new here, and I’m very excited to share my passion with other music junkies. In 2015 I managed to get through over four hundred new titles, and really felt like I was hitting my goals with new music. I think a lot of people (sometimes myself included) spend December […]
One of my favourite music teachers once observed how challenging it can be to write music with a positive tone. Personally, I’ve never tried my hand at it, but I can certainly recognize that going the other way and digging into and indulging negative emotions is a potent source of inspiration. The one possible exception […]
Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit Courtney Barnett has a way with words. Freewheeling and deadpan with a heavy Melbourne drawl, Barnett delivers some of the year’s best hooks to a backdrop of poppy, gently psyched-out rock. These eleven story songs focus on such everyday topics as insomnia […]
February 19th 2016 on Dead Oceans Records Pre-order Marlon Williams: CD, LP & ltd tan vinyl Download on iTunes Amazon Support your local independent record store “Hello Miss Lonesome”, the first single off the upcoming release by Marlon Williams, is a kinetic track – retro roots country played at breakneck speed. It’s a virtuosic turn […]
Let me tell you, Modest Mouse was my high school jam. I remember so many hours spent in the car, driving to and from school, rocking “Paper Thin Walls” like I was super edgy or something. Which is why I was excited to listen to the band’s newest effort, Strangers to Ourselves, when I learned […]
It may come as a surprise to find that Stereo Dynamite Sessions, Vol. 1, just released in Canada on October 16, 2015, is the debut solo album from Simone Denny. After all, we’ve been hearing her voice tearing up the dance floor for years. The five-time Juno Award winner is the former lead singer of […]
I was thinking of what to write about for this week, when I suddenly remembered an Amanda Palmer recommendation that I heard awhile back on some talk radio station (OK, you got me, I’m a wannabe hipster). So, indie rock it is! This week I listened to Heather Christian and the Arbornauts’ 2012 album Cabinet, […]
Release Date: June 12 2015 Upcoming Show: Smiling Buddha, July 3 Buy the EP & Name Your Price Simcoe is the eponymous first EP release from the Toronto-based indie music makers Simcoe, made up of Bobby Houston, Mike Barford, Jake Gehlen, Julian Hoyle and our own Mike Strizic. It’s a three-song taste of dreamy, atmospheric pop […]
Editor’s Note: For six years running, contributing author Zach Adler has spent the month of April putting out a poem a day. By turns earnest and wry, these poems are based on prompts (and often forms) chosen at random that range from “The Grandfather Paradox” to “Emotional Adultery” to “White Person Dreadlocks”. This year we […]
“We know you built your life around us…but we had to change some,” Colin Meloy admits freely on the mostly tongue-in-cheek opening track of his band’s seventh album. It has been nearly fifteen years since The Decemberists’ first release, and in order to survive this long as a quirky indie project, change was unavoidable. Whether […]
Released 3/17/15 This is a rough outing for the once great – or at least inimitable – Modest Mouse. Strangers to Ourselves is the band’s first proper LP in eight years. Combine a long hiatus with major lineup changes (including losing the legendary Johnny Marr) and one cannot help but listen with cautious optimism. Unfortunately, […]