This past weekend, Record Store Day came and went (I now own a fantastic Justin Townes Earle 45, so it worked out for me), and even in the number of “exclusives” was far too limited for an event of such increasing popularity, it has spurred a solid new trend. Bands unable to afford vinyl (or [...]
The Long Distance Runners:: Election Day
It’s Friday and the sun is shining brighter than Tiger Woods’ teeth. It’s the type of fake Spring day that deserves the smell bbq wafting skyward, condensation from ice cold beer bottles pooling on tables, and summery rock gems exploding from back decks. Newfoundland’s Long Distance Runners give off a gritty, Velvets type cool on [...]
Ryan Stinson - FUTURA
What does it say that a healthy portion of the new hip hop albums I’m the most excited to hear these days are often if the instrumental variety? Well I think it mainly says I’m a confirmed, curmudgeonly hip hop get-off-my-lawner, but I’d like to think that it also means there are plenty of talented [...]
DJ Catalist feat. Kae Sun - We Changed
Here’s a good one for your Wednesday afternoon. It’s kind of a subtle one, but a good one nonetheless. We Changed is a collaboration between DJ Catalist (aka Alister Johnson, also known as a member of Grand Analog) and soulful Ghanaian-Canadian singer/songwriter Kae Sun. I was very impressed with Kae’s lasting outing, the acoustic EP [...]
Favorites-of ’12:: Del Barber Headwaters
If Del Barber was born a few generations earlier, he would have been riding the rails. Part time employment would have kept him alive, but like so many of his influences and idols, traveling from town to town trading stories and chords with other folkies, and squeezing each and every drop from the fruit life [...]
Sanctums
Sanctums is a two man operation out of Calgary comprised of Dan Solo and Evangelos Typist. They describe themselves as a “ambient/downtempo project” and they recently released a self-titled album that is ” inspired by our common love for classical music, film soundtracks, hip hop, & various other elements of beat culture”. I’m not sure [...]
Kids & Explosions - Use Your Words
Clearly, if our traffic stats are any indication, we are not experts in deciphering what it is the kids like. But I’m fairly certain they enjoy ‘splosions and I know they enjoy a good mashup every now and again. All of that seems to indicate that the kids might fancy a listen to Shit Computer, the new release from TO’s Kids & Explosions (aka Josh Raskin). It’s available as a pay-what-you-can d/l, and it features all kinds of jammy-jams that you know and love. This one features bits from the Big Baby Jesus and L-Boogie, so I enjoy it. You might too.
MP3:: Kids & Explosions - Use Your Words
Web:: www.kidsandexplosions.com
Ria Mae - Under Your Skin
Perusing the ECMA results from this past weekend led to an to-too-familiar set of thoughts after reading that Halifax’s Ria Mae won Pop Recording of the year. These thoughts are something like “Uhhh, have we covered Ria Mae on the hill before? Surely we have. I think we have. We’ve meant to, so me must [...]
Favorites of ’12:: Apollo Ghosts Landmark
From the outside looking in, you can’t help but wonder if Apollo Ghosts front man Adrian Teacher believes stagnancy is failure. In just over three years he’s delivered three stellar LPs, a slew of EPs and 7″s, collaborations and even a solo LP based on poetry from Karl Blau, all while holding down a full [...]
Shop Local:: Soho Ghetto
It’s almost too easy to overlook local bands with bigger expectations and accessible sounds. When you consider the lo-fi noise and punk scenes are booming and we’ve had the Celtic folk/bar room poet market cornered for years, it’s easy to see a ton of shows without ever hearing a note of music that seems destined [...]