When thinking outside the box just isn't enough
At an arrestingly beautiful show last weekend, songstress Jadea Kelly introduced her new album, Love & Lust, at Toronto’s Drake Underground. Jadea’s third studio record is the follow up to Clover (2013), an equally brilliant collection of songs with themes of nature, love and spirituality. Love & Lust is outright a breakup album, and naturally focuses on the sentiments and circumstances […]
Performing both as a solo artist and with the band Citylake, Martin Saint describes himself as a moody troubadour, performing for many years in and around Montreal as well as the odd tour including one this month. His music could be part of the Donnie Darko soundtrack. It’s contains elements of new wave, electro-pop and pure […]
Toronto post-hardcore band Lost Cities, who have amassed an impressive following given that they have only released one EP and one LP, are disbanding after many years. The announcement came as a shock to their many loyal fans and followers, especially since they just released their full-length record in December. They played an intense farewell […]
Montreal band Citylake has officially reformed, albeit with one member change, and is returning to writing and recording their interesting blend of indie folk-rock, dark post-punk and 80s new wave with some psychedelia thrown in. Think Donnie Darko soundtrack. Listen to the pre-production recording of Ugly City for a taste: Pre-Production Demos by Citylake Frontman […]
Gothic rock/electronic rock band The Birthday Massacre spent a good chunk of last year touring Europe and the US, but put on a stellar show for their loyal and intense fans in their hometown of Toronto last weekend. Originally formed in London in 1999, The Birthday Massacre has undergone some member changes, but the current line-up consists […]
Rarely these days can you sense the location a record was made in the actual recording. Both of Toronto band Whitebrow‘s albums reveal a strong sense of place. Their debut self-titled record was recorded in a vacant church and you can hear and feel the church on that record, almost as if it were an […]
Sick of hearing the same old Christmas tunes year after year? Blue Christmas giving you the blues? Mariah Carey’s O Holy Night making you utter unholy curses? Here’s something that’ll inspire you to turn up the volume: The Nursery have just released their version of Last Christmas. The band has redone this Wham! classic into a […]
Folk, country and blues singer-songwriter Oh Susanna put on a hell of a show this week at Toronto’s The Great Hall. It was extra special because she invited some friends along to play, and she has some very spectacular friends indeed! Andy Maize, Ben Kunder, Sarah Harmer, Jane Siberry, Justin Rutledge and Colleen Brown were among […]
In their annual festival and gala, this year’s Toronto Independent Music Awards (TIMA) were held at Toronto hotspot Revival. The event featured many of the winners from last year, including an electrifying performance by electro-pop/psychedelic rock band The Nursery,2014’s Best Rock or Indie group. Recently back from their Ontario/Quebec tour with Montreal’s Das Blankout, they’ve just […]
“Black Lab sounds like Flaming Lips having a three way with Nirvana and Frank Zappa while Syd Barrett sits and watches with a cup of tea,” says Black Lab’s Ian Boos. Sounds a little wild, doesn’t it? Check out the music. It’s an interesting, raw and creative blend of sounds culminating in We Don’t Pick Our […]
Montreal’s own Milo McMahon graced the back room of Toronto music hot spot The Cameron House for an energetic Canadian Music Week set on Saturday. Along with drummer Mike Beaton (yes, that’s his true surname) and bassist/back-up vocalist Stephen Court (it was only his third gig with the band and he absolutely killed it), the trio that […]
Sebastian Freeman and Amanda Mabro are 30 Frames, an electro pop band from Toronto who recently released an energetic and highly danceable record that was two years in the making. It was well worth the wait; the album is really strong. They did a great job of maintaining consistency without being overly repetitive so that […]
It’s a cold, hard fact that there is some truly amazing music coming out of the East Coast. The boys of Pretty Archie, a band from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, certainly measure up to their notable Maritime contemporaries. Last year I had the privilege of meeting the band and seeing them play at NXNE. At […]
A few months ago I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing members of Toronto indie rock band Low Hanging Lights following the release of their EP Insulated Picnic Bag. Last week, their singer-songwriter/guitarist Al Grantham released a solo album and sat down with me to discuss his songwriting process, what he was aiming for […]
The Revival was the scene of the hottest show in Toronto last weekend. The Justin Bacchus Collective held their CD release event at this swanky downtown joint, and quite honestly, I’ve never been to an album release that hosted as many guests before. Bacchus and the band drew on its fans from their years of residency […]
Toronto musician Marlon Chaplin is a diverse fellow, not only in terms of his musical style but also his abilities as a performer of multiple instruments. Earlier this year, Chaplin released a video featuring Jessica Speziale titled “Don’t You Fall,” that had a jazz club vibe to it and featured sultry, soulful vocals. Then, this month, he […]
