The Loud Bangs – Salvation Memorial Hospital (EP Review)
For a band that released 6 5-song EPs in 2022 (!!), Angeleno shoegaze outfit The Loud Bangs don’t sound spent on the finale Salvation Memorial Hospital. Shoegaze is the de facto ‘in’ genre of alternative music. The explosion of shoegaze bands may send millennials shouting cultural appropriation, but shoegaze mayContinue Reading
Long Island – infatuation’s a nightmare (Album Review)
The maxim “Youth is wasted on the young” is attributable to Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw, who later elaborated, “they’re brainless and don’t know what they have”. That is not quite true; young people do indeed have brains. However true Shaw’s original proclamation was, there’s a case to be madeContinue Reading
Réverbérations d’une crise: une enquête sonore sur le logement à Montréal (Compilation Review)
Art has long been a tool for responding to injustice. Like how Impressionism created tides during the Industrial revolution, postmodernism has turbo-charged liberalism in a power system desperately tightening the reins, art in all forms is capable of engineering social change and starting a discussion on often vague constructs, helpingContinue Reading
rooms – Don’t Be Yourself (Album Review)
rooms are a lowercase slacker indie rock outfit from Vancouver, spearheaded by the charming lyrics and irreverent songwriting of Beshele Caron. As rooms, Caron and co have landed on three albums; It takes a lot to show up in 2016, You’re like the wind, a big gust of nothing in 2019, and the mostContinue Reading
Softaware – Molt (Album Review)
Oklahoman Colin Nance makes trippy music, though not trippy in a hallucinogenic way, but more in the mind-bending hypnotic sense. His music is primarily driven by glossy synthetic instrumentation, methodic drums, and textured, low-in-the-mix vocals that deliver memorable hooks. His sophomore album under the moniker Softaware, Molt, is a vibrant collection ofContinue Reading
Single Reviews – 13 January 2023; The Fuchsias, Cholly, SHN, Warahenege, Floating Circles
Photo by Hayes Potter The Fuchsias – Elephante instrumental rock Brighton instrumental two-piece The Fuchsias have released the blistering single “Elephante”, taken from their debut EP ‘Isle’ which asserts the group as a reckoning force in the experimental instrumental scene. Recorded in Brighton and Amsterdam, the track slowly sprawls outContinue Reading
Parjam Parsi – Immeasurable Distance (Album Review)
Multi-disciplinary artist Parjam Parsi’s work in the fields of visual art and music has produced stunning abstract visual pieces and delicately morish compositions. Born in Tehran, Iran and now based between there and Yerevan, Armenia, Parsi creates music which is thoughtful, patient, and full of both innately human and otherworldlyContinue Reading
John Puchiele Ensemble – CHANGE (Album Review)
By way of Toronto, John Puchiele has been purveying carefully composed and cinematic music for four decades. His fifth album, CHANGE, features ambient and orchestral works and is at times thoroughly relaxing while at other thrillingly odd. Working in areas like film, television, and dance has flavoured his music with an earContinue Reading
Single Reviews: 8 January 2023: Simon Linsteadt, Lauren Corrigan, Palms Psalm, Steven Poole, Adrian Miles
Photo by Wuyihale Lin Simon Linsteadt – Desolation alt-folk New York/Maine-based musician Simon Linsteadt yarns cleverly produced and soulful folk on his recent single “Desolation”, taken from the upcoming album Mud Season. The (emo)tive track is full of sadcore sentiments; acoustic guitars playing bewitching chords, lyrics of social rejection (“You don’tContinue Reading
Jack Phemister – Death of the Close Minded (Album Review)
Australian folk-jazz singer Jack Phemister is from the small town of Yass in New South Wales but now resides in metropolitan Melbourne. His folk-jazz stylings are imbued with soul-pop, and if two hyphenated genres aren’t enough, throw in indie-rock and singer-songwriter for good measure. This amalgamated modus operandi rests onContinue Reading