Thane – The Algorithm Isn’t Working (Album Review)
You are likely to have found this article based on an algorithm. Ubiquitous in our digital world, algorithms power everything from our entertainment to the administration of our lives and societies. But at what point does automation begin to dictate our choices or, even worse, freedom? Milwaukeean producer Thane exploresContinue Reading
Mac DeMarco – Five Easy Hot Dogs (Album Review)
Mac DeMarco is no longer in his salad days. Instead, the beatnik lover of vintage sounds and multi-interpretable songs, now in his thirties, has had time to reflect on a life lived at full speed. His new album, the ridiculously-titled “Five Easy Hot Dogs”, was recorded during a road tripContinue Reading
Single Reviews: 18 January 2023: Emma Tricca, Rémi Fay, Vanessa Marcoux, David Smalt, Shmurk
Photo by melanie nobaru Emma Tricca – King Blixa folk rock London-based Italian artist Emma Tricca’s smooth vocals are spread evenly across her rousing new single “King Blixa”. Taken from the upcoming album Aspirin Sun, out April 7th on Bella Union, the song rises from arty country folk to high-intensity chamber popContinue Reading
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