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Reviews
> Long Distance Runners | Tracks
By: Ryan Belbin | May 11, 2012
At the end of their first full-length record, on a tune called “A Short History of America,” Long Distance Runners bawl over gang vocals: “I know where I ... Read More
> Patrick Watson | Adventures in Your Own Backyard
By: Ryan Belbin | April 30, 2012
Patrick Watson, the Canadian band named after their lead singer, love pretty sounds. The group’s fourth album comes on the heels of two consecutive Polaris Pr... Read More
> Said The Whale | Little Mountain
By: Ryan Belbin | March 30, 2012
There’s been a real shift in Canadian music over the past few years, if you’ve been paying attention. Ensembles geared up with guitars and anything else tha... Read More
> Celtic Woman | Believe
By: Ryan Belbin | March 28, 2012
The opening drums, haunting fiddle, and mounting layers of female harmonies on the aptly titled opening track, “Awakening,” sets the stage for Celtic Woman... Read More
> Dr. Dog | Be The Void
By: TheIndependent.ca | March 19, 2012
Dr. Dog's latest trip to the studio has yielded yet another outstanding record of rock psychedelia. We recently spoke with the Pennsylvania band's keyboardist, ... Read More
> Jim Cuddy | Skyscraper Soul
By: Ryan Belbin | March 19, 2012
Blue Rodeo is the quintessential laid-back Canadian band, and Jim Cuddy is their voice. Since their first release, Outskirts, 25 years ago, their ear pleasing, ... Read More
> Johnny Reid | Fire It Up
By: Ryan Belbin | March 11, 2012
Superstars like Keith Urban or Taylor Swift might make you question it, but country music has always had close ties with soul and gospel. Johnny Reid is a class... Read More
> Graffiti6 | Colours
By: Ryan Belbin | February 25, 2012
Graffiti6 are two English boys dabbling in underground electro-rock melodies laced with pop. It’s at once a congestion of sounds – singer Jamie Scott’s di... Read More
> The Woman in Black
By: Ryan Belbin | February 10, 2012
If you only know one thing about The Woman in Black, aside from the fact that it’s a Gothic thriller that somehow involves a woman in black, it’s that the f... Read More
> The Decemberists | Long Live the King
By: Ryan Belbin | January 11, 2012
When American folk ensemble The Decemberists released their sixth album, The King is Dead, last January, the title was almost prophetic: following the tour for ... Read More
> Jane’s Addiction | The Great Escape Artist
By: Evan Brennan | January 11, 2012
2011's The Great Escape Artist is a marked return for Jane's Addiction... again. Having seen this before (Strays, 2003) it's easy to be a little apprehensive. I... Read More
> The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
By: Matthew Ryder | December 22, 2011
It’s that time of year again, the time when Oscar buzz starts and films trying to get in on the conversation pop up in cinemas around the world. Little-engine... Read More
> Jim Payne and Fergus O’Byrne | A Lovely Time of Year
By: Ryan Belbin | December 22, 2011
Mummering is something of a sacred tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador: dressing up in outlandish costumes, visiting neighbours, singing Christmas carols, an... Read More
> Sean Panting | Man of the Year
By: Ryan Belbin | December 19, 2011
Long before he became Jake Doyle’s lawyer, Sean Panting was a guitar-wielding staple on the local music scene. As a solo singer-songwriter and one of the majo... Read More
> The Muppets
By: Matthew Ryder | December 13, 2011
It’s been a long time since The Muppets were relevant. Like, a long time. One of my earliest memories is Kermit the Frog introducing John Denver as the guest ... Read More
> Sherry Ryan | Sister of Mine
By: Ryan Belbin | December 9, 2011
Sherry Ryan’s Sister of Mine is a record to fall asleep to at the cabin. The eleven songs on Ryan’s third album, clocking in at a fairly short half hour, ha... Read More
> The Dardanelles | The Eastern Light
By: Ryan Belbin | December 7, 2011
In a province where the best kinds of parties were traditionally held in kitchens, caught up in a group of musicians, a new album made up largely of jigs and re... Read More
> Kate Bush | 50 Words For Snow
By: Ben Rigby | December 7, 2011
There's a kind of new-aginess and cheesy fantasy-world theme to this album that I feel compelled to overlook in favour of focusing on the brilliant musical spac... Read More
> John Cossar |Another Bridge to Burn
By: Keith Collier | December 2, 2011
His voice is sometimes reminiscent of Bob Dylan, or it would be if Bob Dylan enunciated and stayed on key. Sometimes he reminds me more of Ron Hynes. Mostly tho... Read More
> Wild Abandon
By: Emily Connelly | November 29, 2011
Wild Abandon, by Joe Dunthorne, operates on the very simple premise that the world will come to an end. Not in the "we're going to fall into the sun in 4.5 bill... Read More
