// Category Archive for: Music

Concert Review: Shuggie Otis At Lee’s Palace

By Brendan Ross

July 20, 2015
Toronto, ON

You know how sometimes you go see a show with a specific set of songs in mind that you really really want to hear live? You know when you go to that show and none of the songs you “really really want to hear live” get played? You know when that couldn’t possibly matter less and it still ends up being one of the best shows you’ve ever seen?

Hey guys. This was that show.

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Music Review: Little Wings, Explains

By John Lane

Kyle Field, a.k.a. Little Wings, is an enigmatic, charismatic cat, and a little difficult to pin down in a world that demands we identify, tag, and shelve everything and every individual who comes down the pike. Since 2000, Field has released 11 albums marked with near-baritone, ropey vocals, lo-fi acoustic guitars, and sometimes makeshift percussion. His songs have been one continuous quasi-folky, poetic thread. He’s a modern-day Walt Whitman with less self-consciousness.

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Music Review: Direct Divide, Own Your Ocean

By Tyler Hodg

Seattle has been home to a number of incredible bands—Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Band of Horses, to name a few—and one up-and-coming group plans to prove they are worthy of being added to that list. With their latest EP Own Your Ocean, Direct Divide showcases their unique style of music through five songs of unapologetic symphonic-rock. While the EP isn’t absolutely perfect, it’s an ideal indication of what is to come from the clearly focused band.

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Music Review: The Dustbowl Revival, With A Lampshade On

By Melissa Bratcher

The Dustbowl Revival is the kind of band that isn’t easily classified. Are they bluegrass? Are they a brass band that uses mandolins? Are they a cabaret act? Whatever they are, it is easily brilliant.

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Music Review: Continental Drifters, Drifted: In The Beginning & Beyond

By Melissa Bratcher

If you didn’t know who the Continental Drifters were, and happened upon Drifted: In The Beginning & Beyond, you might be struck by the indelible, vivid lyrics of their songs, or perhaps the band’s excellent playing. Maybe their fine harmonies might get you. Or it could be the various singers in the band, each with their own honed, matchless style. Perhaps you would be drawn to the hooky Americana or the eclectic, delightful cover songs on disc two of this collection.

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Music Review: Institute, Catharsis

By Less Lee Moore

Tell me who’s got a conscience that’s more pure / A servant of God or a girl they call a whore?
—Institute, “Christian Right”

If you didn’t know they were from Austin, Texas, you might assume that Institute was from the UK. On Catharsis, they’ve got a laconic, sardonic edge that sometimes comes across like the post-punk of bands like Joy Division or Magazine, but at other times recalls The Minutemen. Regardless, don’t let Moses Brown’s disaffected, distorted vocals fool you into thinking these are dumb punks. Unlike a lot of other bands that trudge through the same fertile ground, Institute are sharp, smart, and firmly committed to not only their sound but their specific aesthetic.

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Music Review: Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free

By Melissa Bratcher

After his confessional, revelatory Southeastern from 2013, it would be forgivable for Jason Isbell to coast. Southeastern was huge: deeply personal, immediate, and gripping, not to mention successful. Isbell won Album of the Year, Song of the Year (for “Cover Me Up”), and Artist of the Year at the Americana awards. With his incredible new album, Something More Than Free, it’s clear Isbell isn’t going to take it easy.

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Music Review: Galactic, Into The Deep

By Melissa Bratcher

One of the genius things about New Orleans’ Galactic is their use of wildly diverse vocalists on their albums and tours. Each singer brings their own flavor, but no matter who is singing, the sound of the finely tuned Galactic machine is unmistakable. Their newest, Into The Deep, eschews their previous concept album themes (2007’s urban From The Corner To The Block, 2010’s bonanza of incredible NOLA artists Ya-Ka-May, and 2012’s Mardi Gras-themed Carnivale Electricos) and embraces a number of disparate singers, but never loses sight (or sound) that it is a Galactic album. And it is ripping.

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Concert Review: Black Lips At The Horseshoe

By Pierce Finch-Coursey

July 10, 2015
Toronto, ON

Black Lips performed two nights in a row at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern. After seeing both sets, I can easily come to the conclusion that Black Lips is by far one of the best live acts I have ever seen. With a career spanning more than 15 years and seven albums under their belts, it seems like these guys aren’t going to be hanging up their guitars anytime soon.

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Big Music Fest 2015 Review: Big Sugar, Jane’s Addiction, Soundgarden

By Tyler Hodg

Jane’s Addiction

From July 6 through 11 this year, Kitchener, Ontario was transformed into one of the hottest spots of this summer. Why, you ask? It’s because the annual Big Music Fest was held at McLennan Park once again, bringing some of the biggest rock acts in the world—including Jane’s Addiction and Soundgarden—to the city.
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