Music Review: Murder By Death, Big Dark Love

By Melissa Bratcher

With a band name like Murder By Death, I wasn’t surprised by the heaviness of their latest, Big Dark Love. It’s a heavy record lyrically, touching on depression and chronic illness, obsession, and isolation. It inhabits a dream-like space, but the kind of dream that borders on a nightmare—the kind of dream where things are just a bit wrong, but you can’t put your finger on why exactly. It’s the kind of dream where you always end up alone, in an unfamiliar, sinister place, with wolves baying. Big Dark Love is unsettling in that subtle way, and quite effective.

Continue reading ‘Music Review: Murder By Death, Big Dark Love‘

Concert Review: Zola Jesus At The Horseshoe Tavern

By Less Lee Moore

January 22, 2015
Toronto, ON

At a time when Internet hype threatens to smother any semblance of genuine talent, it’s difficult not to be cynical. Rest assured, however, that Zola Jesus deserves all the praise. Nika Roza Danilova is the real deal.

For those wondering if Danilova can replicate the powerful vibes of her latest album, TAIGA (review), in a live setting, the answer is yes. Her already-amazing voice is actually better in person than on record, which is kind of astonishing. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Continue reading ‘Concert Review: Zola Jesus At The Horseshoe Tavern’

Music Review: The Westies, West Side Stories

By Tyler Hodg

On the surface, The Westies appear to be nothing more than a generic soft-rock band, but when examined more closely, they are much more than what meets the eye (and ear). The stories behind the band and their music are equally intriguing, and both lend a hand in creating a more extraordinary picture, in the form of their debut album West Side Stories.

Continue reading ‘Music Review: The Westies, West Side Stories‘

Music Review: Various Artists, Stoned – A Pscyh Tribute To The Rolling Stones

By Melissa Bratcher

Tribute cover albums occupy such an odd space. If a band covers a song too faithfully, they’re destined to be compared, probably unfavorably, to the original. If you add nothing to your interpretation, then why cover the song in the first place? If a band goes too far afield in their musical choices, and they make the song truly their own, then they have the purists who complain that they haven’t hewed closely enough to the source material. It’s a tightrope.

On Stoned – A Psych Tribute To The Rolling Stones, the artists from the neo-psych scene (the Allah-Las, The Tulips, Clinic, Tashaki Miyaki, Yeti Love, et al.) tread that tightrope. Some of the covers are straightforward, faithful renditions (with more reverb, because it’s neo-psych music), and some take the songs in a much different direction. It’s an intriguing record.

Continue reading ‘Music Review: Various Artists, Stoned – A Pscyh Tribute To The Rolling Stones‘

Music Review: Jim White Vs. The Packway Handle Band, Take It Like A Man

By Melissa Bratcher

Jim White’s collaboration with The Packway Handle Band is an early entry in the “most delightful albums of 2015” list that I am currently compiling (in my head). Full of clever, cinematic lyrics and ripping bluegrass, Take It Like A Man is a joy from start to finish.

Continue reading ‘Music Review: Jim White Vs. The Packway Handle Band, Take It Like A Man‘

TV Review: The Venture Bros., “All This and Gargantua-2”

By Megashaun

Fans of The Venture Bros. are a diverse bunch, but at least two things unite us: a love of all things Venture, and patience. Though the show’s been around for 12 years now, it has yet to begin its sixth season. But unlike a lot of other animated television, particularly those in its Adult Swim family, The Venture Bros. has always displayed a high degree of polish in everything from the writing, voice acting, animation, and score.

Continue reading ‘TV Review: The Venture Bros., “All This and Gargantua-2”’

Blu-Ray Review: Beneath The Harvest Sky

By Brad Henderson

What if I told you that you missed one of the best movies of 2014? What if I also told you that you never even heard of it? Luckily I didn’t make that mistake so I don’t want others to make it, either.

Continue reading ‘Blu-Ray Review: Beneath The Harvest Sky‘

Music Review: The Decemberists, What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World

By Tyler Hodg

In their 15th year as a band, The Decemberists continue to release albums that sound nothing less than pure, and What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World is no exception. It’s modest. It’s relatable. It’s fantastic.

Continue reading ‘Music Review: The Decemberists, What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World‘

Music Review: Elephant Micah, Where In Our Woods

By Melissa Bratcher

Elephant Micah’s (Joseph O’Connell) songs on Where In Our Woods sound archaic and primal, but in a quiet kind of way. They’re hushed and spare, connected to the earth and the air and the migratory patterns of birds. Where In Our Woods haunts and moves me, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

Continue reading ‘Music Review: Elephant Micah, Where In Our Woods‘

Music Review: The Vagaband, Medicine For The Soul

By Melissa Bratcher

It’s difficult to describe the sound of the UK’s The Vagaband. They’re a little folky, with a dash of vaudeville, a generous dollop of rock, and a not fleeting resemblance to Pink Floyd. They traffic in pastoral sounds with interesting instrumentation. Their second album, Medicine For The Soul, is a pleasant surprise; it’s chock full of banjos and horns, jaw harps and fiddle, and charming, ear-wormy tunes, as well as a smart cover of a Ween song.

Continue reading ‘Music Review: The Vagaband, Medicine For The Soul‘