Bill Johnson contributes eight originals to his Still Blue, each one a fine example of a contemporary blues song, not merely a retread of a familiar 12 bar theme, and each sung in his evocative voice. The variety of approaches, from the sne...
Metal Blade Records
Bison is the most hyped band in Vancouver right now. Sometimes hype can be a tough thing to deal with, but these fuckers keep coming through every time. Every show is better than the next, so every album is obviously ...
Redcat Records
Some say country-rock died with Gram Parsons premature passing in 1973, casual fans say it’s when the Eagles sold-out and recorded Hotel California, but almost everyone can agree that just as quickly as it came – it w...
Derek Miller
The Dirty Looks
Arbor
I try to balance the good and bad in my reviews, even if I'm not into the style. I don't like saying it, but the sophomore album from Ontario's Derek Miller thoroughly sucks. It sounds like a bar band...
Camille Miller
Somewhere Near the Truth
Independent
Camille Miller’s voice is the centerpiece of this recording. A finely honed instrument that's passionate, soulful, and downright riveting, without being overbearing. Camille's song...
Corbin Murdoch and the Nautical Miles
Wartime Love Song
Steeped in sweet melancholy and lyrical charm, Wartime Love Song, the second album by Corbin Murdoch and the Nautical Miles, enchants its listeners with an extended-concept love so...
CD REVIEW
The Bicycles’ Oh No, It’s Love is not the kind of record that warrants a large, wordy review filled with pretentious journalistic nit-picking. The fact of the matter is simple: Oh No, It’s Love is filled to the rim with h...
The Japandroids are a two piece guitar wailing, drum pounding, singing machine, (do droids get angry when you call them machines?) and ‘Lullaby Death Jams’ is their recipe for a good time. It’s made up of five interestingly good track...
Martin Springett's The Gardening Club is cosmic Canadiana at its best, and his story is a CanCon prog rock version of the Searching For Sugar Man saga
The Stolen Organ Family Band
Horse Treats (Indie)
It pays to have an open mind in this business of writing about music and putting it to press, especi...
Lay it On Me
Self-distributed
Waa-BOOM! With an album title ripped from frontman Ryan Hoben’s muscleman tattoos, indiefolkrocksters Minto punch it open with sludgy dirge, “New Bones” – formerly a chooglin’ alt-country number i...