Summer finally hit Nova Scotia. Temperatures shot up and the smell of grilled meat filled the air as it wafted across rooftops. It’s obvious, but lazy afternoons and evenings spent on back decks need a soundtrack as tear in your beer confessions take their place alongside the bottles of red in the cellar. Enter Halifax’s [...]
EP
Tuesday EPs:: Milks & Rectangles, Baby Eagle and The Details
It’s been a bit hectic in the herohill camp lately, and admittedly, the releases are piling up. In an effort to keep the freshness high, we are going to quickly chat about three distinct EPs that sound nothing alike, but have occupied my ears in the last two weeks. Milks & Rectangles – [...]
Best-of ’10:: Mean Wind What Happens in Hingham Stays in Hingham
There was an interesting article on Pitchfork two days ago about the use of vintage images as cover art for a record, and the debate it sparks. While I’m sure the young men from Mean Wind could care less about the debate, the pink, purple and orange hues that date and cloud the image that [...]
Quick Hitters:: Bravestation 2010 EP
As yer man Bill Shakes once asked “what’s in a name?”. In the case of a record title, it can be used to convey a great many things. In the case of Bravestation’s new EP, the utilitarian-ly named 2010 EP, it seems to me that the band simply wanted to plant a flag in the [...]
Reviews:: Wildlife Strike Hard, Young Diamond EP
In most songs, going to the river results in someone’s bloody, untimely demise. For Toronto’s Wildlife however, the river is a place for freedom, escape, and rebirth. Over the thumping percussion, synths, guitars and yelpy vocals of “Stand in the Water”, the quintet surprises the listener with optimism instead of an apocalyptic or nihilistic view. [...]
Exclusive:: New Apollo Ghosts – Cedar Street EP
I’ve made no secret of my torrid love affair/borderline stalking issues when it comes to Vancouver’s Apollo Ghosts. Almost every day I try to come up with a new way to post on the scrappy three-piece from Vansterdam, hoping not to get scooped by my arch nemesis over at Chipped Hip. Of course, I’m not [...]
Reviews:: Giant Hand Starting as People
When I first heard rumblings of the hyperbolic wave that Ottawa’s Kirk Ramsey – aka Giant Hand – was surfing to shore, I was surprised how hard it was to get into his songs. His story was compelling, a young man so inspired by “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” that he decided to learn guitar [...]
Reviews:: All Day Driver
This is going to shock you, but the hill’s selection process as to what gets posted and what remains hidden away in the cyber cupboard is not exactly scientific – the Ack and I hardly ever even discuss what we’re putting up, as a kind of unspoken mind-meld around who’s doing what has developed over [...]
Reviews:: The Wheat Pool Behind the Stars
Undoubtedly, one of the best sets I saw at NXNE was seeing Edmonton’s The Wheat Pool burn down the tiny stage of at The Dakota as part of the herohill/killbeat showcase. When the band broke into “Lefty” and “Nervous Bird”, my face hosted a smile as wide as The Grand Canyon, but the real highlight [...]
Reviews:: Long Long Long Shorts
Against our better judgment, we are bringing you more Long Long Long. Not because the bad has slipped after the release of their killer self-titled debut or because they fail to live up to their pedigree (the work that 3/4 of the band delivered as York Redoubt was glorious and earned the band a spot [...]