Van Gogh once said that “great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” People often think music is a flash of greatness, a stumbled upon riff or perfect couplet that defines a song, but van Gogh’s observation is usually more apt. It’s also a perfect description of(…)
Record Store Day is to music fans as Easter is to Christians. Devout believers treat the day with respect; a celebration of faith and passion that is not limited to a mere 24 hours. For most however, it’s the one day you set foot inside the house of worship and feel you’ve done your part.(…)
There’s something to be said about pedigree. It allows for the required pause. It eliminates the doubt. The Canadian music scene is over saturated with country acts, but when you read the names Simone Schmidt, Paul Mortimer and Kyle Porter you sit up and take notice. As 100 Dollars, the trio composed some of the(…)
Joshua Van Tassel‘s latest LP – Dream Date – is a collection of snapshots linked only by subconscious themes. As the title indicates, Van Tassel’s songs exist in a dream world but the fictional backdrop is anything but uniform. Dream Date balances escape with denser and deeper melodies and pace is varied constantly. Without question,(…)
For a brief moment, “Along the Line” sounds like someone slipped Shuggie a valium or at the very least, like Grounders spent years listening to “Strawberry Letter 23” with the record player spinning just slightly too slow. Almost immediately, the shimmering guitar works is put on hold. Instead of Kush, surf and endless sunshine, you(…)
Regrets, I got plenty of ‘em. Fairly certain I’ll have plenty more by the time it’s all said and done. That’s part & parcel of being a human being, is it not? I can’t be sure, but I think having zero regrets about the life you’ve lived to date might make you a sociopath. No(…)
It’s becoming hard for me to continue to write of Mathias Kom’s talent, without feeling less a critic and more a hype man. “To all the fellas, the fellas, let’s commiserate about awkwardness and interesting situations we’ve found ourselves in! I mean, somebody say ho!” The thing is, every time I post about The Burning(…)
Ambition. Yes, every modern MC has this in abundance. Just look at all those “Rise & Grind” tweets, I mean they wouldn’t tweet such a thing if they weren’t getting up and getting after it, right? That’s great, but what is it that most modern rappers are striving for? Money? Fame? Many unflattering tattoos? A(…)
It’s hard to picture any of the songs on the Ghostkeeper LP, Horse Chief! War Thief!, as the edited, concise statements. The Calgary band’s work is frantic and fragmented; the result of laboratory experimentation executed with no expectations or restrictions. It would be easy to dismiss the resulting noise collages as unfocused, but when you(…)
I had no intention of posting today. Work is consuming more and more hours, as is a toddler with an ever growing obsession with parks, construction and reaching new heights on playground slides. I was happy to simply revisit some old favorites and take a break from the daily grind, but that blogiday was over(…)
