Album Reviews
Ra Ra Riot – The Orchard
The Orchard is Ra Ra Riot’s sophomore album, released August 24th, 2010 on Arts & Crafts/Barsuk. Listening to it for the first time is like finally reading the sequel to a book series you started years ago. The first chapters are slow, and you feel doubtful about whether you are going to enjoy it as much as you did when you first started the series. But you slowly realize that as they roll by you are becoming more and more immersed into that magical universe you once fell in love with; this story that comes to too quick of an end. Read more…
Murder Ford Monument – Self Titled
Who was it that said music is most meaningful when it arouses some of your deepest emotions? I think that might have been me, but either way, Montreal collective Murder Ford Monument’s debut, self-titled LP is one of those albums that is best enjoyed when you invest yourself in it, rather than having it as casual background music.
The Youjsh – I Can’t Believe Steve Day Is OK With This EP
The first moments of “Don’t You Think She’s A Bit Young For You Steve Day?” could sum up the whole vibe that Montreal’s The Youjsh were seemingly trying to create with their debut EP, I Can’t Believe Steve Day Is OK With This. The loungy, better-than-your-best-attempt-at-an-awesome-Bar-Mitzvah-party sound that bandleader and composer Malcolm Sailor has churned up and arranged for this record is a sign that The Youjsh should become a mainstay around the underground Montreal music scene in the next little while.
Review : Gaëtan Roussel-Ginger
Gaëtan Roussel, the talented leader of Louise Attaque and TaRMaC, brings us his first solo effort called Ginger. This album gives us a blend of rock, trip-hop and electro pop, reminiscent of Beck’s work. Read more…
The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
Montreal’s own The Besnard Lakes have come out with their follow up to their 2007 Polaris Music Prize nominated album, The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse. This time around The Besnard Lakes are The Roaring Night tells the story of spies and double agents as they fight against one another in a potentially false war. It is a dreamy, fuzzy yet romantic trip to a surreal world worth all of the repeated listens that it will get.
Review: Various Artists – Espace Emergence
On the site espace-emergence.com, you can download a compilation of 24 different emerging bands from Quebec for free. This album is just a joy to listen to, skillfully blending genres from pop to electro, rock to country. Despite the musical diversity, it all comes together smoothly. The album begins with a song from the ever talented Ève Cournoyer. It’s with a reggae beat that she gives us “Hanna”, a song about consumerism with typical Quebecois lyrics that only she knows how to write. Charming us with a compelling prose and a lively tempo, this one is certainly a summer song. Read more…
The Wind Up Radio Sessions – Red Brick House
The Wind Up Radio Sessions started their musical journey in Dundas, Ontario, where brothers Dan and Marc Kiely began to write songs together as The Ewok Folk Sessions. After moving to our fair city of Montreal and meeting Matthew Lazenby, an Ex-Pat from the UK, the three like-minded musicians began composing songs together under a new moniker. And thus, The Wind Up Radio Sessions were born. After releasing an introductory debut EP, the band is now set to unleash upon the world their first full length, entitled Red Brick House (out later this month).
Gigi French – Cannelle
I’ve always admired Giselle C. Webber’s work, either as a pop-rock performer with the Hot Springs or as the hip-hop singer “Giselle Numba One”. She reinvents herself once again, this time as Gigi French with her album “Cannelle”. This is a far cry from her previous work, giving us a gypsy jazz album, all interpreted in French. Read more…
Phantogram – Eyelid Movies
Saratoga Springs, NY electronic duo Phantogram, who have been making waves all over the blogosphere lately as well at venues all over North America and who have opened for the likes of Zero 7, Yeasayer and Minus The Bear have finally delivered their captivating and mesmerizing debut; Eyelid Movies (Barsuk Records). Although they are only two, guitarist Josh Carter and keyboardist Sarah Barthel have created a sound as full and satisfying as a five piece band using only a few instruments and some electronic elements. Although the album on a whole is electronic pop, the direction sometimes drifts into an incredibly pleasant mix of trip-hop, psychedelic, and even hip-hop. Read more…
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