After Macklemore & Ryan Lewis partnered up to bring us the acclaimed The VS. EP in late 2009, some fans feared a sophomore slump. Instead, the duo’s latest release, titled The Heist, plays like a veteran rapper’s ‘best-of’ compilation. In a surprising turn for a rap album, The Heist provides[Read More…]
Music
Mellowhype: Numbers
Unless you’re a well-versed hip-hop fan, it’s possible that your familiarity with rappers Left Brain and Hodgy Beats only stems from their frequently cited Odd Future involvement. The pair of artists, however, also make up the separate rap group Mellowhype, which recently released their third studio album, Numbers. In comparison[Read More…]
Wintersleep: Hello Hum
Although the Juno award-winning Wintersleep has been lauded as having released ‘the album of their career’ with Hello Hum, not much has changed from their previous work. The band brought producer Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips; MGMT) aboard for their fifth full-length album, although his presence is not especially noticeable. With[Read More…]
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of David Bowie’s legendary 1972 album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Toronto’s Paper Bag Records (PBR) recently released a free cover compilation by multiple artists from the label. For Bowie fans, this may appear to be an exciting[Read More…]
Golden Boy: Blue Swan Orchestra
Blue Swan Orchestra is the re-release of the Golden Boy’s 2003 debut album, and their latest since 2011’s Sleepwalker. The soft-rock/indie-pop band’s re-mastered album also features two bonus tracks, “Blind” and “Windows.” The album’s greatest strength is the blend of the familiar sounds of indie and pop with uniquely evoking[Read More…]
Jack Davey: LO-F! Side A
Jack Davey, frontwoman for the Californian electro-soul duo J*DaVeY, has gone solo. But for a singer who has opened for Prince, the Roots, and Janelle Monáe, the five-song EP falls distinctly flat. Davey’s voice, sultry, breathy, and deep, is wasted on what she calls “stripped-down grunge” and her attempt at[Read More…]
The Sea and Cake: Runner
In their nearly 20-year career, The Sea and Cake have not only maintained incredible consistency in sound and quality, but have also shown incredible versatility. Named after a mishearing of “the ‘C’ in ‘Cake,’” the Chicago-based quartet avoids the labels of genre (although post-indie-breathy-jazz-rock-fusion is a start)—The Sea and Cake[Read More…]
The Zolas: Ancient Mars
Vancouver’s The Zolas take an original approach to indie-pop with their evocative Ancient Mars release. The duo’s sophomore album is full of imaginative lyricism perfect for a fall heartbreak compilation. Ancient Mars opens up with “In Heaven,” a lackluster jumble of sounds. It’s not that the track itself is disappointing,[Read More…]
Tyler Hilton: Forget The Storm
The last time I heard a Tyler Hilton song was in 2004, and the track was “Kiss On Me;” the 20-year old singer-songwriter was, meanwhile, guest-starring on the hit TV series One Tree Hill. Now, a good eight years later, Hilton has grown up. Forget The Storm is only his[Read More…]
Muse: The 2nd Law
Muse was heard across the world this year with their official Olympic anthem “Survival.” Their sixth album, The 2nd Law, followed hot on its heels, and much like their Olympic debut, brought back the grandiose musicality and exuberant magnitude that Muse fans have been dying for the band to rediscover.[Read More…]
