The Tribune

Jeff Thorburn / killbeatmusic.com Jeff Thorburn / killbeatmusic.com We’re often told that success and happiness come from, amongst other things, being yourself. Calgary’s Chad VanGaalen has made a career of doing the exact opposite.  The two-time Polaris Prize-nominated multi-instrumentalist is best known for his genre-bending song-based material. That he ended[Read More…]

Talisman Theatre It’s a terrible thing to watch a mind go to waste. Yet Pierre-Michel Tremblay’s Coma Unplugged makes it so infectiously fun. Talisman Theatre’s latest production is proof that when you mix a sharply written script with a cast whose energy knows no bounds, magic occurs. The play, translated[Read More…]

killbeatmusic.com It only takes two minutes talking to Jennifer Castle to feel completely mellow. The light, pure tone of her singing voice matches the soft, relaxed tone of her conversation, and clues you into her laid back, organic approach to music. Evident in her newest album, Castlemusic, Castle’s take on[Read More…]

That Iced Earth’s newest album Dystopia is nearly identical to its predecessors does not necessarily condemn it to mediocrity. The band’s leader (and sole fixture), rhythm guitarist Jon Schaffer, has been cutting songs from the same cloth for a long time, but has managed to produce a number of very[Read More…]

M83’s Anthony Gonzalez has openly admitted his obsession with 1980’s synth-pop. If he were a new wave fanboy, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming would be his loving tribute. And although it’s labeled as a two-disc set, the album clocks in at a relatively short 73 minutes and plays nicely in one[Read More…]

 Webster’s English Dictionary should go ahead and put the album art for Audio, Video, Disco beside the definition of sophomore slump. The first album from the French electrohouse duo, †, was just about perfect in every regard. However, Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay took many of its positive aspects[Read More…]

Hollywood seems to be lacking in original ideas. If they can’t revamp an older movie and call it a prequel they turn to books for inspiration, to varying degrees of success. The remake of Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers is one of the better efforts. It walks the fine line[Read More…]

Grammy Award-winning group Lady Antebellum is back with their third studio album, Own the Night. The band has taken the country music industry by storm since their formation in 2006, and their sophomore album Need You Now proved they were more than capable of successfully crossing over into pop music.[Read More…]

Sam Reynolds Sam Reynolds Montreal’s Suuns (pronounced “soons”) made a hometown stop on their tour last Thursday night at Il Motore. Playing to a packed venue, the band pummelled its way through a dark, intense, and above all impressive set of dancey, minimalist, electro-tinged post-punk. Extensive touring has turned the[Read More…]

 When reading recreationally, I want a book that’s easy on the mind, yet emotionally gripping. It’s rare that my eyes will drift to the dry, unemotional stuff. That’s why I was surprised to find myself drawn to the work of one of the greatest hardboiled detective writers of all time:[Read More…]