Freelance Whales
Weathervanes
By Stephen Samson
Glockenspiels and banjos and harmoniums, oh my! Freelance Whales has been one of my go-to bands whenever I’m at a loss for what album to listen to ever since I discovered them in 2010.
[Read the full story]Rihanna
Talk That Talk
By Stephen Samson
Rihanna’s sixth studio album entitled Talk That Talk is one of this Barbadian’s most provocative and sexually empowering albums to date. If going solely on the first single from the album, “We found Love,” which was released two months prior to the full album, the rest of Talk That Talk must be about what she does after finding such a...
[Read the full story]Adam Palmer and The Specialest
A Long Time For Anyone
By Erin Maxwell
Listening to this new album, A Long Time For Anyone, was admittedly my first introduction to Adam Palmer and The Specialest. I immediately wondered why I hadn’t heard of them before.
[Read the full story]Tom Waits
Bad as Me
By Timothy Dyck — The Manitoban
WINNIPEG (CUP) —Tom Waits is notorious for taking listeners to bizarre and gritty soundscapes. His musical prowess has been punctuated with sharp horn melodies, drunken carnival-esque sounds, and bitter drunken piano ballads, all the while sung through an ever-grittier, gravel-in-the-throat voice. Bad as Me puts the listener back on the musical odyssey with Waits, but in unexpected ways.
[Read the full story]Beyoncé Knowles
4 (Deluxe Edition)
By Stephen C. Samson
Beyoncé’s fourth studio album, and first album after separating from her father’s management, is exactly what her fans needed following her hiatus from the music scene.
[Read the full story]Ryan Adams
Ashes and Fire
By Stephen Hickey
Ryan Adams has always been at his best when he's kept things simple. His critically acclaimed debut, Heartbreaker, was filled with simple guitars, simple harmonica parts, and simple arrangements. It's taken just over 11 years, but he has come full circle. I can’t help but think that it's been too long in the making.
[Read the full story]Wilco
This Whole Love
By Erin Maxwell
To begin talking about Wilco’s new album, This Whole Love, and begin somewhere other than with a discussion of the physical object—the CD itself, and the case it comes in—would be irresponsible. Because, the physical object, in this case, is really quite striking.
[Read the full story]Spinoza Gambit
Wayward & Upward
By Rick Bailey
To start, I adore jazz. The same goes for electronic music. I also think that mixing the two together sounds pretty damn good. But this album isn’t just your standard sampled jazz remix.
[Read the full story]Björk
Biophilia
By Trevor Dobbin
Always the innovator and never the conformist, Icelandic-born Björk is every bit as eccentric as her music is captivating. Biophilia, her eighth studio album, is one of her least orthodox works to date.
[Read the full story]Beirut
The Rip Tide
By Erin Maxwell
Beirut’s recently released album The Rip Tide opens with the track “A Candle’s Fire,” and with the sound one has come to expect from Beirut. Trumpets and other brass instruments, a ukulele, and Zach Condon’s endearing vocals and thought-provoking lyrics don’t disappoint.
[Read the full story]Feist
Metals
By Matthew English
It has been four long years since Feist released The Reminder in 2007, which solidified her as one of Canada’s most charming, creative, and versatile singer/songwriters, rocketing her into mainstream fame. She became a symbol of the originality and power of the Canadian music industry. She even became a frigging iPod commercial.
[Read the full story]Horrible Crowes
Elsie
By Shane Belbin
Side projects are tricky business; you need to find that delicate balance between what your fans expect of you, yet be different enough to justify the existence of your “other” band. With their debut album, The Horrible Crowes manage to effectively walk down that thin line.
[Read the full story]Tinie Tempah
Disc-Overy
By Andy Veilleux
The Nigerian/English rapper had a great deal of hype for his first album, which is not uncommon in hip hop (hello B.O.B. and Kid Cudi). Hype usually leads to unreal expectations, so it was important to come into the kid's first album without being unfair.
[Read the full story]David Francey
*Late Edition*
By Erin Maxwell
David Francey, originally from Ayrshire, Scotland, hearkens back to his roots with his new album Late Edition, referring to the first job he had as a paper boy in his hometown. News has always been an important part of Francey’s worldview, as his first job permitted him to capitalize on that medium, and thereby develop his social consciousness.
[Read the full story]Bahamas
Pink Strat
By Krysta Fitzpatrick
If you're in the mood to drag out the summer a bit with the moderately good weather we've been having while relaxing on your back porch with a beer, or if you just need to be transported from the perils of office life to a much better place, I’d recommend picking up Pink Strat.
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