The Coast wash away
Carl HeindlA half-decade ago, almost to the day, I broke my usual holiday concert moratorium and headed out to Rancho Relaxo to see a former bandmate play a solo set and in the process, discovered a...
View ArticleRadiohead covers The Smiths
YouTubeThose scamps in Radiohead did it again. After ambushing music fans with their last album In Rainbows, the existence of which was revealed just 10 days before it was put up for sale at a...
View ArticleThe Radio Dept. no longer convincing anyone they hate touring
FacebookFor the longest time, conventional wisdom about The Radio Dept. said the Swedish three-piece hated to play live, preferring to record, throw out and re-record albums of gorgeously forlorn...
View ArticleElbow at The Sound Academy in Toronto
Frank YangI’m sure it’s more coincidence than any kind of conspiracy, but for some reason the last few years have seen late September/early October become the season when a deluge of Mercury Prize...
View ArticleDum Dum Girls cover The Smiths
Sub PopEverything about Dum Dum Girls is pretty danged American, from their California garage rock-meets-’60s girl-group sound to their vintage biker pin-up aesthetic, but hearing them take on...
View ArticleThe Twilight Sad cover The Smiths
thetwilightsad.comAs I mentioned in my review of The Twilight Sad’s new record No One Can Ever Know, the band have never tried to hide their influences. But for everything that has gone into their...
View ArticleIceage coming, Iceage coming / Throw him in the fire
FacebookOr perhaps that should read, “Vikings coming, Vikings coming”, seeing as how the last few days have seen a flurry of excellent concert announcements from Scandinavian bands. Not the biggest but...
View ArticleShoegazing under the microscope, starring My Bloody Valentine and Ride
Steve DoubleWhenever an old/classic album is reissued these days – which is pretty much every day – it’s inevitably advertised as having been remastered, and it’s assumed that that’s a good thing. And...
View ArticleJohnny Marr at The Phoenix in Toronto
Frank YangFor the better part of the past 20 years, I’ve kept with me a copy of the January, 1990 issue of Guitar Player, the cover of which features a too-cool black-and-white photo of Johnny Marr...
View ArticleEditors done editing new record and lineup, hope Love is worth the Weight
Matt SpaldingAt the risk of being overly literal, it probably goes without saying that a band called Editors would hardly be averse to making changes. But the Birmingham band’s decision to push...
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