New music reviews: Deborah Holland, Ken Whiteley and 100 Mile ...
Deborah Holland – Fine, Thank You! (Rage On Records) With six jabs straight to the chest, Deborah Holland’s new EP delivers a discrete set of therapeutic coronary stimuli. Her musical conversation cascades with Polaroids of frustration and elation, sometimes offering ...
JJ Voss – Come Along with Me
Come Along With Me, the latest from Saskatoon country artist JJ Voss, gives the listener a lot to sink their teeth into. Right off the hop, you can tell it’s a country album. In addition to all the requisite instruments, ...
Rhizome – Double Capture
This gorgeous CD, cloaked in its mysterious red cover, came across my desk a few weeks ago. I finally had time to listen and can honestly say, this is completely a winner. I have heard it multiple times, enjoying it ...
Tim Baker – Forever Overhead
Hey Rosetta! front man Tim Baker released his much-anticipated debut solo album, Forever Overhead, last year. He co-produced the album with Marcus Paquin, who also mixed and engineered it. Here’s my review of the vinyl version of the album, now ...
Great Lake Swimmers – The Waves, The Wake (acoustic)
In 2018, Canadian folk-rock band Great Lake Swimmers released their seventh studio album, The Waves, The Wake. The record constituted a significant pivot for the band because Tony Dekker decided to abandon his typical instrument of choice when it came ...
The Pairs – Noise
Apparently 2020 is the year of the rat, but in my opinion, it’ll turn out to be the year of the pair. The Pairs to be exact. If you haven’t already heard of the band, I expect you will be ...
The Rheostatics – Here Come the Wolves
The Rheostatics released their first album in 15 years last September on Six Shooter Records, and it’s a masterpiece of Canadian art that should be included in any serious Canadian music fan’s collection. By the third track, I was hooked on ...
John Borra – Blue Wine
Alt-country troubadour and stalwart of Toronto’s music scene John Borra (Rattlesnake Choir, Change of Heart, A Neon Rome) is set to release his first solo album in nearly 20 years on Jan. 31. Unfortunately, I’ve only ever seen John perform ...
Babineau-Chartrand: Un Beau P’tit Son
Alexis Chartrand and Nicolas Babineau have so much music in them that they pretty much had no choice but to produce a new CD hot on the heels of their 2017 tour de force, Gigues à 2 Faces. This year’s ...
Wide Mouth Mason – I Wanna Go With You: New ...
Deciduously speaking, when our cellular apprehensions fall into a preoccupation with the approach of winter, the inner sap of our collective spirit traditionally goes to ground, seeking the comfort of the roots, and we divest ourselves of our exterior colours ...