Having managed to avoid it for years, I was recently stuck into a social situation that required me to listen to top-40 country radio for several hours. As a self-expressed fan of “old country,” it would have at times been easy for me to mistake what I was hearing for a generic pop station – nothing I would call crooning, nary a twang of pedal steel to be heard,...Read More

On a recent trip to Toronto, I took a break from the toils of record shopping and bicycle riding by sitting down for a wobbly pop at a Kensington Market watering hole. I sat down to go through my records and I got to wondering about a Toronto record label called Optical Sounds. I hadn’t yet found any of their...Read More

On Feral Children’s 2011 self-titled album, one of the most visceral moments comes on the album’s 3rd track, an almost Sonic Youth-ian ode to the end of the world entitled “2012.” While the exact date of the world’s demise remains to be determined, 2012 should heretofore be noted as the year that Feral Children ended. After the majority of...Read More

Many of us remember the day that our clammy little hands gripped a copy of Smells Like Teen Spirit. Memories of thudding drums and howling rage are easily recalled with fondness. And then the thought sometimes drift through the cerebral cortex: would I still enjoy grunge if I heard it? The answer, for myself at least, is yes. With the help of Sub Pop imprint label...Read More

As the leaves change and that bastard Old Man Winter looms, it seems a contradictory time for Dumb Angel’s new album, Eight Moments of Spring. Though on the other hand, maybe an album of dulcet spring secular hymnals is exactly what we need to get through the harsh Canadian winter without blowing our brains out. Dumb Angel is the stage name of Shaun Mason, a...Read More

It’s hard to believe that Eamon McGrath is still in his early 20s; his delivery speaks of a man with much more experience under his belt. And whether he’s belting it out, or whispering into the mic, his gravel-throated voice doesn’t hurt this notion. My guess is that he’s been smoking two packs a day since he was six months old. He’s just released...Read More

Having been a massive fan of the group since the day my hungover soul was BURNED by their bomber-style live assault at the All Tomorrow’s Parties NY fest a couple years back, forgive me a little bit of leeway in my championing of Dave W, Ego Sensation and company as one of the last defenders of RAWK, in all its stinking glory, that a regular guy or gal can really lay your...Read More

A couple years ago, I decided to have my cat Chester neutered. I took him to a rural vet, and I agreed to take him back home pretty much right when the procedure was finished. The vet gave Chester a dose of ketamine (a common animal tranquilizer) to knock him out while keeping him conscious. It took most of that day for Chester to come out of the k-hole enough to even be able to...Read More

Charlottetown’s Boxer the Horse are releasing their second full-length album, French Residency, on March 13. Yesterday, they let rip the first single from the album, “Rattle Your Cage,” on Read More

I recently signed up for Netflix, and I’ve been loving the music documentaries on there. Recently I’ve watched great stuff like I Need That Record, about indie record stores and the music industry, as well as Until the Light Takes Us, about those wacky Norwegians and how they love to listen to metal and burn down churches. I was at a little...Read More