Vanessa Heins “Death country” might seem like an awkward pairing of words, but once you’ve heard the music of Elliott BROOD, you’ll understand how perfectly this self-labeled genre can work. Although the label is descriptive of their older work, the band’s newest album, Days Into Years, strays from this categorization.[Read More…]
Author: Alex Knoll
Hashtag Criticism
Two weeks ago, SPIN Magazine announced it would be discontinuing its traditional in-print album reviews in favour of 140-character reviews posted on Twitter (@SPINreviews). SPIN reasons that, thanks to the Internet, listeners don’t depend on professional critics to act as authoritative voices about new releases: all anyone needs to discover[Read More…]
The demon barber gets a haircut
Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune There are stories that are fun, pleasing, and uplifting to the soul and spirit. Then there are others that are dark, brutal, and challenging to watch unfold. And then there’s Sweeney Todd. One of Stephen Sondheim’s best known works, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of[Read More…]
Common: The Dreamer/The Believer
Common’s The Dreamer/The Believer is not just an album, but also a statement to critics and fans alike in response to 2008’s disappointing and generally dismissed Universal Mind Control. This time around, Common is defiant and triumphant; his sound enhanced by longtime friend and producer No I.D., who produced the[Read More…]
Laughter is the best medicine
Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune My mother, like many, used to stress the importance of good manners. But what happens when yours has none to spare? Well, something like Hay Fever, apparently. Set in the bohemian period of the roaring twenties, the play follows the eccentricities of the Bliss family[Read More…]
Coriolanus: he is the one per cent
aceshowbiz.com Coriolanus is not an easy movie to watch. Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut, an adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known tragedies, is no popcorn action flick. The plot is complex, the war scenes are more brutal than exhilarating, the dialogue is heavy, and the characters defy empathy. But for those[Read More…]
Real Estate/The Babies/Reversing Falls at La Sala Rossa
New Jersey’s Real Estate and Brooklyn’s the Babies played a sold-out show last Wednesday at La Sala Rossa. Local trio Reversing Falls opened with their tuneful and distorted pop punk, using a drum machine so good that it took this reviewer about 30 seconds to realize there wasn’t a live[Read More…]
Around the Water Cooler
FOOTBALL — It’s America’s favourite time of year. The NFL Playoffs started with wild-card matchups last weekend. The only standout game was Denver vs. Pittsburgh, or Tebow vs. Pittsburgh. Divine intervention? Maybe, but Broncos quarterback and cultural icon Tim Tebow played his best game as a pro, as Denver took[Read More…]
Redmen respond after sluggish start
Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune Last Thursday, the McGill Redmen and Bishop’s Gaiters’ basketball teams took to the court at Love Competition Hall in an important divisional matchup. Bishop’s University entered winless, with a 0-5 record so far this season, while McGill came into the game at 3-3, fighting to[Read More…]
Labonté dominant as Martlets prevail in back-to-back wins
Karla Stasiak / McGill Tribune This weekend was a difficult one for the Martlets hockey team, as they faced two top teams in the RSEQ on back-to-back nights, the Montreal Carabins and the Concordia Stingers. Ranked second and third in the RSEQ respectively, both teams were set on breaking McGill’s[Read More…]
