Following the success of their Grammy-winning album Wasting Light (2011), the Foo Fighters’ eighth studio endeavour, Sonic Highways, attempts to trump its predecessor by extending its recording process to eight iconic studios across the U.S. More akin to a concept album, each of the eight tracks captures the spirit of[Read More…]
Music
Album Review: Ryan Hemsworth – Alone For the First Time
Ryan Hemsworth’s Alone For the First Time follows his well-received Guilt Trips (2013) to constitute the Canadian producer’s third studio album. The record immediately offers a unique, somewhat melancholic tone with the opening track “Hurt Me”—something that remains present throughout. The minimalist electronic beats, coupled with a grounding percussion, mix[Read More…]
Deep Cuts: Classical pieces that everyone should know
Eine kleine Nactmusik, K525 Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composed: 1787 You’ve heard the famous first movement maybe a million times: In movies, TV shows, commercials, and on stages time and time again—maybe you even played it with your middle school orchestra. Translated quite literally to “A Little Night Music,” this[Read More…]
Sloan turns it up to album 11
There are few bands that posses both the longevity and commitment to collective songwriting that Sloan does. Each member of the Halifax four-piece—consisting of rhythm guitarist/vocalist Jay Ferguson, bassist/vocalist Chris Murphy, lead guitarist/vocalist Patrick Pentland, and drummer Andrew Scott—has contributed significant material since the band’s debut in 1992. However, according[Read More…]
Album Review: Arca – Xen
Album Review: Mother Mother – Very Good Bad Thing
Album Review: Calvin Harris – Motion
Nearly seven years after his first album, I Created Disco (2007), Calvin Harris continues to be a relevant fixture at house parties, summer festivals, and clubs everywhere. His latest production, Motion, strays further away from the dance-pop that defined his previous album, 18 Months (2012), and provides a more somber[Read More…]
Gas Girl’s flame is futile
Written by Canadian playwright Donna Michelle St. Bernard, Gas Girls is an aesthetically intricate play that shares the story of two African girls who survive by trading sex for gasoline, which they then sell for cash. Loosely based on a real-life occurrence in Zimbabwe, the play has immense potential to[Read More…]
Music soars, plot sinks in God Help The Girl
Focusing on the subtle insecurities and adult tragedies that plague young women emerging from adolescence, God Help the Girl provides a surreal look at an improbable situation. The film centres around Eve (Emily Browning), a young woman being treated for anorexia nervosa who aspires to be a musician. Visually, the[Read More…]
Deep Cuts: Songs that Give you the Creeps
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) Artist: Nancy Sinatra Album: How Does That Grab You? Released: January 1, 1966 Originally written by Sonny Bono and recorded by Cher, this song has been covered by a number of great artists since then, but no version is quite so[Read More…]