Music

Still Life: Mourning Trance

Often, archetypal indie pop concerns itself with loss, generally that of some idealized relationship or another. However, Still Life’s new album shifts its creative focus to a different type of loss: mourning the deaths of extended family members of the band. This theme attests to the collective history of the musicians, who have been playing together since childhood. Every track reflects on these experiences, but it feels more like a tribute to living on rather than a cry against the unfairness of the world.

Akron/Family: Sub Verses (Secretly Canadian)

Akron/Family: Sub Verses

Ranging from creepy, melancholic songs, to energizing anthems and droning ballads, the experimental rock band Akron/Family’s seventh album Sub Verses intrigues the listener with layers of repetitive sound, rewarding them with each additional listen. The album starts off alarmingly loud and captivating, surrounding the listener with many sounds that together,[Read More…]

Groenland: The Chase (Bonsound)

Groenland: The Chase

A title like The Chase begs the question: chasing what? The album is purposefully coy in providing an answer, but one can rule out ‘talent’ as a possibility—Groenland already has that in abundance. The Montreal six-piece’s release is staggeringly accomplished for a first effort. The Chase occupies a nebulous arena[Read More…]

Peace: In Love (Columbia)

Peace: In Love

It’s baffling that there hasn’t been a band named Peace already, but four Brits have taken the moniker and are running with it. Their debut album, In Love, is chock-full of summery guitars and catchy hooks. Song titles such as “Higher Than The Sun,” “Float Forever,” and “California Daze” are[Read More…]

Suuns: Images Du Futur

Suuns: Images du Futur

Suuns’ lead singer Ben Shemie refers to the environment in which his Montreal band recorded Images du Futur—the Quebec student protests of last year—as, according to the press release, “a climate of excitement, hope, and frustration.” But if the album is a political statement, it would be best described as[Read More…]

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