The Tribune

Canadian pianist and rapper Chilly Gonzales’ career has gone from strength to strength in the last few years. Since the release of his instrumental album, Solo Piano, Gonzales has collaborated with Feist and Peaches, performed with Drake, and released the electro-rap albums Ivory Tower and The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales. His[Read More…]

The outspoken, openly communist The Coup did not produce their sixth album, Sorry to Bother You, with easy-listening in mind. Rather than concerning themselves with typical hip-hop mainstays like money and women, The Coup use music to disseminate ideology The album keeps its distance  from the over-produced hits often popular[Read More…]

If one had to sum up Donald Fagen’s latest offering, Sunken Condos, in a single word, it would unquestionably be ‘smooth.’ From the funky five-minute opener “Slinky Thing,” the album establishes a mood of sultry reverie that holds (although admittedly not always so effectively). Nevertheless, the nine tracks constitute an[Read More…]

Walking the line between mainstream and underground, Kendrick Lamar proudly raises the torch he was passed from West Coast legends Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Lamar, also a devoted fan of 2pac, brings these legendary influences together in a novel way in his latest release, Good Kid m.A.A.d. City. Although[Read More…]

With 119, Trash Talk is at a pivotal point in their career, and somewhat of a paradox. The band have reached the top of the pile as far as Hardcore goes, teetering between too much fame to stay underground and just enough notoriety to spread the word.  They’re constantly stirring[Read More…]

“I’ll crawl into the mountains, I’ll fall into obscurity/A phantom on the landscape, a memory of what used to be.” Nostalgia and longing—the voice and lyrics of Jason Lytle can’t be described without invoking these two sentiments. Dept. of Disappearance, his latest album, is full of unknown ‘somewheres’ and ‘someones,’[Read More…]

After Macklemore & Ryan Lewis partnered up to bring us the acclaimed The VS. EP in late 2009,  some fans feared a sophomore slump. Instead, the duo’s latest release, titled The Heist, plays like a veteran rapper’s ‘best-of’ compilation. In a surprising turn for a rap album, The Heist provides[Read More…]

Unless you’re a well-versed hip-hop fan, it’s possible that your familiarity with rappers Left Brain and Hodgy Beats only stems from their frequently cited Odd Future involvement. The pair of artists, however, also make up the separate rap group Mellowhype, which recently released their third studio album, Numbers. In comparison[Read More…]

Although the Juno award-winning Wintersleep has been lauded as having released ‘the album of their career’ with Hello Hum, not much has changed from their previous work. The band brought producer Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips; MGMT) aboard for their fifth full-length album, although his presence is not especially noticeable. With[Read More…]

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of David Bowie’s legendary 1972 album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Toronto’s Paper Bag Records (PBR) recently released a free cover compilation by multiple artists from the label. For Bowie fans, this may appear to be an exciting[Read More…]