The Tribune

nyctaper.com The glitzy, gender-bending alter-ego of Toronto’s John O’Regan, Diamond Rings brought his ‘80s-inspired glam pop to Le Divan Orange Saturday afternoon as the not-so secret guest. With his kitschy costumes, cheesy dance moves, and dinky keyboard lines overtop of programmed beats, there’s a lot to not like about O’Regan’s[Read More…]

Maroon 5’s third album, Hands All Over, is a revamped version of their typical sound. With bold guitar riffs, distinct vocals, and a crossover into a medley of genres, this bittersweet funk album is typical Maroon 5 with a few unexpected, but excellent, twists. The opening track and single “Misery”[Read More…]

It’s hard to believe that an album covering 35-year-old soul songs could generate so much hype, but with John Legend and the Roots, it’s hard not to take notice. The songs discuss war (frequently making a connection between Vietnam and Iraq), poverty, violence, and social justice. But the sound has[Read More…]

blogs.sltrib.com Listening to the sounds of indie darling Feist is always a treat, but Look at What the Light Did Now, a documentary portraying the artist’s journey as she recorded her Grammy-nominated album The Reminder, turned the audible into a visual treat as well. This year, Pop gave Montrealers the[Read More…]

borealisrecords.com Katie Moore is a Montreal-based songstress who needs nothing more than a guitar and her hauntingly beautiful voice to entrance an audience. And at Le Cagibi on Friday night, that’s exactly what she did. As she performed some tunes from her 2007 solo album Only Thing Worse, including “It’s[Read More…]

You didn’t have to be familiar with Mahala Rai Banda—a Romanian Gypsy band—to have found yourself dancing your head off at Cabaret Mile-End last Wednesday night. Literally meaning “noble band from the ghetto,” Mahala Rai Banda has managed to turn traditional gypsy music into a frenetic, multi-genre, club-hopping synergy that[Read More…]

Milena Paprok The atmosphere in Le National this past Saturday was buzzing with anticipation as a crowd of teenagers and adults awaited the performance of the Australian-based indie rock quartet, the Temper Trap. After what seemed like an unreasonably long wait, the crowd became restless and began chanting for the[Read More…]

Holly Stewart There may have been a mini-monsoon Thursday night, but that didn’t stop droves of people from making the trek up Park Avenue to Espace Reunion for a 2 a.m. set from Toronto’s Holy Fuck. Taking the stage clad in a “Poo Teens” t-shirt (talk about catering to a[Read More…]

Adam Scotti Hollerado’s worked hard to get the recognition they’ve received in the Canadian music scene, but on Friday night the band showed that hard work can be fun. The four-piece group from Manotick, Ontario played two Pop Montreal shows, the first at Cabaret Just for Laughs at 9 p.m.[Read More…]

Part two of three in Swedish singer-songwriter Robyn’s Body Talk project continues what one can only assume is her mission to bring class and quality back to mainstream pop music. How is she doing this? The magic of Robyn’s music lies not in its form but in its execution. With[Read More…]