Music

We Are The City take on the rest of the country

After recently winning Vancouver’s first-ever Peak Performance Project, a contest created by radio station 100.5 The PEAK and Music BC to encourage up-and-coming artists based in British Columbia, We Are The City is humbly starting to realize that what lies ahead for them is going to be a huge departure from their beginnings.

CD REVIEWS: Holly Miranda: The Magician’s Private Library

Holly Miranda is better known as the frontwoman for The Jealous Girlfriends, a Brooklyn-based rock band. Now flying solo, the indie-pop newcomer’s full-length debut, The Magician’s Private Library, shows that she’s got a flavour of her own. Produced by Dave Siteck of TV on the Radio, the album was reportedly recorded primarily between 7 p.

CD REVIEWS: Rebecca Ramone: The Flood

Rebecca Ramone’s debut EP, The Flood, doesn’t start with a bang. Instead, the opening track features a repeating blues riff beneath Ramone’s delicate-yet-strong voice. The song shifts when the blues riff accelerates, hitting a grungy overdrive with thrashing symbols.

CD REVIEWS: Hot Chip: One Life Stand

Hot Chip’s soft electropop is anything but middle of the road – it’s love or hate. One Life Stand is their fourth studio album, and is a mixed bag of standout tracks and one-listen flops. The album begins with a strong opening track called “Thieves in the Night,” which starts off sounding like Coldplay’s X&Y era.

CD REVIEWS: Four Tet: There Is Love In You

The fifth full-length album from British electronic musician Kieran Hebden (better known as Four Tet), isn’t a dramatic departure from his earlier work. Nor will it disappoint fans of Four Tet’s already well-established oeuvre. The album is barely over 45 minutes long and undemanding enough to not need your full attention.

CD REVIEWS: OK Go: Of the Blue Colour of the Sky

You may know OK Go from their infamous viral videos on YouTube – including the treadmill dance routine in “Here it Goes Again” – from their previous album Oh No. Of the Blue Colour of the Sky is the latest album from the unique digital rock band. The album starts out with a Prince-like track, appropriately titled “WTF?” OTBCOTS is a departure from their first two albums, with a funkier, dancier sound.

CD REVIEWS: Line Spectra: Maps & Directions

Line Spectra has finally released their first studio album. For the past couple years, you may have noticed this all-girl trio playing at staple venues around Montreal and even a few shows at OAP. These ladies wield their instruments with a fancy, sparkle and a twist.

CD REVIEWS: Beach House: Teen Dream

Since 2004, Beach House has been the leader of the dream-pop scene with slow, simple pop melodies layered over lush soundscapes to create achingly beautiful songs of love and longing. Vocalist Victoria Legrand and guitarist/keyboardist Alex Scally have crafted a winning sound that is completely their own, and with Teen Dream it seems they’ve truly perfected it.

CD REVIEWS: Yeasayer: Odd Blood

If the African- and Middle Eastern-tinged flavour of Yeasayer’s 2007 debut All Hour Cymbals impressed you, get ready to be transported by their sophomore effort, Odd Blood. Yeasayer leaves the tribal aesthetic behind for an electronic vibe, with distorted vocals, synth, and pounding bass lines.

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