Back in 2020, Rina Sawayama released her debut album, SAWAYAMA, and entered pop consciousness like how one would kick down a door: Fierce and unapologetic. Her sophomore endeavour, Hold The Girl, has Sawayama looking back through the very same doorway, retracing her footsteps down the path of her childhood. Released[Read More…]
Album Reviews
Charli XCX’s ‘CRASH’ yields gems among the generic
If you’ve come to appreciate Charli XCX’s hyper-pop charm, you’ll love CRASH, released on March 18, a collection of dance tracks perfect to bob your head to. However, the fast-paced set lacks the expressionism that has defined Charli’s career so far. Especially following her latest, self-reflexive pandemic album, how i’m[Read More…]
‘Mother Rock!’ shakes the anthropocentric boat
Montreal art gallery Art Mûr has been home to Québécois artist Patrick Bérubé’s solo immersive installation, Mother Rock!, since March 5. As the clock ticks on our ability to prevent climate change’s most catastrophic consequences, Bérubé invites visitors on a tour of the relationship between humans and the natural world[Read More…]
‘The Batman’ is DC’s very own horror blockbuster
Scattered whispers and occasional chuckles echo hollowly through the cinema’s depths, jittery in their disposition and nervous in their delivery. Excited eyes dart back and forth between the screen and the faces surrounding them. A nearly three-year anticipatory build-up is culminating into a gentle frenzy—a feverish apogee. This is the[Read More…]
Saba’s ‘Few Good Things’ is a musical scrapbook
Four years after the release of his second studio album, the pain-ridden CARE FOR ME, Chicago-based rapper Saba has returned with Few Good Things, released on Feb. 4. This new project takes a refreshing step away from the despair of its predecessor, with Saba reflecting upon what he loves and[Read More…]
Electro-pop meets celestial beings on Aurora’s new album ‘The Gods We Can Touch’
After her 2015 single Runaway went viral on TikTok in 2020, Norwegian artist Aurora has become one of the most streamed artists on Spotify, sitting comfortably in the top 1000. Her third studio album, The Gods We Can Touch, is her newest release. Just like her two previous albums, The[Read More…]
Literary theorist Jeff Dolven pays a virtual visit to the English department
On Jan. 19, the McGill English Department held its 2022 Spector Lecture, an annual event that highlights contemporary work in the literary field. This year, the department welcomed Jeff Dolven, a poet, literary critic, and Princeton professor of English. Later, students and faculty had a chance to hear several of[Read More…]
The McGill Tribune Presents: THE BEST AND WORST OF 2021
ALBUMS Red (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift 2012 was a simpler time: As conspiracy-theorists announced the approach of the world’s end, Taylor Swift was easing into pop music with catchy breakup songs. Nine years later, she has re-recorded her chart-topping album Red, adding 10 new songs (from the vault) that[Read More…]
‘Donda (Deluxe)’ is hardly an upgrade
Choosing to not leave his fans waiting, Kanye West released the deluxe version of his album Donda on Nov. 14, 11 weeks after the original, adding five new tracks. This release reinvigorated fans’ appetite for Ye, but only one memorable song serves to fill it; the new tracks leaving listeners[Read More…]
Snotty Nose Rez Kids’ ‘Life After’ explores the pandemic’s toll on mental health
Snotty Nose Rez Kids has never shied away from dealing with difficult subjects, and their fourth album Life After is no exception. Released on Oct. 22, the album explores themes of quarantine depression, addiction, and racism, mixed with a musical complexity that includes elements of punk, hardcore, and R&B. Young[Read More…]
